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More Items from the Tennessee Residence to be Auctioned Online

Tennesseans Can Purchase Items From The Residence At Govdeals.com

6/14/2006

First Lady of Tennessee Andrea Conte today announced that more items from The Tennessee Residence will be posted for sale online at GovDeals.com, a Web site which provides governmental agencies an outlet to sell items via the Internet.

The auction is the second in a series that features items from the Tennessee Residence. GovDeals.com will post a number of mechanical supplies on the site including a shower steam unit, hot water circulating pumps, air compressor, cast iron double laundry sink, HVAC room units, three-phase electric motor, self-propelled yard blower/vacuum and several more pieces. Additional announcements will be made as these items are posted for sale.

“The response to the first online auction of items from the Tennessee Residence was overwhelming,” said First Lady Andrea Conte. “We began auctioning these items online through GovDeals.com to give Tennesseans the opportunity to purchase their own unique piece of Tennessee’s history. This auction is one of many that will be offered to the public and will include a variety of items that are being removed from the Residence during the restoration.”

The second online auction of the Tennessee Residence items will begin at GovDeals.com on June 14. Interested bidders can find these items for sale at http://Residence.govdeals.com.

The Residence items will be available for auction for 16 calendar days. While it is not necessary to register on GovDeals.com to review the property for sale, interested bidders must register to purchase items. It takes between three and five business days for a registration to become active. Once interested bidders have received their
registration information, they can visit GovDeals.com to login and bid on items for sale.

All items for sale will be available for inspection at the state of Tennessee’s Property
Utilization Warehouse on Centennial Boulevard. Once an auction is closed, winning bidders will have seven calendar days to pay for and pick up the item.

As a reminder, state employees are not permitted to bid on GovDeals.com during work hours or using state computers or other state equipment. They are permitted to bid on GovDeals.com during their personal time, using personal computers.

All proceeds from the sale of the items will be earmarked to support the Tennessee Residence. The first sale, held in April, raised more than $7,000.

In January 2003, Conte made restoring and preserving Tennessee’s Residence a priority issue for the Office of the First Lady. Ten months later, she and Governor Bredesen unveiled a plan that had been developed for restoring the Residence that would provide contemporary updates while preserving the historic integrity of the house and property. While the plan outlines four phases, the major emphasis is on making key repairs to the Tennessee Residence.

Tennessee’s Residence, originally referred to as “Far Hills” because of its beautiful view, was built in 1929 by the William Ridley Wills family, and was purchased by the state of Tennessee following the death of Mr. Wills in 1949. The third and only remaining Governor’s Residence in the state, it has hosted numerous events and celebrities during its 55 years as the state’s Executive Residence. The house has been visited by such famous people as the Reverend Billy Graham, Elvis Presley, President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, President and Mrs. Lyndon Johnson, President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan, and numerous governors and royalty from around the world.

To make a donation to the restoration, or for more information about the project, please call the Office of the First Lady at (615) 741-7846. To make an online donation, go to www.tnanytime.org/exres/.