At the annual Turkey-Ham Dinner fundraiser at the Canyon Elementary School, volunteer auctioneer Ron Rex has become nearly as much a fixture as the meal and the items he auctions off.

For 37 years, the Cataldo resident has auctioneered donated items at the dinner, raising money and having a blast doing it.

Others have noticed.

Canyon Elementary presented him with a plaque honoring him and commending him for everything he has done for the school over nearly four decades.

Rex has missed only half an auction during his tenure.

"It's nice to be given a pat on the back and realize that you've been doing this for more than half your life," the 70-year old Rex said. "No, this probably isn't my last year. I guess as long as they put up with me I'll be back."

Jennifer Ferguson, of the Canyon School Organization - a group similar to the PTA - said that they wanted to let Rex know how important he has been to the fundraiser, and that the job is his until he grows weary of it.

"He's been a part of the Ham-Turkey Dinner almost as long as turkey has been on the menu," she said. "He's a real part of the community and the school and has never asked for anything. We're not saying he's retiring, but if he chooses to, we wanted to commemorate his time admirably so he knows how much we appreciate everything he's done."

Rex never planned on becoming an auctioneer.

When he left the Army, he got married to a woman with three kids, and suddenly found himself as the president of the CSO. After the previous auctioneer stepped down, they asked Rex and he's still calling for bids.

"I had helped the last guy a bit, but I wasn't really sure I wanted to do it because I had never done anything like it before. I stumbled my way through it, but each year I figured out a few things, and they kept asking me back so I guess they appreciated it," he said. "The fun of the evening is getting into the bid, and I try to let everyone bid back and forth before jumping in, raising the price and going a little faster."

The goal remains the same for Rex: Have an enjoyable night with the community he has called home for so long.

"I've seen pies go for 50 dollars, but it's all in good fun," he said. "It's a community thing that I believe a lot of people look forward to every year. They don't see the whole community all year long except for the Ham-Turkey Dinner. We've had so many laughs at this thing it's hard to pick out just a few memories."

Ferguson said Rex is one of the attractions the community comes out to see each year.

"He's been doing this for so long, and he always makes jokes and calls people out by their names, and he just knows and has so much history that you can't get anywhere else," she said.