GHA Auction to offer a land raffle
This cabin is part of the 22-acre land package near East Canton that is being raffled off now and will be drawn at the upcoming Gospel Haven Academy Auction on May 2.
Gospel Haven Academy has designed a new approach to its fundraising effort for this year’s 24th annual GHA Auction on Friday, May 2.
Last year in its most unique item ever auctioned, the academy purchased and sold via raffle 50 acres of land near Caldwell, Ohio that helped push its annual auction to new heights.
This year that trend will continue, this time a little closer to home.
During its upcoming auction at the academy in Benton, GHA will host a raffle for 22 acres of land with a cabin and hunting blind located near East Canton, with tickets on sale for $100 each or six for $500.
According to event co-organizer Abe Raber, this raffle is a way to help the school continue to pay off its new addition.
“We had a couple of gentlemen get together and purchase a 22-acre plot of land near East Canton and donate it to the school,” Raber said. “They made the purchase with this end in mind, which is incredibly gracious of them.”
Raber said land is such a difficult purchase to make in today’s world that this is an opportunity for someone to find plenty of acreage that he said is an idyllic spot to get away from the rush-around world and find solitude.
“Our previous land raffle was really successful, and it was fun because the winner was actually present at the drawing, although you don’t have to be there,” Raber said.
Rapid growth in the past five years has seen the school, which offers private faith-based education from preschool through 12th grade, double in size, which meant adding a new addition to the facility in Benton.
“We’ve been really blessed to have experienced some incredible growth in the school’s numbers over the past several years,” Raber said. “It’s been very gratifying to see that growth take place, but it comes with a cost, and we continue to pay off the finances after adding on to the facility.”
Tickets for the land raffle will be available until the evening of the auction May 2, up until the real estate drawing at around 9 p.m., and tickets may be purchased at GHA, through any GHA board member or at any of 15 area businesses at which they are available.
While the land auction is huge for GHA, it is far from the only item on the auction block that night. More than 150 items will be auctioned off.
The list of prominent items includes a 2025 Honda Pioneer 1000 Quickflip 5, a Ventrac 4520P with a 72-inch deck, a 32-by-48-foot garage package, a pair of Magnum e-bikes, a Blackstone grill, a whiskey single barrel collection with four chairs and a table, a Weaver vinyl playset, two hunting blinds, Angus beef steer, a chicken coop, a 7-by-12 Arrow Trail Dump trailer, loads of firewood, a drone deer recovery, a two-night stay at Lake Cumberland, KY and fishing charter for five, a Time Cutter Zero Turn mower, a 54-inch Raptor X Zero Turn mower, a Lake Erie fishing trip, plenty of tools, and loads of restaurant, lodging and other gift cards.
In addition, there will be plenty of food available, highlighted by the barbecue chicken dinners that come with plenty of sides. There also will be a bake sale for those hoping to take home some goodies for later.
One other aspect of the auction is it is much like a reunion and homecoming event, where people fellowship and enjoy the evening in conversation and good food.
“That’s part of the joy of this event — it brings people together and they can socialize and have a fun evening,” Raber said, adding there are plenty of activities for the kids to do outside as the auction takes place.
Gospel Haven Academy is located in Benton at 6871 state Route 241.
The doors will open at 4:15 p.m. for the chicken dinner and carryout, with the auction, headlined by RES Auction Services, starting at 5:30 p.m. For more information call Kevin Coblentz at 330-231-3974 or Jeremy Yoder at 330-231-8403.