Open Letter of Thanks From Mark Wardlow, Santa's Secret Hands

The following letter of thanks was submitted by Mr. Mark Wardlow, a coordinator of Santa's Secret Hands:

Everyone at Santa’s Secret Hands would like to send out a huge thank you to the community of Edmonson County, as last Saturday was our biggest day by far. We set records for attendance, bidders, and for the total amount of money raised. All of this was possible because we had a wide variety of quality items donated by the people of Edmonson County, as well as other counties.

Selling quality items is just half of the solution, as the other half is all the people that came out to support our charity. This was our 13th year and it seems to get bigger every year.

Jacob's Home Furnishings is already working on a living room suit for next year’s auction. The bedroom suite they donated this year was the high bid item, followed by a golf cart donated by Todd Webb. UK basketball tickets donated by Rep. Michael Meredith, Sen. Steve Meredith, Congressman Brett Guthrie, Scott Lindsey, Josh Jones and a 7-night vacation donated by Roy Gravil were all top bid items also. As usual, some of Edmonson County's finest cooks brought homemade pies, cakes, and desserts that also generated a lot of interest and money.

We would also like to thank all the volunteers that helped out before, during, and after the auction. The atmosphere was excellent with the new remodeled Community Center, and if you haven’t seen it, make plans to go by and check it out.
 
I feel as though I owe the Bank of Edmonson County a huge thank you for all the help they gave us. Not only do they give a huge monetary donation every year but Michelle Coleman has been a huge asset in helping us pursue our non-profit status.

If I started trying to thank everyone that has helped us out this year in every way I would surely leave people out and I don’t want to do that. I am very proud of our little county and what we can do when we all come together for a common cause. This morning I deposited $37,908.72. This was a combination of food sales, donations, and mostly our auction items. We were all amazed by the amount of money raised Saturday. This money allows us to not only help out during the holidays but also throughout the year when someone in this county needs help.
 
Also a big shout out to Darren Doyle at the Edmonson Voice who provided our advertising and promotion at no cost, and if you noticed how much more professional and attractive our auction posters were this year, it’s because the Edmonson Voice staff offered to design them for us.
 
Our annual shopping day is scheduled for Sunday, December 3rd, at 3:00pm. We always shop at Walmart on Morgantown Rd, and we'll meet all meet in the garden center area. I encourage anyone who wishes to join us to come on out.
 
A HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ATTENDED, DONATED OR VOLUNTEERED.
 
--Mark Wardlow,
Santa's Secret Hands