Chamber gassed up after auto auction

POULSBO — After gearing up for their second annual auto auction, members of the Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce came out all smiles as every car sold Tuesday evening.

Both Chamber Executive Director Stuart Leidner and Kevin Hogan of Liberty Bay Auto, who spearheaded the event, called it a definite winner.

“As a separate fund-raising event, it was a success,” Leidner said. “Things worked out really smoothly and it met our expectations.”

Hogan echoed Leidner’s assessment, agreeing it was an excellent event.

“It was great and everything sold except for the cars that didn’t make it there,” Hogan explained, noting that one vehicle wouldn’t start and another had the alternator go out before the sale. However, those vehicles were sold after the auction to other buyers.

Once the auction started, the 24 cars sold in about 20 minutes with the help of Brian Stokes from Stokes Auction in Port Orchard, Leidner said.

“We had just over 90 bidders and it goes pretty quickly,” he said, noting the event’s success was due in large part to Hogan’s efforts on behalf of the chamber.

“If it’s not for Kevin having to coordinate and do actual vehicle assessment, we couldn’t have an auction,” Leidner explained. “As long as we can continue to have his support, the chamber is grateful.”

For Hogan, this year’s auction went better than the inaugural event, which was held last November.

“We had about $31,000 in sales, which is double what we had last year,” he explained.

However, the total profit from the event won’t be known until all the expenses associated with hosting the event are deducted, Hogan said.

“We had about 93 people registered to buy cars, but I was hoping for 100 to 120,” he said, noting that a low turnout often results in lower prices at auctions.

While the turnout wasn’t exactly what he had hoped for, Hogan suggested that next year’s event will probably have the same number of cars, even though it might be moved to another location.

“One of the ideas I heard is that if we’re going to continue supporting the Olympic College Foundation, we might ought to have it at the Olympic College campus in Poulsbo,” he said.

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