HVA auction nets record $205K for the environment

MORRIS — Sen. Richard Blumenthal made a big announcement at the 34th annual Housatonic Valley Association’s (HVA) Auction for the Environment, held Sunday, Nov. 19, at South Farms.

“I am again selling myself,” he told the sold-out crowd in a tongue-in-cheek nod to his annual donated auction item: a chance for a group of four to eight to join him on Capitol Hill, starting with breakfast in the Senate dining room, where the elite meet, followed by a visit to the floor of the Senate and a tour of the Capitol.

“It’s on me, it’s not on the taxpayers,” he deadpanned, eliciting laughter from the crowd of about 130 supporters of the environment who turned out en masse in support of HVA’s climate-ready mission to restore and protect clean, cold waters and a sweeping woodland corridor across the entire Housatonic Valley.

Blumenthal’s donation drew seven competitive bidders egged on by spirited auctioneer Sherry Truhlar. In increments of $2,000 per bid, the senator “sold” for $14,000. 

“Fourteen thousand dollars in a few seconds is not bad,” noted Lynn Werner, HVA’s executive director, who later estimated that this year’s auction netted a record $205,000.

Actress Christine Baranski, who returned as the auction’s host, credited Werner, the HVA board and staff for working “not just for years, but for decades to anticipate the challenges ahead.”

In her welcoming remarks, Baranski, a longtime resident of Litchfield County, referred to those in attendance as “a community with a shared sense of value” in safeguarding the region’s natural resources. 

The Emmy Award-winning actress, known for her razor-sharp wit, launched the live auction by announcing to the crowd: “Open your hearts, but also open your pocketbooks, all right? Let’s get on with it.”

Scoping out the goods

Shortly before the live auction, HVA board member Thomas Potter of Richmond, Massachusetts, HVA’s board member representing Berkshire County, and Dan Mathieu, perused the auction items. 

Potter and Mathieu were the highest bidders last year for a wine trip to Burgundy and were considering the possibility of bidding on the auction item again this year.

Nearby, Louise van Tartwijk, formerly of Litchfield County and currently residing in Florida, said she returned to Connecticut specifically to attend the auction and to visit with her friend Baranski.

“Preservation of land and water here is what makes this part of Connecticut so special,” she noted. “But it takes work, and a lot of people don’t realize that.”

This year, Elyse Harney Morris of Salisbury served as co-chair of the auction committee. Numerous committee members and staff were also on hand to assist during the event.

Jack Baker of Warren, co-owner of Litchfield Distillery, had donated spirits for the evening at the open bar, and miniature bottles of bourbon graced the table settings. “I’ve been to every auction since they started,” noted Baker. 

Tony Zunino, HVA board president, noted that over the summer, the agency’s board and staff worked together building a strategic plan for the next five to seven years. The goal, he said, is to protect another 50,000 acres of connected core forest, and to meet the climate change challenge of another 250 miles of rivers and streams restored to the point that they will stay cool, clean and connected.

“It is really the people in this room that provide the strength for HVA’s mission, and I don’t just mean financially,” said Zunino. “It is the strength you bring through your care and love of our watershed.”

Reflecting on the evening, “It was a huge win for the environment and everybody at HVA is so grateful for all who came,” said Werner, including those who gave of their time, donations and services to make the event a “joyful” one.