MANSFIELD — The Friendly House Steak Fry is the kind of fundraiser perfectly in character with the century-old organization.
Held in the fall at Hidden Hollow Camp, folks are greeted warmly as they fill the main dining hall for an evening in support of one of Mansfield’s oldest charities.
Take the live auction of paintings made by kids of all ages at the Friendly House. These simple, unframed canvases were just what you’d expect from a 3rd grader. Charming, cute, colorful … and great for warming up a live auction crowd.
Folks working their way through dinner bid them up gradually, some going for as much as a few hundred dollars.
But Saturday night, something unexpected happened. A small canvas painting of the Friendly House pool became the subject of a bidding war.
Within a minute or two, the bidding moved into the thousands, then the tens of thousands. Diners put down their forks and became spectators. Many were looking at one another trying to figure out exactly what was happening.
Nobody seemed to know what was causing the run which wound up with a $200,000 donation to the Friendly House.
Cassie Mayer and Dr. Ashley Mayer knew, because they and others were bidding up the painting as a way to make a surprise donation to one of Mansfield’s charitable institutions.
“I was amazed. I’ve never sold anything that expensive in 28 years as an auctioneer. I sat down and told my daughter, ‘I don’t think I can sell anything else after that.”
Jim Angeloff, auctioneer
Dr. Mayer and her husband, Steffen Tiskus, worked through the Dr. Green Mom Foundation, where Dr. Mayer is the Founder to coordinate the donation. She is also the founder of Dr. Green Mom and Dr. Green Life, which are, “evidence-based natural health websites that support parents to raise their children in line with the way nature intended.”
Dr. Mayer and her family live in Cave Creek, Arizona and flew in for the steak fry.
A family history at the Friendly House
The common thread for the family has been their involvement with Friendly House since they were very young.
According to longtime Executive Director Terry Conard, Dr. Mayer and her siblings were in daycare, sports, swimming, volunteers and staff members at different times in their lives.
Cassie Mayer serves as one of the vice presidents on the Friendly House Board of directors.
“I worked at the camps, was on the swim team, worked in maintenance, and in the daycare. You name it,” Mayer said. “Friendly House has been a very important part of our lives.”
They’re not the only ones. Friendly House has been a part of Executive Director Terry Conard’s life since he was 6 years old. But even after 55 years around the organization, this was a first for him.
“I had no idea. Not an inkling,” Conard said. “These paintings were made by our pre-schoolers and after-school kids for the auction tonight. I would’ve thought, $50, maybe, but not this!
“I know what it’s like to be a kid and need a place like Friendly House. This donation will help us make sure that every kid who comes to Friendly House will be able to do the things they want to do while they are with us.”
Board President, Joanne Humphrey summed it up.
“He will be very modest about it, but Terry has made a huge impact on many, many kids in our community,” Humphrey said. “There are lots of adults in our community who would say, ‘I would not be where I am today if not for Mr. Terry.’”