COEUR d'ALENE - Cars and lavish meals.

Vacations to Hawaii and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Sunset cruises on Lake Coeur d'Alene and vasectomies.

Wait, what?

"Nobody wanted that one," said Chuck Anderson, Coeur d'Alene Chamber Commodore, who is spearheading the fundraising drive for the chamber's upcoming 'Aw$um Auction.' "They'd buy it, then donate it back the next year."

The auction, it seems, offers it all.

Where else can one bid on vacations, a wine tasting tour and an operation from a urologist?

While it's been a half decade since the snipping procedure was on the bidding block, this year aims to offer its biggest bounty, as the chamber celebrates its centennial.

That's 100 years of bringing together and promoting local businesses.

"They're completely interwoven into the fabric of the business community," said Tom Addis, owner of Lake City Ford at his office on Friday. "This is a very giving community. We support so many organizations that the chamber can fly under the radar sometimes."

Addis has been the biggest donor since the auction started 31 years ago.

"That's what they tell me," he said. "I don't know, I just write the check."

Jokes aside, Addis has offered autos in years past, and Friday he donated $4,000 to help kick off the fundraising campaign. The auction, set for 5 p.m. Saturday, April 14, at The Coeur d'Alene Resort, remains one of most important revenue streams for the chamber.

"We'd like to keep our lights on," said Diane Higdem, events coordinator with the roughly 1,200-member chamber.

It also helps keep the chamber's dues relatively low, she said.

This year's theme, in step with the 100th birthday, is dress to the decade - that's to say attendees are encouraged to sport their favorites decade's duds. Awards for best dressed will be presented.

"We're going to have fun with it this year," Higdem said.

So what happened 100 years ago?

Paramount Pictures was a start-up company and the First Balkan War began.

The auction, however, isn't the only celebration planned for the centennial. The actual birthday is Sept. 21, and scavenger hunts, raffles and other events are being planned as that date nears. But it is the only celebration where people can bid on a women's Walla Walla wine package.

Tough economic times make fundraising difficult, Addis and Anderson said, but with community support the goal of $65,000 net is achievable.

Tickets cost $65, or $480 for a table of eight. Donations are due by March 30, and reservations should be booked by March 16.

Info: Higdem at 292-1635