The Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction is a nonprofit in Laconia, New Hampshire, that raises money each year for children and families in need. My brothers run an annual event called Pub Mania that helps to bolster the auction’s fundraising efforts. This year, I got to write about two Pub Mania volunteers—who are also friends of mine. The blog was used on the Children’s Auction website and in its newsletter; I also sent it to local media in the Laconia area.

Jennifer Bailey grew up in the Lakes Region and has a long memory of the good cheer that the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction brings to the holiday season. When her children were young several decades ago, the family donated toys. Jennifer also purchased holiday gifts while listening to the radio broadcasts.

Shawn Bailey came to the region as an adult and began to take part as an Auction volunteer 14 years ago. He took bids on the phone banks, with his coworkers from Coldwell Banker, and also helped organize annual toy drives in the office.

“It was addictive to see the magic that goes on there, and how many people help,” Shawn recalls. “I was impressed with the community and how generous people are.”

Jennifer says she tends toward the shy side; getting involved with the Auction in person didn’t feel like her thing. Until her longtime friends, Jennifer and Allan Beetle, co-owners of Patrick’s Pub & Eatery, started dreaming up Pub Mania 11 years ago. 

“Allan proposed the idea, and Shawn and I loved it so much, we said, ‘We’re in. Tell us what we can do,’” Jennifer says. “That first year, it was meeting and talking—throwing ideas around. They did the majority of it. We just kept saying, ‘What can we do? What can we do?’”

Since that first year, Pub Mania has grown tremendously, becoming an event that provides the lion’s share of the funds raised during each year’s Auction week. The event is a 24-hour barstool challenge involving 31 teams of 24 people each.   For each of the 24 hours, teams participate in fun games and activities; fundraising also happens year-round, as do various events that range from yard sales and dinner gatherings to the Pub Mania Shuffle, a two-mile walk held on Wednesday nights in the spring and fall.

“I was thrilled when Allan came up with the idea for Pub Mania,” Jennifer says. “It’s made it easy for me to get involved.” 

Jennifer has been a Pub Mania referee since the event’s start. Shawn first served as team captain with his Coldwell Banker colleagues and came on board as a referee three years ago. The refs stay up for 24 hours, working with the crowd, answering questions, leading games and raffles, and handing out prizes. Shawn also judges the dance contest and helps the event’s many musicians set up and break down.

Allan and Jennifer; Jeff and Wendy Beetle—also Patrick’s co-owners— and Kate Flaherty are the other event referees.

Pub Mania raised $47,000 for the Children’s Auction in its first year—crushing Allan’s goal of $30,000. Last year, the amount raised was $353,361, more than half of the total $580,584 that was raised for the Children’s Auction.

“I feel really good about it and really proud,” says Shawn. “The amount of money—it’s needed in this community. To be able to be a part of raising so much money is very rewarding.” He adds that there is pressure to keep pace! “We just have to keep doing it somehow.”

Jennifer says, “I love the emotional part of it. Closing ceremonies gives me such a good feeling. I cannot believe the amount of money raised. We live in a beautiful area, but we have a lot of need. It’s amazing how much the Children’s Auction does and how the community comes together.”

In 10 years, Pub Mania has raised nearly $2 million for the Children’s Auction. The 2019 edition of the world’s greatest barstool challenge is just around the corner, kicking off on Dec. 5 for 24 hours. 

Look for the Beetles and Baileys there. Shawn and Allan are sure to perform “Pub Maniacs Answer the Call,” a traditional song the Beetles wrote to tell the event’s backstory.

Says Jennifer, “I can’t imagine the holiday season without Pub Mania and the Auction. 

“When we get to opening ceremonies, there’s always this feeling of, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe we’re here again,’” she adds. “You get to see familiar faces from years past. And when closing ceremonies come, a recipient speaks about what the money has meant to them. It puts all our efforts into perspective.”

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GILFORD—When Will Swart was first invited to take part in Pub Mania as a team captain by Patrick’s co-owner Allan Beetle three years ago, Swart was sure his 24 teammates could each raise the suggested $100.

Made up of employees and riders associated with the Laconia Harley Davidson dealership in Meredith, where Swart is general manager, team Laconia Harley Iron Butts felt great about the idea of raising $2,400 to benefit the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction. Swart remembered that a collective reality soon dawned on them, though: They could raise even more.

“Our efforts snowballed from there,” Swart said.

Every team captain associated with the annual Pub Mania event at Patrick’s Pub & Eatery reports this same desire to have the competitive edge. “It’s what makes Pub Mania more successful each year,” said Co-owner Allan Beetle.

In 2018, the 10th anniversary year for the greatest bar stool challenge ever, 744 participants on 31 teams raised a total of $353,361, bringing the Children’s Auction to its largest total in 37 years at $580,584.

“We are incredibly awed and grateful to everyone who took part, and we’re proud of Will’s team—the top fundraiser at over $31,778,” Beetle said.

Last year, the Iron Butts raised $15,278. What allowed the team to double the funds raised in 2017 was raffling off a 2018 Harley Anniversary Street Glide, which brought in $14,000 through $20 ticket sales.

“Our biggest reason for wanting to get involved in Pub Mania was to channel what we can do as a business, a dealership, a group of people, into a charity that does so much for the community we live and work in,” Swart said. “Part of the joy of participating in Pub Mania is just the fun of doing it, part of it is supporting the charity itself, and part of it is the competitiveness.”

Jaimie Sousa, chair of the Children’s Auction since March, said each year the board braces itself to learn the Pub Mania total. “We hope for the best, and then we’re thrilled when the fundraising amount is even more than we expected, going up $40,000 or $50,000 each year,” she said. “It’s hard to think about what our community would look like without fundraising from Pub Mania. So many local agencies depend on it.”

Funds that funnel through Pub Mania to the auction provide such things as lunches for children in the Lakes Region who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. The dollars provide food, clothing, shelter—and even Christmas gifts—for families in need. It also offers enrichment through support of organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of the Lakes Region and other mentoring programs that give children a safe place to play and “a glimpse of what life can offer,” Sousa said.

“This makes a difference in people’s lives,” Sousa added. “That’s what we hope for.”

The Children’s Auction was created in 1982 by Warren Bailey, then a radio DJ on WLNH, who started conducting the event on air. In 1998, Sousa said the auction became televised. It continues to follow the same general agenda: Tuesday through Saturday, during the first week of December, items are auctioned off, and the proceeds benefit dozens of local nonprofits.

Many people get involved—from donating items to raising money to shopping the auction. Some tell stories that help others understand the need. “Leaders from the nonprofits we support speak and share stories,” Sousa said, “and we have groups of young people doing community service hours and getting interested in giving back. It’s cool to see there is a next generation for the Children’s Auction.”

Swart said his wife, Kathy, is a very active member of the Iron Butts because she was once a single mother and remembers what it was like to need—and receive—community support. “Now she wants to help others,” Swart said.

In addition to raffling off the Harley, the Laconia Harley Iron Butts organized fundraising events like Biker Bingo Nights, which typically raised about $1,000. They collect donations during customer grill-outs, and one employee—the team’s top individual fundraiser—brought in more than $1,800 by selling handmade ornaments.

As captain of her own team, Fusion, Sousa also knows the adrenalin rush that comes with bringing in more—and more, and more. Fusion is made of up young professionals. They raise money through admission to networking and special events, as well as individual team member fundraising initiatives. This year, they raised over $15,000.

“I’m really happy that I can be a part of it in both ways,” Sousa said, speaking of her role with the auction and as a participant of Pub Mania. “We’re all working toward the same goal.”

She added, “I credit Pub Mania with really giving the auction a year-round face and a way to fundraise throughout the year. Thirty-one teams are all promoting their own events and fundraising in a variety of ways. It’s an amazing thing.”

For more information or to participate in Pub Mania visit www.patrickspub.com/pubmania or email info@patrickspub.com.

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