Naperville United Way auction nets $80,000

After more than 400 hours of labor, Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi's carefully crafted "Walk by the River" mosaic column paid off big for the Naperville United Way.

Her creation netted $20,000 in the group's recent auction, the highest bid in the history of the event despite lower than usual totals this year.

"It makes me feel so good something I created could command that kind of a price and on top of it be for a great organization, for something that is going to go back to the community," Pollpeter Eskenazi said.

She said the piece is a loose interpretation of the Riverwalk created from hundreds of handmade tiles with the help of several volunteers.

The column was purchased by David and Shelley Hampton of Window World, who plan to donate it to the city to put on display for a year, according to Susan Fritz, executive director of the Naperville United Way.

Overall, the United Way raised $80,000 from the Sept. 12 auction, falling short of its goal of $100,000. About 250 people attended this year's event, down from about 300 to 350 most years.

Fritz said the struggling economy and the group's upcoming merger with the DuPage United Way may have contributed to the lull. Regardless of the numbers, she said it was a great evening.

"I think it was a really celebratory occasion being the last year Naperville United Way would organize this event," Fritz said. "It was the eighth year, and we went out, we felt, with a bang. It was a wonderful event."

Playing on this year's theme of a Garden Party, an array of colorfully decorated butterfly birdbaths, ladybug houses, dragonfly benches and frog chairs were on the auction block along with several pieces from previous years, including the mosaic column.

The best-selling of the insects was the "Garden Beatles" dragonfly bench painted in honor of the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine." The bench, which was sponsored by Carstar and created by Eddie Nauseda and Christina Houston, netted $6,000.

The evening also included a check presentation from Park National Bank which donated $120,000 to the United Way. The group in turn awarded the bank with its Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award for its leadership throughout the event's history.

The money raised in the auction will go to the DuPage United Way which supports more than 50 agencies. The two United Way groups expect to complete their merger by Oct. 1.