FIRE & ICE Fireman Bachelor’s Auction Sept. 25
Tickets are now on sale for the FIRE & ICE Fireman Bachelor’s Auction and After Party.
The fund-raiser will be held Sept. 25 at the Dixie Roadhouse, with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the bachelor auction starting at 7:30 p.m. An after party will follow the event beginning at 9 p.m.
All of the proceeds will benefit Ed Prince, a former Cape Coral Civic Association president and longtime inspector for the city. A husband and father, the Cape resident was diagnosed in March with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, according to a benefit website created for Prince.
In the months leading up to the auction, his family and friends held smaller fund-raisers.
“This is the main one,” Max Dean, the event organizer, said Thursday.
Because of the disease, Prince has had to go on medical leave from his job with the city. Proceeds raised through the events are helping to cover the cost of his medical expenses and other costs.
“He and his wife both have done a lot for the community,” she said.
According to the Mayo Clinic website, plasma cells are a type of white blood cell present in bone marrow. Plasma cells normally make proteins called antibodies to help fight off infections.
In multiple myeloma, a group of plasma cells – or myeloma cells – becomes cancerous and multiplies, raising the number of plasma cells to a higher than normal level. Since the cells normally make proteins or antibodies, the level of abnormal proteins in a patient’s blood also may go up.
It can cause health problems with one’s bones, immune system, kidneys and red blood cell count.
Prince’s cancer has affected all the target areas and, as a result, he suffered kidney failure.
Dean explained that Prince is receiving chemotherapy and dialysis treatments multiple times a week. He is set to return to the doctor at the end of the month to see if they will continue the treatments.
“One of the big things we wanted to get across to everybody with this is not to be afraid to ask for help,” Dean said. “We’re a community – we stick by each other.”
At the upcoming fund-raiser, seven Cape Coral firefighters will be auctioned off live.
“They each come with a date package, so they each have a meal and an activity,” she said.
The activities could range from golf and dance lessons, to a parasailing adventure.
WINK News’ Rachael Rafanelli will be the emcee, and the auctioneer will be Jason De Mink.
“We’re halfway to our goal now,” Dean said. “Our goal was $10,000.”
Organizers are aiming to surpass their goal.
“We’re hoping to at least make $5,000,” she said. “I’m hoping to get 100, 150 (people).”
Advance tickets cost $20 per person and include a bidding paddle, two drink tickets and appetizers; they are available through Sept. 24. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $25 per person.
Admission to only the after party is $10 per person at the door.
Firefighters and police officers get into the after party for free with their badge and ID.
In addition to the live bachelor auction, there will be a silent auction. Some of the items include a Paragon Flight trip, artwork donated by Cape Coral High School students, art by Sarah Constantino, New York Yankee memorabilia and jewelry from the John Michaels Diamond and Jewelry Studio.
“We have a couple of different things,” Dean said.
Other items include gift certificates to local businesses and restaurants, as well as gift baskets like a shopping experience for six to Chico’s and one put together by the New York Tattoo Company.
There will be a wheel that attendees can spin and win and a “wine pool.”
“We’re going to have about 100 bottles of wine,” she said.
Dean added that there will be some surprises revealed at the event.
There will be a fire bar with Fire Eater liqueur and an ice bar with an ice luge serving up shots.
The Pink Heals fire truck will be on site.
“It’s just a fun event for a great cause,” she said.
Donations for the silent auction are still being accepted. To donate, call (239) 313-3060.
Those who cannot attend the auction but still want to make a donation to the Prince family can do so through any BB&T Bank branch by using the Paul or Ed Prince account – No. 243275172.
People can also donate online at: www.youcaring.com by searching for “Ed Prince.”
For more information, visit the benefit website online at: www.facebook.com/edprincebenefits.
Dixie Roadhouse is at 1023 S.E. 47th Terrace in downtown Cape Coral.