The Sigma Chi fraternity held its silent wine auction on Saturday, Oct. 25, raising $2,716.50 for the S.O.S. clinic in College Place. Despite low attendance by community members and advertising concerns, the event was considered a success by the fraternity.

The event was held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in room 110 of Reid Campus Center. The auction coincided with parents weekend activities, drawing over 200 parents, faculty and community members.

“It was our goal to motivate the parents and wine community to give back to other, less fortunate, members of society,” said Sigma Chi president, senior Andrew Knox. “I think we accomplished this goal, but there is definitely a lot of room for improvement.”

One of the ways the fraternity is hoping to improve the event next year is by advertising earlier. This year, they were late in receiving a state permit allowing them to hold the auction, forcing them to delay spending money on advertising in case the event never happened.

Sophomore Kiet Vo, who organized the event with fellow Sigma Chi member, senior Reese Ishmael, said that he even had to petition the mayor’s office in order to speed the approval process along. Once the event was approved, an advertisement was placed in the Union-Bulletin. But judging by the poor attendance of the local community, the advertising was not all that effective.

“Most of the people who attended were parents that were here for parents weekend,” said Vo. “We would really like more students and members of the community to attend.”

Despite these setbacks, the event was a success said Vo. Most of the local wineries were eager to donate for such
a worthy cause. The SOS clinic has a reputation for providing free, top-notch care to needy families in Walla Walla and College Place. Some of the wineries have employees that frequent the clinic, said Vo.