By Sarah Leskovec

Since 1992, the NIRSA Foundation has been raising money to support its mission while offering NIRSA Annual Conference and Recreational Sports Exposition attendees engaging activities.

Among the annual events that have become part of the Foundation’s tradition, is the quilt raffle or auction.

The decision regarding which format the event will take is dependent on local laws, rules, and regulations of the host state. In accordance with these considerations, this year the NIRSA Foundation will be holding a silent auction for the 2013 Foundation Quilt.

The quilt is the capstone event for the Foundation’s annual T-shirt competition. This year’s quilt, designed and quilted by Roy Easley, is a display of the winning T-shirts from the 2013 Foundation t-shirt competition entries. The one-of-a-kind quilt will be given to NIRSA 2014’s highest bidder via a silent auction.

Place your bid to take home this quilt at NIRSA 2014.

While at conference, stop by the NIRSA Foundation table to view the quilt and place your bid! Bids can be updated anytime during NIRSA 2014, and the current highest bid will be prominently displayed at the Foundation Table. The auction will close during the Honor Award Banquet, Saturday, April 26, where the winner will be announced. This is a great way to support the future of collegiate recreation and take home a one-of-a-kind quilt!

Won’t be attending the NIRSA Annual Conference and Recreational Sports Exposition this year? Don’t let that stop you from playing your part! Work with your campus recreation colleagues who are attending, and start a collection to bring a piece of NIRSA back to your campus. In previous years the quilt has been purchased by individuals, friendship circles, and universities.

We look forward to your help in making the 2014 Foundation Quilt Silent Auction a true success!

Quilt history

The idea for a quilt originated with Sue Ivie Boling (2009 NIRSA Honor Award Winner), who thought it would be a fun twist to the t-shirt competition; it has been a conference staple ever since. At that time, money generated from the t-shirt and quilt auction was donated to the Special Olympics.

Sue made the first four quilts, and the tradition has continued ever since:

  • Sue Ivie Boling, Virginia Commonwealth University (retired)  1987-1990
  • Paula Opal, Texas A&M University, 1991-2004
  • Jacque Hamilton, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2012
  • Roy Easley, Cal Poly Pomona (retired), 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014

In 1996, Paula Opal was awarded a National Service Award for exceptional service to the Association by spending a significant amount of personal time designing, constructing, and donating quilts for NIRSA’s benefit.
The fabric of the NIRSA Foundation Quilt tradition is rich, and we look forward to seeing how it continues to grow in Nashville and beyond.