Marlon Vickerman, Features Writer

All roads lead to the Jamaica Pegasus hotel tomorrow for the fourth annual staging of the Salvation Army Eastern Jamaica Division's annual fund-raising dinner.

Monica Ladd, a member of the advisory board for the Salvation Army Jamaica Eastern Division, said the main highlight of the evening will be the Salvation Army silent auction. Yes, that's right, a silent auction, so leave your amplifiers at home, a pen and a credit card will do just fine.

"We termed the event a silent auction because that's what it is, there won't be any shouting or confusion, bidders will simply be required to write their bidding amount on a piece of paper," she noted. "They are given a set time in which to do so after which the person with the highest written bid automatically gets the product."

Ladd said that tickets to the event have already been sold out.

She noted that the proceeds from last year's event went towards fuelling the operation of the Salvation Army's Eastern Division and the aim is to continue on that path this year.

USES FOR FUNDS

She said that the funds from last year's event were directed to operations such as welfare assistance and feeding programmes, educational sponsorship for inner-city youths, disaster relief funding and the funding of Salvation Army institutions such as School for the Blind and Nest Children's Home among others.

Items to be sold at the auction include a flat-screen television (donated by MegaMart), high-end cellular phones, including a Blackberry (donated by Digicel), and stays at hotels including Jakes, Coyaba, Half Moon, Breezes, Sandals, Couples Negril, Couples Swept Away, Jamaica Inn, Round Hill and the Ritz-Carlton. There will also be airline tickets from American Airlines and Delta Airlines.

The guest speaker will be the Hon. Nick Perry, a prominent member of the New York State Legislature and an old boy of Kingston College. Master of ceremonies will be the Hon. Mike Fennell, O.J.