By Bonnie Culverhouse
It’s a Minden tradition – the most popular and successful fund-raiser in the area as well as the United States per capita. The 2024 Minden St. Jude Auction, broadcast from Minden Civic Center, will run from February 8 through February 11, and everyone can be a part of finding cures and saving lives.
Webster Parish Journal will be bringing you stories, features and schedules every week leading up to the auction benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Not only will our readers find information at www.websterparishjournal.com, it will also be on the auction website.
Auction coordinators are asking for help. If you have a group (work, church, community, etc.) interested in working the phone bank together during the auction, please email stjudephones@gmail.com .
They are also seeking sponsors. Forms can be found on the auction website: mindenstjude.com .
According to the website, the Minden St. Jude Auction began more than four decades ago in a little local radio station in Minden, Louisiana. Today it has grown to become a four-day event that takes place annually on Super Bowl weekend. Opportunities to win high end electronics, services ranging from landscaping to granite counter tops, an RV, side-by-side, trips, jewelry, guns, and a Grand Prize with the choice of $50,000 or a 2023 GMC Yukon are just a few of the incredible items available to take chances on.
Raffles are held each day and hundreds of items are auctioned live as well. An auction board involves four items that you may call in (318-377-1100) and place bids on to win. Although you cannot bid on boards on the website, you can join the fun by watching the live feed and calling in by phone, 318-377-1100.
Raffle tickets can be purchased in advance through the auction website before an upcoming auction. They are also available through phone lines at 318-377-1100 beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday and running through the weekend until all prizes are gone except the Grand Prize, which will be given away at the end of the auction Sunday night. A schedule of the planned drawings will be posted each day of the auction on this website, as well as a list of raffle winners that is updated as raffles are drawn.
Tune in to the live stream at mindenstjude.com, where you can see the raffle items, purchase chances and obtain a schedule for the weekend’s festivities. The event will also broadcast live via KASO radio 1240 AM and Suddenlink cable channel 11.
On-Air/Livestream Broadcast Schedule:
Thursday – 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday – 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Saturday – 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday – 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Food purchased at the St. Jude Auction is donated and cooked by some of the best “chefs” in the area. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will benefit from every meal you purchase, whether you eat at Minden Civic Center – site of the auction – or take it to-go.
Thursday, February 9
11 a.m. – $10 Jambalaya Plates – provided by Randy Stevenson and Matt Wimberly
5 p.m. – $12 Pork Chop Plates – provided by Hugh Wood and Alex Collins
Friday February 10
7 a.m. – $5 Pancake Breakfast – provided by Minden Medical Center
11 a.m. – $12 Brisket Plates with beans, chips, and dessert – provided by Schuyler Marvin and the D.A.’s Office
5 p.m. – $10 Gumbo – provided by Jesse Waller
Saturday February 11
11 a.m. – $10 Fajitas – provided by Calvary Baptist Church
4:30 p.m. – $12 Fried Fish Plates – (drive thru pick-up OR inside pick-up / dine-in) provided by Gary Brown and the Alley Cats
Sunday February 12
11 a.m. – $15 Hamburger Steak Plates – provided by Jimmy Hall
5 p.m. – $10 Hamburgers – provided by Pleasant Valley Methodist Church