As has been tradition at THS and other chapters, students volunteer hours to community members for assistance on the farm, with babysitting, cleaning or other duties.

Community members then “bid” on each student’s future work as “hired hands for a day.”

Several chapter members made their way down an elevated runway at the THS cafeteria as Daryl Stottlemyer with Eastern Kansas Auction Barn navigated bids.

The auction was the final event of the evening.

There was an open house of FFA projects in the agriculture education wing at THS and then a chili and cinnamon roll dinner in the cafeteria, which was decorated in blue and yellow in honor of the national organizations colors. FFA stands for Future Farmers of America, but the organization started going by just its acronym several years ago.

A silent auction took place during the dinner and into the live auction nearby in the cafeteria and commons area. There also was a live pie auction.

Some students were bid on as duos or solo.

Hadley Regehr and Finley Rieke drew the highest labor bid of $1,900 thanks to winning bidder Kristen Tramposh of Cobalt Stables.

Finley wasn’t able to attend the event, so her father, Ernie, hopped up on the runway and joined Regehr during the bidding war.

At one point during the auction, attendees could hear “Rock You Like a Hurricane” by Scorpions blare from a portable sound system.

The walk-up music was for THS FFA student Hurricane McPherson, who offered some extra moves as bidding continued for his labor services.

This year’s fundraiser garnered more than $22,000.

The live and silent auctions brought in about $16,000 and scholarship sponsors accounted for $6,200.

The money goes toward scholarships for seniors and chapter leadership events.