A bottle of homemade red wine from an ex-president of the United States’s personal collection. A fishing fly tied by that same former Angler-in-Chief.Not to mention his and his wife’s baseball signed by their beloved Atlanta Braves’s Cy Young-winning pitchers.
That all just sounds like the contents of the coolest presidential museum ever. In fact, it's a small sampling of the unique items donated by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter for the Plains Presidential Auction 2017, to be held May 20.
A fundraiser for the Plains Better HomeTown Program and the Friends of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site, the auction is the centerpiece of a two-day event that will let folks rub elbows (figuratively, anyway) with the former first couple and the tiny southwest Georgia town that's always been home during their long, remarkable lives.
Among the nearly 50 items being auctioned off, many come directly from the Carters and cover the spectrum from an arrowhead from the former president’s personal collection to the microphone used at the Plains “Welcome Home” rally that greeted them on their return from the White House.
Several are experiences you almost can't put a price on. Such as: Fishing (in President Carter's private pond) and lunch for 10 with him, Rosalynn Carter and Sybil Carter (widow of President Carter's brother Billy); a "personal twilight walking tour" of the Boyhood Farm (now a part of the National Historic Site, it's where President Carter grew up) and dinner for 10 with President and Mrs. Carter; and a tour of the Carter Center in Atlanta, plus a lunch for 10 people that includes the former first couple. Find more information about the live and silent auction and items here.
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Ticket prices for the 7 p.m. auction to be held at the Plains Community Center range from $25 to $100. For those looking for a truly one-of-a-kind experience, however, packages that include hotel lodging, front row seats at the auction and a Friday evening cocktail party/auction preview attended by the Carters are available.
One remaining $2,500 package includes two nights for two people in the Presidential Suite of the Historic Windsor Hotel in nearby Americus and seating next to President and Mrs. Carter during Saturday evening's auction (the other $2,500 package, featuring lodging in the Plains Historic Inn's Presidential Suite, has already been snapped up). A limited number of $2,000 packages that are still available include rooms at those two hotels, seating on the same auction row as the Carters, the Friday cocktail party and a Saturday morning brunch with Mrs. Billy Carter and her children.
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The auction is another in a long line of events the Carters have thrown themselves into to help boost their hometown and its historic sites. Last year, they welcomed colorful celebrity chef Paula Deen to town for a weekend of painting classes and other events that was a fundraiser for the same two nonprofits the auction will benefit. Meanwhile, the 92-year-old Jimmy Carter and his 89-year-old wife are front and center throughout the annual Plains Peanut Festival each fall, handing out awards, signing books, greeting visitors and enthusiastically cheering on the parade from the bunting-draped balcony of the Plains Historic Inn.
And back in February, Carter, a lifelong farmer, leased 10 acres of his land to help solar power much of Plains.
For additional information, including how to order tickets or bid on items even if you can't attend the auctions, visit www.friendsofthejimmycarternationalhistoricsite.org. For reservations, email pbht@sowega.net or friendsofjimmycarter@outlook.com.
Or call Ruth at 229-824-5373 or Kim at 229-928-4825.
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