The Pilot Point Family and Friends of the FFA and 4-H brought in $75,000 to support the students on Saturday.
Community members filled the Star at the Lone Star Lodge and Marina to the brim to support a good cause.
'It's always amazing to see the community come together to support our Pilot Point students who are involved in agriculture,' club President Lacrica Olson said. 'We appreciate all of our sponsors, buyers, donors and students who made the ag mech projects.'
Sixty-three students helped prepare auction items for the auction, which included a backyard bar, an Argentina grill, multiple fire pits, a metal and wood American flag, custom furniture and an oak barrel hammock.
Chad Chance again served as auctioneer, with spotters Mark Harpool, Randy Pels and Jeff Weber watching like hawks for raised paddles.
'It's one of my favorites,' Chance said of the FFA and 4-H auction. 'I always love raising money for the kids.'
He takes a hands-on approach to helping the students, too, by mentoring students in the knife-making process.
'We've been making knives now, I think, at least six years, and it's amazing,' he said. 'The kids enjoy it and I get to know them better. When they started going to a kids-made project, at least for a portion of it, it's just made the auction.'
Lora Renfro, who is a PPFFA mom and a PPISD trustee, said it was a special night.
'We do a lot of hard work all year,' she said. 'It's really fun to come together and raise a lot of money for them.'
One of the most enthusiastic bidders of the night was Boone Bland, the 3-year-old son of Bubba and Ashley Bland, at the Sure Fire Concrete Inc. table.
Twice, the youngest bidder stuck his arm in the air, keeping his paddle up so he didn't miss the items he wanted, especially for the John Deere rideon gator.
'See, you could take lessons from him,' Chance said, goading the room to bid. 'He just held his paddle in the air, ladies and gentlemen.'
Multiple Pilot Point FFA and 4-H alumni returned to spend the evening in support of the program, including Athletic Director Chad Worrell and more recent Pilot Point graduates Noah Pelzel and Sydney Bickers.
'Every year I showed 4-H or FFA,' Worrell said. '… My wonderful ag teachers—Lloyd Smith was one of my favorite teachers that I had and had a huge impact on my life. So, it's great to come out and support the kids and raise money to help support their projects.'
Pilot Point ISD Superintendent Dr. Shannon Fuller agreed.
'This is the first event that I went to two years ago when I started, … so it's the third time that I've been,' Fuller said.
She added that the dinner and auction has an 'overall culture and spirit' of being 'so warm and friendly and inviting.'
'It just keeps getting better every year,' Fuller said.
PPHS Principal Marzia Infante brought her family to enjoy the dinner and auction together.
'It's so, so great to see all the families and the community come together to support our students,' she said. '… [With] their projects, lots of hard work, blood, sweat and tears went into these projects.'
