‘The Voice of Rockwall’ hits major milestone as charity auctioneer

(ROCKWALL, TX — April 30, 2018) Longtime charity auctioneer Gary Freedman couldn’t have asked to be in better company when he reached a very special milestone earlier this year.

Freedman, who is known as “The Voice of Rockwall,” raised $68,500 during the Annual KinderFrogs Auction and Dinner event at TCU in February with the help of one of his dear friends: Rockwall County Commissioner Cliff Sevier. Their teamwork that evening brought the total amount Freedman has raised for charities as an auctioneer to $4 million.

The event marked Freedman’s first time auctioneering for KinderFrogs, a family-focused, early intervention program located on the TCU campus that provides a developmentally appropriate educational environment for children with Down Syndrome and other developmental delays.

“It couldn’t have happened at a better place than KinderFrogs,” Freedman said. “The room was ecstatic when I announced what happened because it was four or five times more than they had ever raised. And to hit the $4 million mark with one of my lifelong friends in Cliff Sevier, whose son has Down Syndrome, made it all the more special.”

Freedman has acquired many talents in his 60-something years, including music, poetry, theatre, dance and sports announcing. His journey to becoming a successful charity auctioneer began during a horse show he was announcing in Oklahoma City one weekend, when a group of kids told him they were trying to raise money for a miniature horse for a girl with Spina bifida. They asked if he could help them auction off brownies and other desserts to raise money for the horse.

“I started auctioning off the brownies, cakes and pies for $50-$100,” Freedman said. “After about 30 minutes, a guy in the front row was moved emotionally and donated them a horse, and by then I realized I had raised $7,600 on desserts alone. I knew then that I had the ability to be an auctioneer.”

That ability turned into a full-blown passion for Freedman, who has volunteered his time and vocal talent for the past 20 years to auctioneer for over 50 charities, many of which are based in his hometown of Rockwall.

Freedman earned the moniker “The Voice of Rockwall” from Congressman Ralph Hall, whom he met when he moved to Rockwall in the 80’s. He has held numerous leadership roles in his community, including president of Rockwall Community Playhouse, Board Chairman of Behind the Scenes which works with at-risk children, and member on the boards of a host of other organizations such as Rockwall County Republican Men’s Club and Friends of the Rowlett Public Library. He has also been involved with Rockwall HeartChase, Friends of CASA, Women in Need and Rockwall County Alliance for the Arts. Freedman currently works as the Vice President for National Family Care Life Insurance, a company he has been associated with for more than 40 years.

He plans to publish a book featuring the inspirational quotes he posts regularly on Facebook, something he started doing in hopes of instilling positivity in the lives of others.

“The whole key in what I try to do in life is to be a difference maker: inspire someone to make their day better. If you can do that, that’s a pretty good check by your name,” Freedman said.

Nothing inspires Freedman more than helping those in need, especially kids with special needs. For 10 years he announced ball games for a local baseball league for boys and girls with special needs called Rockwall Angel League, and also helped pioneer the STAR (Special Needs Theatre at Rockwall) Players program at Rockwall Community Playhouse.

“They are special people and their ability to give and love is as great or more than anyone else’s,” Freedman said. “They’re just like every one of us; They love attention, they love to be hugged, talked with and cared about.”

Freedman said he never thought he’d end up raising over $4 million for charities, but he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

“I hope to keep doing charity auctions for a lot more years. It’s a joy, an honor and a privilege to me.”

By Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News.

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