Midway through the Shannon Keo Knoepflein Scholarship Paddle Auction on Aug. 24 at the Old Settlers Picnic Grounds in New Florence, a live auction with four items was held.

One of those items was a wine barrel that was donated by Russ and Amy Davidson in memory of Shannon Knoepflein, who died in a plane crash 20 years ago.

That got Shannon’s brother, Travis Knoepflein, pretty emotional.

“My dad was a lumberjack,” Travis said. “He cut wood. Through his whole life, he sold his logs to New Florence Wood Products. My brother was one of their head engineers and a pilot with them. I worked with them through school and got their scholarship as well as my brother. My uncles and my cousins sold logs there. It’s a big family thing. Our family is big into the lumber business. When this was donated, it reminded me of the barrel that my brother got handmade from my dad that was a wine barrel like that.”

The auction returned for its third year as a benefit to raise money for scholarships for Montgomery County High School students. Over 100 people participated in the three-hour event that had more than 80 items given away such as gift certificates, baskets, wreaths and wall hangings.
Paddles were sold for $10 each. There was also a 50/50 drawing and plenty of food and drinks. Travis said the auction was something his brother would have been very proud of.

“He’s smiling big,” Travis said. “Our family is smiling big. Our community and our family are what always make these things happen. He was a big hearted guy. He would have been down here with us helping to do it.”

Shannon Knoepflein, a Mineola native and a 1994 MCHS graduate, was on his way to his home in Kentucky when his plane crashed outside Madison, Wis., on Aug. 1, 2004. The licensed pilot died just three months shy of his 29th birthday.

The Knoepflein family later established a scholarship fund in honor of Shannon. For the last 20 years, thousands of dollars were given back to high school students in the Montgomery County area through fundraising events such as barbecues, raffles, golf tournaments and paddle auctions.

“We just wanted to live in his honor,” Travis Knoepflein said. “Without this community, it wouldn’t have been possible.”

The paddle auction is held every two years. Since the first auction in 2020, more than $17,000 went to students to help continue their education. Aleida Eldringhoff, Alexa Groeber and Bryson Hoffmann were named the recipients of the Shannon Knoepflein Memorial Scholarship in May.

“We do this every two years because we don’t feel it’s right to ask the community for unnecessary donations,” Travis Knoepflein said. “We do it every two years and we have success raising enough money that gives us enough money to give out two years worth of scholarships. We can do that one night and ensure the wealth of the community with other people. That’s what we wanted to do.”

At the live auction, the wine barrel was sold for $600. Other items that were given away at the live auction included an antique trunk, a 16-ton load of rock and a baby cradle.

Montgomery County Clerk Carole Weeks worked as the auctioneer.

“Carole has been a great support to the community,” Travis Knoepflein said. “She always helped us out. She’s always been there. She’s a local auctioneer in Danville, so we were very honored to have her here tonight.”