The Uintah Conference Center was packed Monday night for the 19th annual Trees for Charity auction gala. It was a record breaking year with 450 tickets sold for the dinner and event. The grand total for the 40 trees auctioned off for local charities was $194,000 dollars and that isn’t counting the additional donations and silent auction items yet to be tallied. Half the trees went for $4,000 dollars or more and many were auctioned multiple times. The tree to benefit 4-year-old Jade Cooper of Vernal, who was recently diagnosed with Leukemia, was bid on three times for a combined donation of $11,200 dollars. A tree benefitting 20-year-old Karleigh Martin who is battling ovarian cancer took in a total of $12,300 dollars in donations. The tree to benefit Angie Earl, a mother of four diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer this year, took in the most donations with 7 generous bidders giving a combined donation total of $31,100 dollars. “This has been such an amazing year,” shares Trees for Charity Chairman Josh Harbison. “We have an amazing community that, even when things are tough, come out and help families that really need it.” The grand total of donations gathered will be announced by Friday. Photo credit: Trees for Charity Facebook page
