Hard work has once again paid off for the CVAR (Central Valley Association of Realtors), as final numbers are in for the annual Can Tree Breakfast. The event was hosted on Thursday, Dec. 12 at the Gene Bianchi Community Center.

“Our turnout was probably record in attendance as well as money raised,” longtime volunteer and local Realtor Jerry Jones said.

According to Jones a total of 350 tickets were sold and over $20,000 was raised. All proceeds will go directly to Oakdale Community Sharing.

Jones further shared, that in addition to attendance being at a suspected record high, the $20,000 number is a significant jump from last year’s impressive total of $14,000.

This year an emphasis on advance ticket sales was made, creating a bit of competition between the varying real estate offices. Event Chair Michael Blevins also added a live auction item to the mix, which generated between $3,000 and $4,000, Jones shared.

“Every year it’s hard to hear in there,” Jones said of the challenge from the microphone with directing the crowd through the program. “Having that said, we want it to be a joyous event. Clearly with enough announcements and letting it flow we were able to get the word out and get a record number raised.”