PHILIP, S.D. – Following a home explosion last week that took the lives of three family members including Bill and LaDonna Hupp and their six-month old granddaughter Harper, and severely injured grandsons 5-year-old Myles and 3-year-old Royce, the collective community of family, friends and supporters have surrounded parents Kelsey and Trevor Hupp, Ft. Pierre, with emotional and financial support.
A free-will lunch, and a benefit silent and live auction is set for Saturday, June 10 at Philip Livestock Auction where organizers hope to see a full house of bidders, says Miranda Radway, Philip. The lunch and silent auction begin at 11:00a.m. At 1:45p.m., the silent auction will close. The live auction gets underway at 2:00p.m.
“We were collecting clothing items for the family when people started to message asking if there would be an auction and offering items,” said Radway. “The offers just kept coming in so we decided to have an auction. That’s how the effort began.”
People from communities across the region are pooling their resources to assist with the benefit. The Hupp/Richter (Kelsey is part of the Richter family from Quinn, SD.) families are well known for their involvement in agriculture and rodeo. Response to requests for items has been good, says Radway. A soft deadline for donations (or notifying of intent to donate) is Wednesday, June 7th. There are multiple drop/off and pickup locations across the state and people can also bring items on the day of the benefit.
“Our deadline for silent auction donations is a loose one and we will definitely take donations after that but we wanted to give people a time-frame in which to respond while also giving us an opportunity to post the items.”
To donate, contact Miranda Radway, 605-210-0941, J’nai Fitch, 406-852-3937 or Andrea Aaberg, 605-441-1826 or message through the Hupp Family Benefit event page on Facebook.
Among volunteers are auctioneers and clerks including Wyatt Schaack, Wall, S.D., and Harper Auctions, Jade and Katie Harper, Faith, S.D. Use of the auction market facility is also donated as is the food and preparation for the free-will lunch. A complete list of auction items will be posted Friday, June 9 on the Facebook event page.
“Now we have 70-plus items including an African Safari, other hunting and fishing trips, livestock panels, hay; things that would be of interest to this region,” said Radway. She added, “There is a good variety whether you want to spend $50 or thousands of dollars.”
The Hupp Family Benefit Auction at Philip Livestock Auction that gets underway at 11a.m., coincides with the 17th Annual Philip Invitational Match Bronc Ride also on Saturday, June 10 beginning at 7:30p.m and the Annual Philip Ranch Rodeo on Sunday, June 11, at 2:00p.m.
Along with the benefit, Radway says, “We’re hoping for the best possible outcome on Saturday.”
