The Society of Explosives Engineers Education Foundation is seeking donations of unique items for the annual auction to be held during ISEE’s 43rd Annual Conference on Explosives & Blasting Technique in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 29 – Feb. 1, 2017. We hope you will be able to help.

This auction is a great opportunity to showcase your company name at the conference and help the foundation raise money for the ISEE Scholarship Fund. Since the foundation’s inception, over 500 scholarships valued at more than $500,000 have been awarded.

There are endless possibilities for donations, such as trips, gourmet food, collectibles and antiques (especially explosives related), recreational items, weekend getaway packages, artwork, and regional items, for example:

• Time share/Boat-share – Do you or someone you know have a timeshare or boat share that might be willing to donate?
• Wine or winery tours/packages – Do you have a favorite local winery?  Could you put together a wine basket with a bottle (or 3 or 4) and some wine glasses, cheese, crackers, etc.?
• Airline tickets – Do you have an abundance of frequent flier miles you haven’t used?  Could you cash them in for a pair of round trip tickets to donate?
• Craft beer – Could you package up a few selections of your favorites to introduce beer-a-philes to some new craft beer options?
• Tickets – Are you a season-ticket holder?  Are you willing to give up a game?  
• Sports items – Do you have access to, or know someone else, sports memorabilia? Or unique, one-of-a-kind, or autographed sports items?  
• More sports – Do you have a country club membership?  Could you offer a round of golf, (company branded) golf balls, cart, caddy fees and meal golf package?  How about a condo in a popular ski resort like Vail, Whistler, Snoqualmie?  

Unique, special or otherwise nice additions – Want to make someone’s conference experience extra special?  How about arranging limousine service to/from the airport to the conference hotel? Theme park tickets, dinner packages to an exclusive restaurant or behind-the-scenes tour of a local attraction or place of interest.  

The foundation is tax-exempt in the U.S., and your contribution can be claimed as a charitable contribution at fair market value. The donor will be recognized, with the item donated, at the conference and in the Journal of Explosives Engineering magazine. 

To make the auction process flow as smoothly as possible, we need your commitment to donate your item(s) by no later than Dec. 30, 2016.  We will also need the following information for each donation:

• Company mailing address, contact person, telephone number, and e-mail address 
• Brief description of each item donated
• Photo of the item 
• Value of the item (including your shipping charges)
• Suggested minimum bid

ISEE will be collecting the above information and posting your contributions on the ISEE website. Contact Patrick Lang at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (440) 349-4400 with your photos and donation information.  

Thank you in advance for your support. This is a great cause and a chance to give something back to our industry.