Salida firefighters, from left, Dillon Mackey, Dan Distel and Tyler Oster look at silent auction items for the Tom Marcello Scholarship Fund fundraiser Oct. 25 at Amicas. The fundraiser made $1,699 for local high school scholarships. 

Salida firefighters, from left, Dillon Mackey, Dan Distel and Tyler Oster look at silent auction items for the Tom Marcello Scholarship Fund fundraiser Oct. 25 at Amicas. The fundraiser made $1,699 for local high school scholarships. 
The Tom Marcello Scholarship Fund raised $1,699 at an annual fundraising silent auction Oct. 25 at Amicas. 
Twenty-two items were auctioned, including seven types of gift cards, presented in a blind grab, and nine coffees donated from Brown Dog and Mountain Phoenix. 
Marcello died of cancer in 2015 shortly after completing fire academy training. Laura Marcello, Tom’s wife, worked with the Salida Fire Department to set up the scholarship fund  in 2018.
Laura Marcello, who organized the fundraiser, noted, “It’s hard to get donations this year because of the economy.” Co-organizer Dee Troutman said Laura put the event together mostly by herself. In the future, the pair said they hope to have more communication with the fire department about the event.
Several members of the Salida Fire Department showed up to support the event, and the first attendee, Kevin Fisher, gave his gift card back so it could raise more money. “It’s going right back to where it started,” he said. 
Local firefighter Dillon Mackey said, “Tom was a reserve for us, and we always come out here and support, especially when we’re off duty.”
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