Last modified: Monday, March 10, 2008 12:12 AM EDT Rotarians to drop gavels BY JANETTE SEARS FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE ATTLEBORO - When the Attleboro Rotary Club holds its 51st annual charity auction this year, it will leap into the 21st century, according to auction Chairman Richard Conti. The auction make the leap by having items available for bidding online via the Rotary Club's Web site, www.attlebororotary.org, from March 16 to 24. Potential bidders can go to the site, register and bid on any item at any time before it closes from anywhere there is Internet access. The program will keep track of the bids and highlight items when they have been outbid. Having items available for bidding on the Web also opens the auction up to the surrounding area for the first time, giving residents from communities such as North Attleboro, Norton, Mansfield, Rehoboth and Seekonk an opportunity to bid on items. The online bidding will culminate into the traditional televised auction, which this year will be broadcast from 7 to 10 p.m. on the Channel 15 Attleboro Area Cable System, which is located in the Attleboro Area Industrial Museum at 42 Union St. The move to make auction items available via the Internet came about through a frustrated viewer who is not a Rotarian, according to Conti. "The viewer, a close friend of a Rotarian who is an auctioneer, has critiqued the auction annually for years and was challenged by the Rotarian to make it better. Together they developed the format for a new auction software program to put the Rotary auction on the Internet." Recapping the history of the auction, Conti says this leap to offering Internet access continues a progression, which began 51 years ago when the auction was held live in the former Grange Hall on Locust Street, followed in the 1950s when the auction expanded to radio and for a long time became known as the annual radio auction to the 1980s when the shift to cable television became possible and it became known as the annual cable auction. "This should make the Rotary Club look like the professionals they are in 2008 and continue the platform for the next several years," said Conti, who was instrumental in bringing the auction to the internet. "I didn't do it alone," he said. "There was a lot of help from a lot of people, each contributing their special talent and others calling in some big favors. We all work on the auction, all 65 Rotarians, in one way or another. Service above self isn't just a motto of Rotarians. It is a way of thinking and doing," he said. Regardless of the way items are offered for bidding, however, one thing remains the same - the Rotary's Club's commitment to raising money for its local and international causes. Throughout its history, the auction has raised more than a million dollars for local nonprofit organizations, and this year's goal is to net $20,000, with every dollar to be donated to organizations requesting support from the Rotary Club. Janette Sears can be reached by phone or fax at 508-222-0993 or by e-mail at janette@janettesears.com.