Portland, March 1st, 2014. More than 950 attended the 30th Annual Classic Wines Auction and that was a new record. At the event, Greg Goodwin, CEO of Kuni Automotive, handed the keys to the BMW i8 to winner Linda Dahl as guests help celebrate the bidding action. The gala at the Oregon Convention Center raised a record $3.4 million to support youth and families in five different charities in Portland and Southwest Washington.
This year’s partner charities include Metropolitan Family Service, New Avenues for Youth, Friends of the Children-Portland, YWCA Clark County and Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel.
A wide range of packages, vintage wines and international excursions were auctioned off during the course of the night. The highlight of the auction and the evening was the new BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. Two bidders in Portland each paid $240,000 for cars for a total of $480,000. Donated by presenting sponsors, Kuni Automotive and Kuni BMW, they are the first BMW i8s to be sold in the Pacific Northwest and two of only 900 that will be sold in the U.S. this year.
In 2013, the event raised $2.9 million. Established in 1984, the auction has raised more than $33 million and assisted over 700,000 children and families.