Opinion: BCFO sets half-a-million-dollar record

Springfield businessman John B. Mahaffey would pay $50,000 – twice. At least, when it’s for a really good cause.

Mahaffey was among the 975 socialites crammed into Bass Pro Shops’ White River Room on Oct. 6 for Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks’ annual Hooked on Dance fund-raiser.

Mahaffey also appeared to have the deepest pockets. Mahaffey stole the show during a live auction, dropping $50,000 for the dinner donated by Bob Noble and his pro chefs, then challenging St. John’s plastic surgeon Walt Gaska and Brown Derby owner Ron Junge to put on a similar dinner event for another $50,000 donation.

Gaska agreed, and grabbed the auctioneer’s microphone: “It’s the wine merchant and Pollock vs. the chefs.”

Turns out, there’s some history to this rivalry. Last year, Gaska and Junge donated the dinner auction item, which Mahaffey acquired for $30,000.

“Where are you guys?” Mahaffey asked Gaska and Junge after bidding on Noble’s dinner.

“They didn’t ask us,” was the reply.

“Well, you do one, and I’ll buy it,” Mahaffey shot back.

Mahaffey, who owns 16 radio stations in three states under Mahaffey Enterprises, wasn’t done at $100,000; he gave another $25,000 for a Toyota Scion. Reliable Superstore’s Tony Stubblefield sold the car to BCFO for $1.

The car wasn’t on the list of 15 auction items but was added after Reliable employee Damien Franklin won a $100-a-ticket drawing. Franklin returned the car, and Mahaffey jumped at the chance to again contribute.

“It’s just a way to give back a little bit,” Mahaffey said, noting the deaths of his mother and his wife’s mother due to breast cancer.

All told, BCFO raised a record $200,000 in the live auction to go with the $325,000 sold in Hooked on Dance sponsorships. This is the first time BCFO raised more than $500,000. While still tabulating, Executive Director Ellen Hammock estimates a net total of at least $530,000, compared to $400,000 in 2005 and $271,000 in 2004.

“We’re definitely overwhelmed by the generosity of so many people in town,” Hammock said. “It is amazing that every year it gets bigger.”

Here are highlights of the auction, with the winning bids in parentheses:

• Harlequino Night Italian Feast for Eight Couples ($50,000) – Six-course northern Italian dinner at the Noble Idea Center in Chesterfield Village, with wines, limousine transportation and a facility tour.

• Super Bowl XLI in Miami ($30,000) – Two tickets for the Feb. 4 football game.

• Exquisite Maxon’s Riveria Diamond Necklace ($18,000) – White gold with 132 round-cut diamonds totaling 5.24 carats.

• Notre Dame Football Package ($15,000) – Four tickets to sold-out game versus North Carolina on Nov. 4.

• David Letterman/New York City ($10,000) – Two tickets for the live show and three nights at the N.Y. Marriott Marquis.

• Wine Country Package ($6,500) – Four days for two in either Napa Valley or Sonoma Valley wine tours and tastings.

• Dove Hunting Trip to Texas ($6,100) – Four buddies on a private south Texas with personal guide.

• McDaniel Fur Parka ($3,900) – Pearl shearling lamb with fox whipstitch detail.

• Richard Petty NASCAR Driving Experience at Kansas Speedway ($2,500) – Eight laps for two driving in a 600-horsepower race car.

Volunteer auctioneer Nick Sanders of New Horizons Computer Learning Center kept pace with it in an extremely entertaining way. For instance, when Mahaffey signaled $50,000 for the Italian feast, Sanders responded, “We’re separating the men from the boys!” Or when The Signature Bank financial adviser Nadia Cavner increased her bids toward the $30,000 she paid for the Super Bowl package, Sanders said, “It took the pony a little time to come around, but here she comes.”

But it was Mahaffey’s $125,000 in donations that caused wide-eyed chatter, ultimately ending in a standing ovation.

Why would all these people come out and spend such money? I think the answer is twofold.

1. The O’Reilly family behind the organization is highly respected in the community and reciprocates the generosity friends and cohorts offer to BCFO.

2. BCFO keeps its money local. Started by Mary Beth O’Reilly when her 31-year-old friend died of breast cancer, the founders, board members and staff have chosen to help area women with bills while battling the disease. In the last four years, BCFO has distributed $450,000 for housing, utilities, child care and school lunches to women and their families, director Hammock said. It also has spent $7,500 in a mammogram program during the last two years and develops support groups and distributes educational materials.

“It’s just a fine thing to support,” Mahaffey said. “Mary Beth has done a marvelous job with it over the years.”

Eric Olson is Springfield Business Journal editor.