Jill Ober grew up in Laconia and remembers well when Auction founder Warren Bailey first put out the call for donations. She and her sister answered the call, dropping off maple syrup at the local YMCA.
For decades since, Jill has been taking the calls, serving on the phone bank team headed up by Ed Darling and known as “Ed’s Corner.”
She got started on the phone bank while working as an elf with colleagues many years ago. She hasn’t missed a year since, having become an official sidekick of Ed’s.
Jill remembers when the phone bank elves had to use paper to record the bids that came in over the phone. “It was so crazy back then, shuffling papers back and forth to each other,” she says.
After RJ Harding got involved and the Auction started to go in a more digital direction, Jill and Ed brought on Bob Laraway and his wife, Deb. This was an amazing shift for the Auction because bidders could now place their bids online. This meant the pace of the Auction could move faster and more donations were generated as a result.
Jill later became the Auction’s phone coordinator and began to organize the elves and handle the tasks that came with maintaining the operation.
She explains how the bidding works: Bidders are watching or listening to the auction either via radio, TV or streaming online, and bids come in online and over the phone. Elves take bids and tell callers they will get a call back if their bid was the highest after bidding closes.
Talking to people is Jill’s favorite part of her work with the Auction. She is the interviewer of donors and sponsors and conducts interviews live during the four days of the Auction.
Sometimes, when people come to drop off items, they will tell the story of why they are donating to an elf, and that elf finds Jill so she can tell the story publicly.
Jill will interview the donor and tell the story of their “why,” which often centers on how the Auction has impacted the person in the past. Many donors, for instance, have previously received benefits from nonprofits the Auction supports, and they come to give back.
Jill can truly empathize during these encounters. She was once in a spot where she was struggling and couldn’t get help because she made 50 cents an hour too much to receive public assistance, but her income fell short of providing for her family.
“I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it,” she says. “I didn’t have a lot of money to give, so giving my time was the next best thing.”
Telling her story and that of volunteers, donors and sponsors helps raise awareness about the Auction’s impact and perpetuates growth and giving.
“I like seeing it go back to the community. People think we’re a wealthy lake city, and I don’t want people who are in need here to be forgotten and go by the wayside,” Jill says.
Two years ago, Jill moved from the Lakes Region to Manchester, but she isn’t letting that stop her involvement. She takes the week of the Auction off to come up and volunteer with the “Ed’s Corner” group.
The Laraway’s grown children, Chris Beaudoin and Peter Wright, now often help round up the team. They’ve spent about a dozen years together.
“I look forward to making that one dollar more each year,” Jill says, referencing the familiar challenge to earn one more dollar than the past year each year. “I look forward to being part of the family that we’ve created here.”
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