Portland State athletic department officials had a problem when they went to critique this year's Wine and Roses athletic fund raising scholarship event, held once again at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike Campus in February.
         
It was hard to find something to critique.
        
They liked just about everything about the 2011 version of Wine and Roses, the largest single event for raising scholarship funds for the school's student athletes.
      
This year Wine and Roses:
    •    Sold out (330 people) nearly three weeks in advance—the earliest ever.
    •    Raised $180,000 on the evening, the most for the event since it has been at the Tiger Woods Center.
    •    Added an acclaimed performance by well known Portland jazz pianist Michael Allen Harrison.
    •    And, just about everyone went away talking about how much fun they'd had.
     
“I had comments that night and even weeks later saying it was the best auction we'd had,” said Scott Boyd, director of donor relations and special events, who chaired the 11-person committee responsible for this year's event and who said he “couldn't say enough about our name sponsor, Burns Brothers”.
      
He was also quick to credit committee members Michael Liska, Denny Ferguson, Rich Correa, John Leineweber, Jessi Even, Darlene Brady, Kenny Dow, Zack Wallace and Torre Chisholm for the planning, and the Nike staff and 120 PSU student-athletes who assisted with the evening, for creating an event that exceeded expectations.
     
“It was organized better this year and the committee gets a lot of credit for that,” he said.
     
Besides the musical interlude from Harrison, they figured out how to create more space to better display silent auction items and brought in an exceptional list of 13 oral auction items, “just the right number to keep interest high,” according to Boyd (“We also sent out a preview so people knew the big ticket items when they walked through the door.”).
     
Another popular addition this year was a video the university is using documenting the hectic life of a collegiate student athlete, a fast moving view of the daily life of women's basketball junior guard Erin Jones, this year's Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player and member of All-Big Sky tournament and academic teams during her time at PSU.
     
It emphasizes the responsibility and commitment of being a student-athlete, how they have to budget their time and their typical 12-hour day as an athlete and student.  As a student-athlete representative, Jones also thanked attendees on behalf of the more than 300 PSU student-athletes.
    
Some new live auction items this year proved particularly popular, according to Associate Athletic Director for Development Zack Wallace.
     
He pointed to a Hawaiian trip arranged by the volleyball team, travel with the Viking football team and a murder mystery dinner with PSU President  Wim Wiewel and his wife Alice, provided by Alan Cabelly and Jeanna Benevento.  It was sold individually to five couples.
      
And, Boyd, Wallace and Athletic Director Torre Chisholm felt the auction reflected the easing of the deep recession which has battered the US for the last couple of years.
      
Boyd thought the early sellout and record amount raised on the day of the event indicated people were feeling better about the economy.
     
“We definitely felt the uptick from the recession, although we've found individuals and companies are still wary.  But, we saw items we've sold in the past going for more this year,” said Wallace.
     
Chisholm agreed.  “Our best year economically was right before the recession hit, but I've been pleased with the staying power of this event.  It's held people's interest and has been a strong event right through the downturn,” he said.
    
Auctions are fund-raising staples, particularly among FCS schools, Chisholm added.
    
“Their strength isn't just the fund raising.  It's a great social event that also gives us a chance to meet and talk with new prospective supporters…and it gives us a chance to get donations from people who may not be ready yet to become a direct Viking booster,” he said.
     
Wallace thinks that Viking athletic teams' overall success along with the athletic department's "Our Town, Your Team" promotion has helped keep the PSU teams' visibility high.
     
“We've had individual team successes (women's volleyball and basketball, softball, golf and individual successes in track and field) and I think there's a sense that our football and men's basketball teams are heading in the right direction.  I also think the $30 million remodeling of our football venue downtown has caught people's eye and they're excited about seeing us play there next season,” he said. 
    
As to next year, Wallace said he's already pointing in that direction.
    
“Michael Allen Harrison came up after the auction and said he'd had fun and would like to come back next year,” said Wallace, who added that he'll soon begin talking with Nike about using the Tiger Woods Center again.
      
“There's a lot of competition for that venue, but it has a lot of advantages for us and we'd like to keep it there,” he said.
      
To reach Chisholm's goal of raising $250,000 they'll eventually have to figure out a way to involve more participants, perhaps changing the date and making it an indoor-outdoor event, Wallace said.
     
But for the time being, PSU's Wine and Roses athletic scholarship raising event is considered a huge success.  And, it's bringing smiles to a lot of faces in the Viking athletics department.