In the Face of Disaster...the Livestock Booster Club of Aransas County BUCKS UP & Carries On!

It's moments like this that remind me of the POWER behind a team of people, with a specific goal....that go to work...backs against the walls or not. 

It is moments like this that remind me of WHY I'm SO passionate about the auction method of marketing...

When I sent a message to my friend Danielle in Rockport...I can tell you that the last thing I thought that conversation was going to turn into was something like this: "Hey! We've decided to continue with our Show Fund Fundraiser. We have a new venue, but we need help organizing our auction. Any help you can give us would be great." 

No joke...I had to sit there a minute to try and wrap my head around everything. I knew she had lost her home. I knew they were without water and electricity and ANY sense of normalcy. I also knew her & if she had her people behind her to press forward, it was go-time. 

I checked in with my crew. I checked in with my family. I checked in about the board meeting I planned on attending both Saturday and Sunday & worked it out. We are headed to Rockport THIS Friday to Prepare for THIS Saturday.

What this Livestock Booster Club decided to proceed with is no small undertaking, but it is one heck of an effort to begin THEIR "rebuild." Rebuilding their lives back to reality - post hurricane. Life goes on, no matter what. 

The Aransas County 4H Club has approximately 30 members. Some of those kiddos lost their projects & some did not. Based on my last conversation 100% of the members were displaced or suffered major damage to their homes. These kids had to come together, once the dust settled, to look for their projects, care for their projects, & help each other. When I asked my friend Krystal, who is also helping re-organize this event how the group seems to be holding up she referred to them as "a compound." They are just all coming together and working together. 

Rockport is best known for recreation & tourism & not so much agriculture. That simple fact already limits community support, especially in comparison to ag communities. This year they also have to contend with the hurricane and the aftermath that ensued. I talked to several of the parents & they are definitely in an overwhelming situation, but the general consensus is: "We have to get them in that show ring in January." This is important to them and we have to do what we can. 

Many of us have heard about the out pour of donations that have come into the coastal areas. For this group one of their biggest needs, is a place to store it. They've been blessed with people bringing grain and hay and other needed supplies. Now they need a place to store it. Anyone out there with contact for metal storage containers - they, amongst probably several others, could use them. They are also rebuilding and stabilizing livestock pens. There is still a need for pens and fencing supplies,

What these parents and members of the Livestock Booster Club of Aransas County are calling for now, is not donations for feed or hay or supplies, but for HELP breathing life back into this program in the face of an overwhelming catastrophe. This is the Booster Club's biggest fundraiser, raising money to directly support the 4H Clubs of Aransas County and purchase the 4Hers show projects. A handful of their auction items they still have, but most were washed away OR the business don't exist anymore. 

They are accepting approximately 30 donations for live auction items & another 20 or so for their silent auction, that will help generate funds from their closest supporters. If you are someone out there that is a creator & makes deer stands, hunting blinds, bbq pits, fire pits, picnic tables, beanbag boards or anything of the like - those items will fit this crowd. If you are a business that wishes  to contribute please consider donating an item or buying at the auction. If you can not be present, contact us or the information below & we would be happy to handle absentee bidding. 

I have heard of so many people wanting to know how they can still help those affected. HELP THEM REBUILD. Help them see how to come together and rally. Help them to show these kids HOW life goes on after a natural disaster. SHOW THEM we care about MORE than their immediate needs. We care about the hard work they've put in. We care about how this will effect their futures. We care about the lessons that will be taken away from this. 

As a crew, all of us at Buck Up Auctions want these people to have fun. We want to remind them, that they can smile....that they can competitively bid against each other for the sole purpose of helping the kids. That they have each other. They have a community bigger than the coastal bend that values all they stand for. 

I pull this all back to when a seed was planted in me - regarding the power of community and the power of an auction. It's when my family felt as if we were facing our own catastrophe. It was when my Dad had went into a diabetic coma, and as he came out of it, the doctors told us his liver was failing and soon after - learning he would need a liver transplant to live. All I remember is in that family meeting there was no sign of defeat. We weren't sure how to go about it, but we organized a fundraiser that developed into two more - because of THE OVERWHELMING SUPPORT OF OUR COMMUNITY regarding auction donations and bidders, meal and dance ticket sales, silent auction items. Those auctions carried those events & contributed a TREMENDOUS deal to our goal - which was getting the funds for my Dad to get a liver. WE did it. My family could have NEVER accomplished it on our own & right now the Livestock Booster Club of Aransas County can't either. 

What happened to me through that experience will stay with me for the rest of my life. When people band together they LITERALLY breathe life back into others. There is no question, as these people look back in 6 months, a year, 5 years they will become OVERWHELMED with emotion not knowing how they did it. If you can & if you choose to, please CONSIDER being a part of their HOW. Everyone is aware that A LOT of people are hurting, but if you feel moved to help these 30 kids that have NEVER seen anything happen, like what happened to their community....that have put their heads down and cared for their projects...that have spent time helping each other - just to overcome the devastation....if you want to help these parents help their kids....BUCK UP & do it!

Talk to us about a buyers group. Talk to us about donating an item. Talk to us about absentee bidding. Talk to us about how to buy tickets! The Northshore Country Club in Portland has donated their facility, since the the original location was damaged by the hurricane. The venue is bigger and has room for an additional 200 people. Get away from the chaos & come enjoy a fajita dinner & dancing and music by Tom Saenz.

$50 per ticket. $100 per couple. For tickets you can contact Becky Mays at 361.205.5131. You can also email: lbcoac@gmail.com and follow for updates at Livestock Booster Club of Aransas County. 

My crew and I will be leaving Carmine Friday afternoon. If we need to take any items or donations with us we can. Email me at heather@buckupauctions.com. 

Guess What Baby?!

I know the last few blog posts - I've been tellin' you how busy I am & that I will hopefully be able to share some of all these goins on with ya'll. I can't share EVERYTHING yet, but I can share some...

First of all (& MOST importantly) I'm PREGNANT! with baby #2. The Doc says its a little fella this time around. I've just started my last trimester & baby & myself are healthy!

In the midst of this - I changed positions with the company that I work for - which calls for a relocate, so I'm in the middle of a NOT-SO-FUN move.... I mean...I guess it could be worse. THANK YOU JESUS for good family & friends, cattle trailers, low boys, & hard-workin', cornfed :) country boys.

One of the last truck/trailer loads. There was few more & MAYBE more to come... We'll see.

The garage in Rockport. Some of it is out now...some not....

We are moving from Rockport, TX to Walhalla, TX (HOME!!!). The tricky part is moving from a 3 bedroom/3 bath house & 8+ acres...to the in-laws 1 bed/1bath apartment. It AMAZES me at how much people can accumulate in close to 4 years........ To say the least - this will be an AdVeNtUrE! The plan is to lease the house out in Rockport OR SELL IT, but we just brought the last BIG load back this weekend. Now we'll have to go back sometime & clean, sort, & deal with the little things.

The OTHER tricky part is that I have been maintaining accounts there & cultivating new accounts here. Talk about diFFicUlt! I mean...I knew it was going to be a challenge, but it seems like nothing is where you need it, you go to a coffee shop for INET one place, then you can't print where you need to..... Luckily, things are starting to settle down & I'll be able to focus more on everything.

Not only have I neglected my blog, but I feel like I've neglected visiting time with my DEAR, sweet, FRIENDS. I promise once I switch my doctors, unpack all the boxes, get my office completely set up, deal with a big work transition that REALLY happened this month, get our storage unit set up, get our house in Rockport cleaned up (so people can look at it), while dealing with all the other EVERYDAY things & events & happenings....WE'RE GONNA DO SOMETHIN'!!! I'm not sure where or WHEN, but plan on it!

I do have a couple PRAYER REQUESTS for all reading.

Please send some prayers up for my Little Sis. She just had surgery this past week. The Docs are pretty sure they were able to fix her up. Maybe send a few up for my Daddy too. He's more worried about things than she is.

Me, Mandy, & Little Kylee :)

My Uncle Mele's long-time LADY friend - Lillie, has been battling cancer. She just passed away today. cancer is UGLY! Please pray for PEACE, COMFORT, & the Holy Spirit to be with the family for whatever kind of STRENGTH needed right now.



One more SHOUT OUT to Kyle's UNCLE JOE! He recently passed away. When I first met him (over 10 years ago) he was a dancin' machine, always greeted you with a smile on his face & good conversation. He honestly had one of the BEST attitudes at life that I have ever seen. He was a GOOD man & I pray that he passes a little of that POSITIVE, FUN-LOVING, Attitude  to the rest of us down here. DANCE Away Uncle Joe & Dance one for me :)!

Lastly, may Roscoe (LoooNG time Kaspar family Pet) Rest In Peace. He was a good dog & was around a long time.

Kylee & Roscoe just a few days ago...

Stay tuned! LOTS more to come. I have PLENTY auction stories, upcoming auctions, & some advice (that I searched the Internet for & couldn't find) that I've EXPERIENCED now. Junk Prom is coming up! That's right! I'll be there: 8 months pregnant, ALL dudded up. Who knows...Kylee might be ridin' a GOAT to town this year ;). Nonetheless....more ADVENTURES to be had. BUCK UP BABY & Stay Tuned....even if it takes 2 months for me to post again.

KISS This!!

Hey Everyone!!! So guess what! WE WON THE COSTUME CONTEST THIS PAST FRIDAY!! I really am not one to brag, but WE ROCKED IT!!

When I look at the pictures I can´t believe we pulled it off as well as we did. Our entire thought process was we have to TOP the Ninja Turtles. Well....I´m pretty sure we accomplished that, but have NO IDEA what it´s gonna take to make next year a 3peat!

Jammin´ Out!

Here´s the $$ shot w/ 3rd place winner and DD for most of the night THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR!!

I will add that as much as we ROCKED it...I felt it the next morning. We partied like rockstars all right and am pretty sure that I can physically take only one of those nights a year.

As long as these are the only shots we get from police officers - We´ll be in good shape :).

I am NOT the only prize winner of the family! My sweet little Kylee Jo won 3rd at the little Halloween Contest at the Maritime Museum in Rockport. I think there were close to 30 entries in her age group (2-3 years old). All I´m saying is I think that is pretty darn good considering she DID NOT want to wear her hat and the guy dressed up as "Swamp Thing" was freaking her out and she really didn´t want to be ANYWHERE near him!

Kylee in her Cowgirl Duds!!

My nieces and nephews were there and Kylee had fun playing with her cousins. So much fun that I had to climb in the "Jump Castle" and drag her and Little Miss Kinsey out... Talk about a SCREAMIN´ fit!

Here they are jumpin´ away! Kinsey is the little Bumble Bee in mid air to the left.

As soon as we figure out the theme for next year´s Halloween party...you better believe that we´ll be thinkin´ about our costumes. Everyone else better BUCK UP BABY and Bring It!!

I want to say a SPECIAL THANK YOU to Ms. Alice for being able to watch Kylee last minute!! You ROCK!!

More posts to come!

Halloween...80´s Style!!!

Hey! Hey! It´s that time of year again.... Tomorrow is the annual TOWN (Texas Outdoor Women Network - Rockport) Halloween Party - 80´s REWIND!!!

If any of you are in the area (or reasonable driving distance) YOU SHOULD BE THERE!! There is a $5 cover and proceeds go to our annual SCHOLARSHIP FUND!!

Last year 3 of my girlfriends and I dressed up as the NINJA TURTLES!! So I was fairly new to the TOWN group and (apparently) didn´t pay attention at the meetings and didn´t realize there was a prize for the best costume....

My friend Kacie (over at Pistols and Cupcakes or Rowdy Maui) and I had already went into full brainstorming and recruitment mode. We went back and forth between several different groups and settled on the Ninja Turtles. I have a friend Shannon (go check her work out at http://www.shannonbuckphotography.com/) from back close to home looking for something to do. Let´s just say she called me at the PERFECT time! So we had our 3rd turtle.

Then...I had recently met a new friend (a little FIRECRACKER of a chick that likes to hunt and stab ferral hogs for fun - it´s a real epidemic folks.) Check out her and her husband´s website here. Her name is Krystal. My Mother and Sister-in-law watched the little ones and off we went. Krystal and I acutally got our husbands to dress up with us as Splinter (the Rat) and Shredder (the bad guy). Let´s just say....they will probably NEVER dress up with us again (hence the reason you will not see a picture of them :)).

You Know you´re diggin´ our turkey pans!

Little Miss Kacie also met her LOVER BOY there - which happens to be one of our friends from back home. Still together....tomorrow night makes one year since the day they met. :))

Here they are the night we went out dancin´ to CELEBRATE our WIN!!

So we have our turtles and Kacie and I have TONS of fun shopping for the needed supplies. I am SO glad my dear friend Kacie and her AWESOME Momma know how to sew! They did their thing, we got to the party right on time, and MAN were people looking at us. A little intimidating....

Do I look intimidated ;)?

So...to make this long story short. We wound up winning. Now, by this time we had heard through the grapevine that there was a prize, but we thought maybe a gift certificate to Poor Man´s Country Club (the place where the party is held - click HERE for website). Little did we know we just won ourselves $200 cash AND a SASH :).

Shannon, Kacie, Me, and Krystal with our $$$$!

Well...everyone had SO much fun last year that they decided to do an 80´s Party REWIND this year.

SO................we have to TOP last years. We think we´ve done it. We lost one turtle....Mrs. Krystal :(. She had to go out of town for work BUT we have a new recruit and she´s a crafty little thing herself. She´s my JUNK-O-RAMA Prom goin´ friend Ms. Lindsey!

Me and Lindsey at the Party Last Year!

Stay tuned for PICS to see what we came up with!! It´s time to BUCK UP BABY!! We´ve gotta step it up to get the win. We´ll see if we pull it off. Until next time.....TURTLE POWER!!

I´m a WONDERFUL Woman!!



Hey! Hey everybody!! I have something cool to share!! So we get back from Floresville this weekend (where my daughter LITTLE MISS KYLEE JO) was the Flower Girl in my friend´s wedding, and what do I find in my inbox?

Kylee in her Flower Girl dress!!

A message from Mrs. Jo with the WONDERFUL WOMEN´S NETWORK! The ladies in charge over there decided they wanted to do a "Wonderful Woman Showcase" on ME!!

First of all, I am MORE than HONORED. There are SO many WONDERFUL, ACCOMPLISHED, INTRIGUING, BEAUTIFUL women in our little coastal paradise that they could´ve picked any of them. (Believe me ladies....your time is coming!!) Mrs. Jo Blaylock did a FANTASTIC job and made me sound PRETTY DARN GOOD!

To read what she wrote about me and surf around on their BRAND SPANKIN´ NEW WEBSITE click RIGHT HERE!

Just to tell you a little more about this Wonderful Women´s Network...it is this REALLY COOL email network that started out in the ROCKPORT, Texas area. It started out as something kinda small that was helpful to a FEW people and turned into something KINDA BIG that helps A LOT of people. I mean...people are getting this EMAIL NEWSLETTER all over the WORLD now! You can read LOTS more about it in the "About Me" section of the WEBPAGE. That´s right! It keeps getting bigger and bigger, that now...THERE´S A WEBSITE!

I do want to share a little more about the ladies behind it. Mrs. Barbara Gurtner met me just shortly after my husband and I first moved to Rockport. I was BIG and PREGNANT and was helping film a commercial for THE NAUTICAL FLEA MARKET. Click here to learn more! Anyways... She just kinda scooped me up, got my email address, and put me on that network, just as soon as she got home (it seems like). There were all kinds of cool things on the network like: babysitters, garage sales, pets that needed adopting, upcoming events in the area, etc. It was a refreshing feeling b/c we didn´t know a soul when we moved here. I just REALLY think she is one of the SWEETEST, most WELCOMING ladies you´ll every meet. Thank you SO much for that! Folks, I don´t think she´s ever met a person, ate at a restaurant, or walked into a shop she doesn´t like. She´s JUST GOOD PEOPLE!

Mrs. Jo Blaylock was the lady that interviewed me! I sure took a likin´ to her, after just talking to her for a few minutes. There´s just somethin´ about her. She´s not trying to be anything she´s not. She´s just that darn cool! She was a CAPTAIN on the University of Texas Dance Team, worked ALL OVER the broadcasting industry (Radio, TV, Newspaper), is a PUBLISHED writer, was a BARREL-RACER, and knows where CARMINE (my teeny tiny hometown) is!!

I REALLY, REALLY, APPRECIATE this little shout out they gave me! All you BLOGGERS...FOLLOW  their blog and EVERYONE needs to be sure to CHECK BACK for all the WONDERFUL WOMEN that will be showcased from now on!!

I´ll have another BLOG posted sometime after this weekend! I have some REALLY COOL things going on with all this AUCTION business and I can´t wait to SHARE it with you guys!! BUCK UP BABY! Things are fixin´ to get interesting!!