Local restaurateur supports area nonprofits by moonlighting as auctioneer
Published 7:49 am Wednesday, February 28, 2018
- Dan McCrery, a volunteer auctioneer is pictured here. McCrery will once again offer his services at the Winner Circle Auctioneer on Saturday, March 3. (Submitted photo)
BENTON TOWNSHIP — Those who know Dan McCrery might know him as the general manager of Tosi’s Italian Restaurant, but he is also the voice that has helped raise millions of dollars as an auctioneer for local nonprofit organizations.
Since 2014, McCrery has helped raise $375,000 for student scholarships as LMC’s Winner’s Circle auctioneer. He is volunteering again at the Winner’s Circle Benefit Auction, which starts at 9 p.m. Saturday, March 3.
Among the items being auctioned off is a tiny house that was created by LMC staff and students. Bids for the tiny house should be submitted electronically at lakemichigancollege.edu/auction.
Lake Michigan College’s Winner’s Circle Benefit Auction has raised more than $4 million for student scholarships.
McCrery began volunteering as an auctioneer in 2009, and since then he has worked some of the community’s largest fundraisers, including the Curious Kids’ Museum event, the Humane Society’s Bids for Barks Charity Auction, the Lake Michigan College Winner’s Circle Scholarship Auction, Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra’s “Dancing with the Stars,” and the Little Black Dress fundraiser for breast cancer.
McCrery began his hospitality career as a teenager washing dishes at Tosi’s, but he says he has always been fascinated by auctioneering.
“Auctioneers talk at this speed that gives an audience a sense of urgency to bid on items,” he said. “They have an ability to get people to bid on items they had no intention of buying. I’m a fast talker already — so I taught myself to be an auctioneer.”
The cost to hire an auctioneer can be as much as $5,000, but because McCrery believes in the work of the nonprofits he supports, he provides this service for free.
“An auction fundraiser has to be fast-paced, high-energy and fun — and Dan definitely delivers,” said Mary Klemm, executive director of the Lake Michigan College Foundation. “Sure, we save money by not having to hire someone, but it’s Dan’s passion for using his skill and talent to give back to our community that inspires people and adds more meaning to the whole experience.”
To learn more, visit lakemichigancollege.edu/auction or call (269) 927-6849.
