Folks are chowing down on pizza, hoagies, salads, minestrone and dinner rolls in one of LaRosa's busiest pizzerias in town.
It's not just any LaRosa's location. The food here is free, and so is the labor, for 10 days every April.
This two-oven LaRosa's kitchen is tucked inside WCET-TV's Studio B, a special treat for 3,000 community volunteers who make Channel 48's annual Action Auction the most successful Tristate charity event.
"There are some PBS stations who have bologna sandwiches one night during their auctions, and McDonald's cheeseburgers the next night. We're lucky to have such a wonderful donor in LaRosa's," says Cathy Schad, Channel 48's full-time auction manager.
"We talk about what draws people to volunteer here, and I think one big reason is that they know they're getting free LaRosa's pizza."
The fresh-baked pizza aroma permeates Channel 48's Central Parkway studio and offices every April, when the sedate public TV station is transformed into a bustling commerce center, Cincinnati's original home shopping show.
More than 8,000 items -- everything from computer software to concrete service -- are collected, computerized, stockpiled, sold and dispensed every year.
"It's like a miniature business set up to operate for only 10 days a year," says Patrick Korosec, an accountant who is this year's volunteer chairman.
By its close at midnight Saturday, Auction receipts should total nearly $1 million, an amount reached seven of the past nine years.
Action Auction provides one-sixth (or 16 percent) of Channel 48's annual budget. Think of it this way: The 10-day marathon pays for 10 minutes of every hour of programming.
"It's not only become a revenue-generator for the station, but after 31 years, the Action Auction also has become a community institution," Ms. Schad says. More than 9,200 Tristate residents purchase merchandise donated by about 5,000 businesses or people. subhed: Behind the scenes rbody:
Action Auction viewers only catch a glimpse of the total operation during live telecasts 3 p.m.-midnight weekdays, and noon-midnight on weekends.
Cameras often pan huge Studio A to show the set-up people at the five auction boards, bid runners, camera operators, volunteer trainers, and 48 telephone answerers from various companies, civic clubs, suburbs or schools.
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Auction numbers
A look at WCET-TV's 31st Action Auction by the numbers:
3 -- Rank by size of Cincinnati's Auction among all PBS stations, behind Boston's WGBH-TV and Milwaukee's WMVS-TV.
16 -- Percentage of Channel 48's operating budget generated by the 10-day Auction.
720 -- Auctioneers seen on camera.
1,000 -- Free LaRosa's pizzas consumed in Studio B.
3,000 -- Total volunteers who do everything from answer phones to operate TV cameras.
8,000 -- Estimated number of items to be sold.
19,000 -- Hours donated by 3,000 volunteers.
31,000 -- Dollars raised in first two-day Auction in 1968.
875,000 -- Dollars expected to be raised in 10 days this year.
651-4848 -- Phone number to place bids through Saturday.
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But viewers usually don't see:
A dozen people on phones beneath the studio bleachers calling bidders to confirm their offers.
Volunteers sitting at hallway tables writing descriptions of items to be read by one of 72 volunteer auctioneers per day.
Five folks at tables behind the auction board making more than 15,000 hand-written signs naming each item, value and opening bid.
Former Auction Chair Alice Sparks, hidden away in a tiny office, keeping track of each item by printing its name and number on a 3/8-inch magnetic strip. While most TV stations have a huge magnetic wall calendar for prime-time programs, her office walls are adorned with a 10-day calendar filled with 8,000 little labels. She's the one who assembles each eight-item board, sometimes grouping together items for women (wedding flowers, handmade veil, cooking video, spa visit) or men (Harley-Davidson gift certificate, baseball cards, golf bag).
Channel 48's two-story prop room, where Karen Barrick supervises another 65 volunteers in the make-shift warehouse. For 20 years, Mrs. Barrick has taken an unpaid leave from her Cincinnati Public Schools security job to make sure bidders get what they asked for. "I just love it here, or I wouldn't be doing it. I love the programs on Channel 48, and appreciate what they do. And I love the people," Mrs. Barrick says.
Her two sons, 28 and 23, who grew up watching Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, come in at 10 p.m. and help mom lock up shop by 2 a.m. They're part of a new generation of volunteers. "We're seeing a generational shift, as younger people come into the auction," says W. Wayne Godwin, Channel 48 general manager. Last year's chair was Betsy Neyer, 28, sister of Hamilton County Commissioner Tom Neyer. She drafted Mr. Korosec, 31, to run this year's show.
"You have to get new people flowing into this thing, because older people are moving on," says Mr. Korosec, marketing director for Jackson, Rolfes, Spurgeon and Co., Forest Park.
"This station is ever-reaching into the community, and it's ageless. I'm surprised at the number of people I meet that are already donating things to the Auction," he says.
Small beginnings
It wasn't this way in the beginning. The first two-day Action Auction in 1968, which raised $31,000, "was the Hyde Park-Junior League crowd," says Barbara Kellar, who has worked at all 31 auctions. "Now it's really everybody," Mrs. Kellar says. "No one cares what you do or where you live. We're really one big family."
The Auction started as an act of desperation in 1968, when Cincinnati Public Schools threatened to close the station after a tax levy failure. Faced with losing its biggest revenue source, Channel 48's board decided to raise funds through the merchandise telethon and selling memberships, two crucial cornerstones for the station today.
"The Auction gives the station a sense of autonomy from any one funding source -- federal, state or whatever," Mr. Godwin explains. Some PBS stations have abandoned auctions for other fund-raising ventures, though Channel 48 managers have never considered dropping it here.
"The staff and community have embraced this so much, so there is no reason I can think of not to do the Auction," Mr. Godwin says. How else could Channel 48 touch 17,000 Tristate people or businesses -- not to mention thousands who watch, but don't buy?
Local companies, some too small to afford TV advertising, can get a few minutes of TV exposure by donating items which Channel 48 quickly converts into cash.
"It's a win-win situation," Ms. Schad says.
Cincinnati Reds tickets, gift certificates to local restaurants and Kroger's, stock portfolios and vacation packages are the most popular items, Ms. Schad says.
Though the telecast is fun and festive, auction veterans politely advise newcomers not to get carried away on camera.
"Our viewers don't want to see clowning around on the air," Mrs. Kellar says. "They just want to bid and buy. They want to see the stuff, and bid on it, the faster the better."
Each January, Ms. Schad's volunteer army begins calling Tristate firms seeking contributions. (Arrangements for big-ticket items, such as the new homes in Maineville and Richwood, start in summer.) At the top of the list is LaRosa's, which estimates its annual Auction contribution at $30,000. The Cincinnati-based chain has become such a tradition that it keeps two pizza ovens stored year-round at the station. Ten LaRosa's store or corporate employees staff the Channel 48 commissary 4:30-9:30 p.m. daily.
"Buddy (founder Buddy LaRosa) committed to this years ago, because it's such a good cause," says Kevin Burrill, vice president for franchising.
"We're proud to be the only food supplier for the Auction. They do a great job of promoting us. And the people are extremely appreciative." And very hungry. But it's hard to ignore the pizza smell wafting through the halls.
"Getting people to volunteer has been easy," Mr. Korosec says. "It's such a fun thing, and easy to do. People get on TV, and get free LaRosa's pizza. What more can they want?"
John Kiesewetter is Enquirer TV/radio critic. Write him at 312 Elm St., Cincinnati, 45202.
