New hope for bachelor auction

Dec. 26, 2006

By Michael Rovito

Frontiersman

TALKEETNA - The famed Wilderness Woman and Bachelor Auction event in Talkeetna should be around at least for a few more years now that local resident Loudon Wilson has agreed to take the reins.

Wilson, a carpenter and drywall contractor who came to Alaska 12 years ago, said he is taking over mostly because of the event's fund-raising

abilities.

The opportunity for the event to change hands came after longtime organizers DX Russell and Pam Rannals decided to call it quits following this year's event.

Both promoters said that, with the abundance of permits and other requirements that have piled on over the years, they just don't have the time to commit anymore.

For Wilson, who is on Talkeetna's community council, the next few years will be spent organizing the event so it can be smoothly passed on to someone else.

&#8220I don't want this to die,” Wilson said.

And neither do the event's founders. In a recent phone interview, Russell said she is delighted Wilson stepped in, but she expects at least one thing from him.

&#8220I expect him to keep it going for a number of years,” Russell said. &#8220It needs new life, it needs a new outlook.”

But fans of the festivities shouldn't expect big changes, Wilson said, adding that the active fund-raiser quality of the event is something he wants to preserve.

The Bachelor's Auction and Wilderness Woman events typically benefit the Denali Arts Council, KTNA Community Radio and the Sunshine Community Health Center, among other local organizations.

Beyond the fund-raising opportunities of Wilson's new project, the yearly event is just plain fun, Wilson said.

&#8220It's men on the runway and women on the field,” he said, citing the irony of reversing what many consider normal roles for men and women.

Fellow former organizer Rannals said recently. that she doesn't want to see the event get too big, but would like to have better prizes for the Wilderness Woman winners.

&#8220Maybe airline tickets to warmer climates,” Rannals said.

&#8220But, we can't promise anything.”

Years ago, she said, winners were awarded round-trip tickets to London.

Wilson likely won't be alone in running the events, and will seek help from friends he thinks could lend something more to the directorship.

One of those &#8220cabinet members,” as Wilson called them, is Maureen McLaughlin, a National Park Service employee who often handles public relations during mountaineering search and rescues and other incidents.

Wilson said he tapped McLaughlin because of her job, hoping some of her skills will apply to the festivities.

&#8220It's something I have experience with,” McLaughlin said.

She may need that expertise when dealing with the press and other media outlets as the Bachelor Auction and Wilderness Woman contest attracts more and more crowds, participants and major news or television outlets.

It's been happening for years, Wilson said, naming People Magazine, NPR Radio and other programs that have featured the event.

&#8220It seems like every other year a fairly major film entity or journalistic entity comes,” he said.

The Bachelor Auction and Wilderness Woman contest typically take place the first weekend in December.

Contact Michael Rovito at 352-2252 or michael.rovito@frontiersman.com.