Lakes Region mourns Children's Auction founder Warren Bailey

Sometimes there are pivotal members of the community who light up a room just by walking into it. In the Lakes Region, that community member is Warren Bailey, one of the founders of the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction, devoted to improving the quality of life of those around him.

Bailey died at his home on Aug. 22, at the age of 72, and despite experiencing health complications in recent years, always had a demeanor which exuded positivity. He was the type of person who would see silver linings in the world, no matter what obstacle was put in front of him. Those mourning his death spoke about how he inspired others to make an impact.

“He is going to be sorely missed,” said City Councilor Tony Felch (Ward 6), who is also a member of the auction’s board of directors. “I was actually the one who would pick him up and bring him to the auction when he lost his leg. It’s definitely sad. I am lost a little lost for words.”

Felch’s relationship with Bailey dates back to when he was just a child, saying his father and Bailey knew each other through work at WLNH, before he even started the auction in 1982.

“I remember seeing him in the van broadcasting in front of the swim club,” Felch said. “I started working with the auction about 20 years ago, and knew Warren well. He was a very loving, giving person.”

According to his obituary, Bailey was born in Rockland, Massachusetts, on Nov. 2, 1952, and grew up in Braintree, where he graduated from Braintree High School in 1970. He was intrigued by the world of radio when he was young, and when he was 14, got his broadcaster’s license and read the morning news at a station in Newport.

Bailey was a journalist for WFEA from 1972 to 1976, before becoming a morning radio host and operations manager at 98.3 WLNH for the next 31 years. After owning WKXL for two years, and then working in advertising sales at Comcast Spotlight, Bailey founded WB Media1 in 2015, where he worked as the marketing director through this year.

His crowning achievement was the creation of the Children’s Auction, which Bailey started almost 44 years ago when he raised just over $2,000. The auction grew into a massive charitable endeavor, donating more than $9.2 million since its creation.

“Warren was so inspiring and an incredible human being,” said Children’s Auction Executive Director Jennifer Kelley. “He is an incredible visionary who had an idea, put into place, and influenced the community to get behind the idea of helping others.”

Kelley credits Bailey for shifting her perspective on life, saying she is grateful to have had the opportunity to not only work with him, but get to know him personally.

“He was quite a remarkable human being, and helped other people be more remarkable just by meeting him,” Kelley said. “Imagine, over 40 years ago he had this vision that grew and grew.”

The Children’s Auction helps underserved children and families throughout the Lakes Region by funding nonprofits focused on issues like food, shelter, and other immediate needs. This is a pivotal year for the Children’s Auction, she said, as there are many organizations who are no longer receiving government funding.

“Hopefully, in honor of Warren, this will be the biggest year yet,” Kelley said.

One of the top fundraisers for the auction each year is Pub Mania at Patrick’s Pub & Eatery in Gilford. Owner Allan Beetle spent years working with Bailey on the event, and simultaneously created a longtime friendship.

“Warren was a good friend and a sweet man with lots of warmth and love,” Beetle said. “As the heart and soul behind the Children’s Auction, he’s inspired our family and so many more to come together for the kids in our community. We will miss him greatly, but his vision will continue through the hundreds of volunteers carrying on in his spirit.”

Patrick’s Pub also released a statement signed by Allan and brother and co-owner Jeff Beetle and the rest of the Patrick’s team, expressing their sadness over the news of Bailey’s death.

“Warren was the spark that inspired the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction, which has raised millions of dollars and touched countless lives,” the statement rea. “His big heart and actions brought people together and showed us what’s possible when a community rallies for its children. We honor Warren because his work has inspired so much of what we do, including our own Pub Mania tradition, which many of you have supported. We join the community in mourning his loss — and in celebrating the incredible legacy he leaves behind.”

Bailey was also a board member, and former chair, of the Lakes Region Chamber. Executive Director Karmen Gifford said it's been a tough week so far, acknowledging that's probably the case for anyone who knew Bailey. She said he was such a huge person in the community through all his endeavors, and his volunteerism was unparalleled.

“He was someone we could all turn to,” Gifford said. “I read on Facebook that someone said hopefully he is the voice of heaven, because he was the voice of the area. This is true. He really was.”

Gifford said despite his recent health challenges, Bailey was still very connected in so many ways. He was a role model to many people in the community, right to the end.

“I think from being in PR and journalism he didn’t have to be the center of attention, but you always knew his presence in a room,” Gifford said. “He was always approachable and had something good to say. He went out of his way to make connections, and that was just Warren.”

To say he was acclaimed would be an understatement, as he received a number of awards including the 2000 New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters Broadcaster of the Year Award, the 2007 “Jim” Irwin Community Recognition Award, the 2018 WEEI 101.5 Hometown Hero Award, and the 2024 Andrew L. Felker Award.

He was the first recipient of the Warren Bailey Community Service Award in 2023, through the NHAB. Dirk Nadon, owner of Lakes Media and longtime friend and colleague, was tasked with getting him to the ceremony without blowing the surprise.

“I said to the NHAB board that I would do it, but I had to do it my way,” Nadon said. “First off, Warren is a lot smarter than us, and would realize it was a setup. But I got him there, and he was so grateful and humbled.”

Nadon was contacted shortly after that honor to get Bailey to Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant in Meredith, to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Lakes Region Tourism Association. He recalled that prior to the event was the only time Bailey seemed a little bit down. The award was another surprise for Bailey, and this time Nadon said it was clear the recognition was a huge boost of happiness during what was a tough time.

“I wheeled him in and stayed with him the whole time,” Nadon said. “I had the pleasure of sitting there with him for hours, while everyone lined up to talk with Warren. On the way there he was down, but heading home he was on Cloud Nine.”

Nadon met Bailey in the summer of 1979, when he was spinning records at a Friday night disco event at the Laconia Community Center while Nadon was in high school. He went on to work for Bailey several years later, and remained close personally and professionally for the next four decades.

Nadon said he spoke with Bailey’s wife, Cheryl, on Friday night, who clued him in she thought it was close to the end. The next morning during the parade at Gilford Old Home Day, Nadon found out Bailey died. Nadon was broadcasting live from the event through 104.9 The Hawk with DJs Keith Murray and Konrad, and while they knew it was going to be difficult, Bailey would have expected them to power through. They dedicated the show to Bailey, and Nadon felt it was something Bailey would have been proud of.

“We had to man up,” Nadon said. “He would have done that, and it’s what he would have wanted. Warren would have wanted the show to go on. The show must go on.”

Throughout this week, Nadon is running his own comments about Bailey on the Lakes Media radio stations. He speaks about the respect he has for who he calls a “long-time fixture and friend of Lakes Region radio and media.” Nadon recalls being hired in 1983 for a radio host job in high school, and said it was a “high pleasure” working with him on media campaigns and charities.

“I’d like to challenge all of us to do one thing: To meet what Warren and I once talked about as ‘meeting the minimum requirement’ of life,” Nadon says in the broadcast. “This ‘minimum requirement’ is what we should all strive to do: To take care of ourselves, individually ... so that we can help others who can’t help themselves.”

He adds, “Goodbye Warren, and thank you for everything.

"And thank you for far exceeding that ‘minimum requirement’ we all have in this life. Warren did the best for himself and those around him, which is what made it possible for him to help others.”