Over the span of its lifetime, Operation St. Nick has officially raised $3 million to give families a merry Christmas and help veterans via its Military Program.

It crossed that threshold on Sunday with its 43rd annual radio auction thanks to an anonymous $50,000 donation matching the $48,750 raised during the memorial hour, additional donations throughout the broadcast, and, of course, the auction proceeds.

Founder Joe Schmidt said the highest-selling items were an old Phillips 66 gas pump and tickets to the Illinois vs. Michigan basketball game, which sold for $4,000 each, a corporate membership to the Morris Country Club which went for $3,200, and a Taylor Swift-spired 3.1 carat diamond ring.

Schmidt said there was also an additional $20,000 donation.

“I get way too much credit for the success of Operation St. Nick,” Schmidt said. “We have a marvelous board of directors who all volunteer their time and energy to make it run by the clock. Operation St. Nick has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.”

He said the highlight of his year every year is the Christmas distribution, when the families get together.

“You see the tears of joy that they’re going to have a Christmas they probably never would have had,” Schmidt said. “That goes back to the 1940s when I was on the dump truck with my dad delivering food baskets. Here we are now, how many years later.”

Operation St. Nick has aired a radio auction on 103.1 WCSJ every year since 1982. This year’s program helped 60 families, which includes over 150 children facing hardship. Families receive gifts, along with $300 in food to carry them through the holiday season.