Raccoon Valley Radio’s Nate Gonner and the table of pies; photo by Joe Cerwinske

Yesterday the Perry Chamber of Commerce held their annual Live Pie Auction on KDLS, and when all was said and done they had sold eight pies and raised $3,450 for the fireworks fundraiser.

This was the second pie auction of the week, and it brought in more money than the first. Tuesday during the Chamber Awards Dinner, they sold 10 pies for a total of $2,715. All of the money raised during the auctions and throughout the day yesterday will go towards the fireworks display for Perry’s annual Fourth of July celebration. Chamber Director Bob Wilson is hoping to raise around $15,000 this year, and says if people want a great show, they have to be willing to support it.

Wilson says he always loves the pie auction, and it never ceases to amaze him that it actually works. “I think if you look at it from outside, it is an absurd idea. I mean, auctioning pies on the radio, using text messages, using phone calls, (Instant Messages), however else we did it, it just doesn’t seem to work. But it really does! I mean, the people come out. And that comes back to people love the fireworks, they love the Fourth of July.”

Fundraising will continue through next week as the Perry Hy-Vee and Fareway are conducting “Round-up” events until April 22nd. Whenever shoppers are checking out, they’ll have the opportunity to round up their amount to the nearest dollar, with the remainder donated to the fireworks drive. To hear more about the latest activities of the Perry Chamber of Commerce, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.

Tom Burkgren, Shawn Kenney, Chris Cohea, and Bob Wilson auction a pie live on the air; photo by Joe Cerwinske