Spring doesn’t officially begin until Tuesday, but love is already in the air for active military bachelors who participated in the first annual “A Few Good Men” Bachelor Auction at Pacific Beach Shore Club. The event was sponsored by the Veterans Research Corporation and sought to raise money for military medical research while presenting a golden opportunity for available, local ladies to meet, bid and win romantic dates with single military men at venues throughout San Diego.
Several bachelors volunteered their good looks and charms to be auctioned off in support of military veterans. However, the nerves and anxiety were not absent during this event.
“This is my first time being auctioned off for charity, and it is a bit nerve-wracking,” bachelor contestant Tim Keller said. “But I’ve already had a few drinks, so let’s hope that will do the trick.”
The event was appropriately held at the PB Shore Club, which is the official Navy football bar of San Diego. One of club’s managers, Josh McCurdy, served in the Marines and continues to pay tribute to his men by hosting special events for military organizations.
“The staff at PB Shore Club came up with the idea for the military Bachelor Auction,” public relations specialist Natalie Haack said. “It was their birth and the Veterans Research Corporation caught the baby.”
Happy Hour ran from 5 to 7 p.m. and allowed the bachelors and guests to mingle and socialize before the auction. A “menu of men” was distributed so potential bidders could read personal descriptions of the bachelors and the date package associated with each man. This menu offered the opportunity for the women to map out which bachelor they would bid their money toward.
The special guests of the evening were the event’s host Lea Sutton, NBC 7 San Diego’s military reporter and the celebrity bachelor of the evening, Ryan Mathews, a San Diego Chargers player.
“This is complete happenstance my friend and I are here right now,” event attendee Stephanie Holmes said. “But once we heard there was going to be a bachelor auction of military men for charity, there was no way we were going to leave the chance for a date with Ryan Mathews to benefit a great cause.”
The bidding for each bachelor began at $50. Seven bachelors were raffle winners, which meant guests placed a raffle ticket in one of the seven bags on the stage, each representing a bachelor, and the number drawn at the end of the night won a date with the bachelor whose bag the number was drawn from.
Despite the romantic promise of the night, military medical research remained the event’s focal point.
“It’s not about how much someone bids on me, it’s about how much money can help the charity of the evening,” bachelor contestant and active marine Brian Rodriguez said. “The military medical research is a great cause and it is something I can personally relate to with my dangerous experiences while stationed in Iraq. I was lucky, but there are many men and women in the military who cannot say the same.”
VRC was founded in 2008 and works to support medical research that will improve the lives of military veterans, their families and society at large.
“At Veterans Research Corporation, we love to have fun,” Chief Executive of VRC Kerstin Lynam said. “The PB Shore Club Bachelor Auction is the perfect way to show community support for military medical research and allow everyone to have a good time as well.”
