FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

You are invited! Free Shady Maple Supper, Speakers, and Live Auction of Five Investment Properties set for December 9 in East Earl, Pennsylvania.

First event of its kind in Lancaster County opens to the public at no charge. Seating is limited so come early. First Come, First-Served.

EAST EARL, Pa. — On December 9, you can walk into Shady Maple Smorgasbord, eat a full buffet for free, listen to two speakers, and participate in a real estate auction featuring five investment properties that will sell live from the banquet hall. Doors open at 1 p.m. It’s a free event, there’s no ticket. Seating is first-come, first-served and the room only holds about 800, so showing up early matters.  

Nothing quite like it has been done in Lancaster County before. The Intel Investors Summit puts free education, a free supper, and a real estate auction all in the same building during the same afternoon and evening. It’s open to whoever shows up! Whether its people just looking around, first-time buyers, or folks who already own rentals, all are welcomed.

Younger people are a part of the picture too. The event is built to give the next generation a practical on-ramp into investing and homeownership. The goal is that the free education on mindset and practical investing, plus sitting next to experienced investors and local professionals who have already done this, might turn the lure of “maybe someday” into an actual first step.

“We wanted the doors wide open so people who aren’t sure they belong can still come and sit down,” said Henry Kauffman Jr. of Intel Auctions. “If it plants a seed and someone makes a first investment a couple of years from now, it will have been worth it. At the same time, we have properties that appeal to experienced buyers as well. The goal is an evening that works for both.”

Kauffman is the main contact for questions. He said the idea has been kicking around for over a year. “Joel brought it up first. We joked about it for a while, then started putting scratches on paper. There’s demand here for investment properties, and we felt like we should try to help the people who are just getting started instead of only talking to the ones who already know what they’re doing.”

Damon West speaks at 3 p.m. He’s a four-time bestselling author. The talk is about resilience and how people respond when things go sideways, he is not doing a real estate seminar. At 4 p.m. Stephen Yoder takes the stage. He’s a realtor and auctioneer out of Ohio who owns rentals himself. Stephen will talk about returns, budgeting, and rentals (both short-term and long-term). Those who know Stephen say he makes an hour feel short with his charismatic style of engaging with his audience. The free Shady Maple buffet runs from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.. The real estate auction starts at 6 p.m.. Door prizes are around 8 p.m.. The event should be complete by 8:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.

“If you ask anyone in Lancaster County about a delicious food buffet, they think of Shady Maple,” said Daniel King of Intel Auctions. “We wanted an experience people would actually enjoy and leave feeling that they got something useful, whether they buy or not. The free meal helps bring people out. The speakers and the properties give them a reason to stay.”

King added, “Closing it to only active investors would have been easier but would have missed the point. There’s a bunch of 18 to 21 year olds around here who want to figure out how to get into real estate. If we charged fifty or a hundred bucks, a lot of them just wouldn’t come.”

Joel Yoder of Intel Auctions sees the event as giving something back to the community. “People can walk in, listen, eat, and watch the properties sell. There’s no charge. We wanted them to leave having only received.”

Yoder also talked about the auction format. “You’ve got high-end horse sales and car sales where people sit and bid. We asked why not do the same thing with investment properties; full photos and videos up on the screen so someone can bid right from their seat.”

The five properties weren’t just the first ones that showed up. They have each been scrutinized and vetted for their investment quality. All cash-flowing and valuable properties which are waiting for the right buyer. The five properties cover a range of types and price points: a three-unit apartment, an Airbnb, a property that includes a car wash and laundromat, a mountain wedding venue, and a large hunting tract.  Everything will be shown on screen so people can bid without having walked a single property. Phone bidding is available if someone must leave after supper.

“We were picky,” King said. “We didn’t just grab the first five. We looked for ones with real potential returns at different price points.”

One of them came in through a March phone call. A man Kauffman knew called about 45 acres with a pavilion that he uses as a wedding venue. Kauffman went up, walked it, explained the Summit idea, and the owner said he was in. The property will come with its website, Facebook page, and the 2027 deposits already collected—around $30,000 at last count. “This property has views you don’t get many other places in central Pennsylvania. Sits on top of a mountain, has hunting on the back side, open fields, a nice pavilion with modern restrooms. We took summer pictures and fall pictures so people can see it at its best,” Kauffman noted.

The rest of the lineup includes roughly 400 acres of hunting ground in Juniata County, a riverfront Airbnb in York County that did well in its first half year on the platform, a 3-unit apartment, and an Ephrata property with a car wash, laundromat, garage, 3 bedroom apartment, and food truck. All five properties settle on or before February 5, 2027. Open houses for several of them have already happened.

“The hope is that people sit together and talk,” Henry said. “Younger investors on one end of the table, more experienced ones on the other. Most of what people learn about this business comes from sitting in a room with someone who has already done it. Listen, ask questions, figure it out."

Sponsors in lending, property management, CPAs, and related others will have tables set up during the event. Throughout the afternoon and evening attendees can interact with and browse through the services and products that these sponsors offer. At the end there are two door prizes: a Rocket Grill and a 360 Hunting Blind on an 8-foot stand. Winners will be announced after the real estate auction.

King would like to see it become a yearly December thing. “This year we stopped at five properties. We’ll see how it goes. If people show up and get value out of it, we’ll look at doing it again and maybe bringing in different speakers.”

Yoder said the feedback so far has been strong and the pressure is on to deliver. “People are talking about it. We just need to make sure the evening matches and exceeds their expectations of what we’ve been telling them.”

Because it’s free and there are no reservations, the practical advice is simple: get there early. “We talked about reservations and none of us liked them,” Kauffman said. “Too inconvenient. First-come, first-serve felt more open. The downside is we don’t know the exact number until that day, so early is safer. Shady Maple can handle a crowd, but we’d rather people get in and get a seat than stand around.”

More details, photos, and the properties brochure are at intelauctions.com/intel-investors-summit-2026/. Questions about individual properties can go to the listing auctioneers—Joel Yoder (610-750-2427) or Henry Kauffman Jr (717-799-4264)

Event Details
What: Intel Investors Summit 2026 - free supper, speakers, live real estate auction of five investment properties, and door prizes
When: Wednesday, December 9, 2026. Doors open 1 p.m.
Where: Shady Maple Smorgasbord & Banquet Hall, East Earl, PA
Cost: Free. Limited Seating. First-come, first-served. Arrive early.
Contact: Henry Kauffman Jr, Intel Auctions, 717-799-4264
Info: intelauctions.com/intel-investors-summit-2026 | (717) 917-5844

Media Contact
Jacob Lapp / Intel Auctions | (717) 875-5024 | jacob@intelauctions.com

About Intel Auctions
Intel Auctions LLC is a Pennsylvania real estate auction company based in Narvon, Lancaster County. Its team of auctioneers sells farms, homes, land, and investment and recreational properties at public auction across most of Pennsylvania, with a focus on "A Better Real Estate Experience" for sellers and buyers alike. Learn more at intelauctions.com.


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