Spending $16,000 to buy a $10 bottle of scotch that won’t ever be enjoyed may not seem like the best purchase ever made, but for the lucky winnersat this year’s Seeley International charity auction it was all in the name of a good cause.
Seeley International founder and Executive Chairman, Mr Frank Seeley AM said the bottle’s inaugural auction was in 2001 and remained the organisation’s most popular charity fundraiser item among its dealer network.
“Since the bottle was first sold more than 12 years ago it has helped to raise more than $1 million dollars for charity and this year we have seen the proceeds, more than $150,000, split between the Leukaemia Foundation in Australia and Samaritan’s Purse in Alaska,” Mr Seeley said.
“That is an outstanding achievement when you consider that the bottle was originally bought during a Seeley International conference in Thailand, where an eagle-eyed dealer spotted that the “Braemar” Scotch shared the same name as one of our highly successful heating and cooling brands and presented it to me as a joke,” he said.
“Later that day, at our Gala Dinner, the bottle was auctioned off, and the proceeds donated to a local children’s charity, and since then it has become a tradition for the winning bidder to be custodian of the bottle and donate it back at the next auction event rather than drink it.”
Mr Seeley said he was continually amazed at the generosity shown by the Seeley International dealer network, with this year’s winning bidders being Air Diffusion Agencies.
“There was very spirited bidding, and while there can only be one winner, everyone understands how important it is to do everything we can to support our chosen charities so they can continue their wonderful work,” Mr Seeley said.
“The Everglades fund that my wife Kathy and I created will once again match the dealer donations dollar for dollar so as to double the total amount and really make sure everyone’s efforts make a real difference,” he said.
As well as the Leukaemia Foundation and Samaritan’s Purse in Alaska, previous beneficiaries of Seeley International’s charity auctions have included the Klong Toey Community Centre in Bangkok, the TLC Orphanage in South Africa, Compassion Indonesia, Hmong refugee children in Vietnam and Silky Oaks Children’s Haven in Queensland.