I probably wasn’t the one person in high school, that everybody would’ve pointed to and said, he’s going to be an Auctioneer one day! No, I was destined for the construction field, and did that for 13 years. In 2009/10 the economy was crashing hard, and several companies were laying off like crazy. I had just completed working on The Mid-Ohio Foodbank, and they asked me to come on as Maintenance. It was the middle of December, it was cold, and I never knew if this Friday was the day that I might get laid off, so I took the job and the adventures began.
After the Foodbank moved to the new location, we had several pieces of leftover office furniture. The only logical thing to do with it was have an auction! (You see where this is going?) I hadn’t been to an auction in years, and much to my surprise we didn’t have an auction, at least not what I was expecting. There was no crowd, no cadence of the Auctioneer ringing off over a speaker system, just a bunch of little white tags, and invoices. This was my first experience with an online auction, and apparently the beginning of a change in the auction industry.
Online auctions were the new thing, and catching on like wildfire. After a few years of working at the Foodbank, although I enjoyed the mission and the people, I decided it was not what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I wanted involved in this auction world. Even the online thing! But not only that, I wanted to learn how to do that thing! You know bid-calling or chanting as we call it. I started watching YouTube videos, and reading blogs, and learned that it’s not something you’re born to do. Wait, what? This is a learned skill? I inquired of The Ohio Auction School and the great staff there. I learned that in just a few weeks I can acquire my education to take the Apprentice Auctioneer test.
My wife thought I was crazy, and still does, I think. I managed to secure 2 weeks off from work, pay the tuition and I was off. I remember showing up for the first day of class, and feeling like it was Christmas Morning. This was it! This was happening!
I could go on forever about this, but you are probably tired of reading by now. So, fast forward, I contacted that auctioneer who did that Foodbank auction, and asked him to sponsor me. He accepted my offer and I spent the next 14 months traveling the state helping to do Benefit auctions. In this time I also acquired my Real Estate license and began to market and sell real estate. The wheels were in motion. I attended my first National Auctioneers Association Conference and Show in July 2016. It was at that point I knew I wanted to do this full-time. I came home and turned in my notice and was off. If I’m being honest, I remember walking out of that Foodbank building, getting in my car across the street, and staring at that building wondering if I was crazy, stupid, foolish, smart or a combo of all of these. (Verdict still out, although my wife still thinks I’m crazy!) I had lost my safety net.
I am a faithful man, believing in the Lord and knowing he has a plan, and for the first time I feel like I’m working that plan. It’s not a cakewalk, but nothing worth doing really is. I currently work in the greatest business ever. I love my job, even the bad days!
I’m going to wrap this up soon, but I feel it is important you know where I came from, if you’re going to keep looking at this site.
I am an active member of the National Auctioneers Association, Ohio Auctioneers Association
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