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Lots of Tom Memorabilia In Special eBay Auction For A Good Cause
Thursday, September 13th, 2007
There’s an eBay auction of Tom memorabilia from the 1970s and early 1980s, what makes it special is that half of the proceeds will go to Childhelp, an organization that is working to end child abuse and to help abused children.
The memorabilia was collected by Allentown, PA fan Annette Shabrin (shown here with Tom) at Caesars Palace in the 1970s. He son Sam explains that Annette and his dad would fly to Las Vegas every time he played here. She would go to every show and his father would accompany her to one show.
They became friendly with Angelo, the showroom maitre d’ and Annette would always be seated front and center.
He writes, “Tom would recognize the ladies who sat up front all the time and he’d play to them, give them his bowtie and take sips of champagne from them. She saw his show so many times that the members of his band would recognize her lounging around the pool and enjoyed chatting with her. Eventually, she was invited backstage and met Tom. Year after year, she went to see Tom, hung out with the band backstage (after seeing the show), and became good friends with a few of them. She kept in contact with Terry, Tom’s drummer during those years, and I personally became friends with, and was preparing to study arranging with Tom’s musical director, Johnnie Spence. (Johnnie was a terrific, giving person who passed away much before his time.)
“In the summer of 1975, Tom appeared at the Allentown (PA) Fair, and we his entire entourage over to our house for a picnic before the show. Johnnie sat at the piano, the Blossoms sang, everyone enjoyed a home-cooked meal after being on the road for so long – it was just amazing. They were all such nice people.
“Sadly time goes on. My mom passed away just over a year ago and going through her things, we found all of this Tom Jones memorabilia. I suggested trying to find the 2nd biggest TJ fan to pass all of it on to. This is her collection.”
At this moment, the auction stands at $184.75 and, (although one of the people bidding is a friend of ours), we did feel this is a special enough auction to spread the word. So, please check it out and consider bidding or, perhaps, joining with another fan or two (as there’s plenty of stuff) and honoring the memory of a devoted fan and helping a good cause.
September 13th, 2007 at 11:32 am
What a lovely story! I’m sure Annette would be thrilled at her son’s decision of what to do with all her TJ memorabilia.
September 13th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
What a great story.
September 13th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Hey everyone it is truly a great item up and half the money is going to charity. I’m sure Annette would want the collection kept in good hands. Feel free to bid I rather see this item be won by a fan than a seller who will probably split it up. Good Luck to all bidders.
September 15th, 2007 at 12:42 am
Hey Anna,
I have placed my bid and am very glad that half the proceeds go to a great cause. I hope whomever wins the auction will place Annette’s heart close to each and every item and have second hand memories of what must have been wonderful times for her.
September 17th, 2007 at 10:17 am
Laura, Did you win the auction? I already had many of the items in the collection, and did not bid. Hopefully, you won!! It was for a generous cause from the seller. A very good idea for those who might be thinking of selling their collections.
September 17th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
The final price was $305 and, no, Marian, Laura did not win it. Another fan did.
September 19th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Thanks, Moderators, I noted its selling price, but didn’t recognize the buyer by the name. Had hoped one of our own might have won the bid…but just so it was a Tom fan, it’s all good!!
September 27th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
I am so sorry to see that Annette passed away! I remember seeing her so many times in Las Vegas. This has really hit me hard. Ain’t it funny how time slips away! God bless her family…..I’m also sad that I didn’t see the eBay auction in time.
September 28th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Thank you to everyone at tomjonesinternational.com for your suppport, and to all of the kind people who have posted messages. Your thoughts and best wishes are very much appreciated. Most sincerely, Sam Shabrin & Family.