MATTAWA — In a world where Murphy’s Law always seems to lurk around the corner, it’s nice when things go better than planned. Like the first annual Sven Legacy Foundation fundraiser auction in Mattawa Saturday. 

“(It went) a lot better than anticipated,” said Lars Leland, one of the organizers of the event. “I was a bit panicked, since it was our first event … I was expecting 30, 40 people (and) we had over 110 people show up.” 

The event had a few hiccups: There was a lot of snow on the roads and about half of the drink cups broke before the event, Leland said. Nevertheless, the auction raised more than $10,000. 

“We didn’t ask for sponsors or anything,” Leland said. “It was just the love and support of the community."

The Sven Legacy Foundation was created in memory of Leland’s brother Sven Leland, who passed away from cancer in April 2024 at the age of 31. Sven Leland was a strong proponent of vocational and trade education, and the Sven Legacy Foundation plans to put the money that was raised toward scholarships for local students to attend trade schools. 

The whole affair was home-grown and fairly small-scale. The venue was a potato shed at the Leland family farm, and dinner was a taco spread catered by one of the foundation’s board members. A homemade photo booth provided souvenirs of the evening.  

The auction boasted about 20 items ranging from baked goods to fishing trips to a truckload of gravel. One item was a couch that had been donated but couldn’t be delivered to the auction site in time, so attendees bid on it from a photo. A set of three cheesecakes attracted nine or 10 bidders, Leland said, and eventually was sold to two little girls. 

The foundation hasn’t yet figured out how to apply the money that was raised, Leland said. The plan is to offer scholarships, but how much and to how many students is the question. The board is going to meet once all the members can get together and work it out, Leland said. 

“To be honest, we didn’t think we’d raise this much,” he said. “We were thinking maybe do one or two little scholarships this year, but now we’ll have to see.” 

The event wouldn’t have happened without a lot of support from the community, Leland said. 

“It was essentially four people who put it together,” he said. “But then (board member) Josh (Seanard)’s family came and helped, and then other people from the desert community, people from Mattawa … We didn’t ask; they just came and were like, we’ll help. We’re pretty happy about that.” 

    Sven Leland’s brothers Lars, left, and Martin Leland take a photo in the homemade photo booth at the Sven Legacy Foundation’s auction Saturday.
  

    Dinner at the Sven Legacy Foundation’s auction Saturday was a taco feast created by one of the foundation’s board members. Despite its humble beginnings, the auction raised more than $10,000.