Poudre River gold mined by 'Gold Rush' miner Freddy Dodge gets pulled from FFA fundraiser
The rush to buy 2 half-ounces of Poudre River gold for a fundraiser is over, likely costing Poudre High School's Future Farmers of America organization an influx of several thousand dollars.
Fort Collins auctioneer Bill Seaworth was set to offer up the rare gold mined by Freddy Dodge, the Colorado gold miner made famous by Discovery Channel's "Gold Rush," at Friday's Future Farmers of America annual Oyster Fry and Auction fundraiser.
But Thursday, Seaworth pulled the certified gold and a lunch for two with Dodge at LongHorn Steakhouse in Fort Collins because of a dispute with the school.
"Now people are going to be pissed because there is no gold to be sold, and it's not my fault," he said.
Poudre School District sent an email response to Coloradoan questions regarding the issue, saying it was going in a different direction regarding the volunteer auctioneer in part "due to concerns about a possible conflict of interest.''
Seaworth said two area businesses each offered to pay Poudre High School $840 for a half-ounce of the gold. Then the school was to pay Dodge the $1,680 to offset the price of the gold that Seaworth said Dodge was willing to sell at wholesale price. The club would then get the money from the gold's highest bidders in the auction.
Seaworth said this is called underwriting, and in his auctioneer experience, he has done it regularly on high-ticket items. The idea is if the businesses donate money to the school instead of paying Dodge directly, their donations could be tax deductible.
Seaworth told the Coloradoan he had one starting bid at $1,300 and another for up to $1,000 for each half ounce. A bid for lunch with Dodge was already at $1,000, he said. He estimated the gold and lunch would likely have generated more than $3,600 for the organization.
Seaworth said he tried to explain to school officials they wouldn't be out any money under his plan. During the explanation, he said, he was told he would not be the auctioneer for the event, at which point he pulled the gold and lunch off the auction list.
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PSD's response read in part: "Poudre High School was told it would receive cash donations from local businesses, with the expectation that the school would use those donated funds to buy gold to be auctioned at the event. Once funds are donated to a school or district, PSD treats those as taxpayer dollars.
"It is not PSD’s practice, nor do we believe it is reasonable, for the district to spend taxpayer dollars on auction items such as precious metals. The funds promised for the purchase of the gold would NOT have gone to the PHS FFA program directly. Therefore, Poudre High School declined the offer and will not make any such purchase. Historically, generous donors give items to schools for auctions without an expectation of payment.''
Seaworth denied any conflict of interest and said he and Dodge were not going to make money off the gold or lunch.
"All I was trying to do was make as much money for the kids as I could," he said. "The only ones who get hurt in this is the kids because now they are out several thousand dollars.''
The school district email said the event has drawn roughly 1,200 people.
The oyster fry and auction starts at 5 p.m. Friday at Poudre High School. Tickets are $10 for the event and meal and can be purchased at the door. Though the gold is no longer available, other items will be auctioned off and the proceeds will go toward FFA field trips, competitions and educational displays.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Poudre River gold mined by Freddy Dodge pulled from school fundraiser
