Auction competition winners announced
A Tennessee auctioneer won the Pro Bid Calling Championship over the weekend during the Arkansas Auctioneers Association Conference and Bid Calling Championship at The Hotel Hot Springs & Spa.
Junior Staggs, from Puryear, Tennessee, now has the chance to represent the AAA at the International Auctioneer Championship later this year.
Four competitions were held during the event, three of them for bid calling. Second place in the Pro Bid Calling category was a tie between Dennis Huggins and Tony Wisely.
The Rookie competition winner was Dillon Butler, with Wade Andrews coming in second and Spencer Wilson getting third. In the junior division, Carlton Wilcox won, with Kacey Davis coming in runner up and Ben Witcher getting third.
The other competition was for ringman, the individual who lets the auctioneer know that a bid has been placed. Spencer Wilson won the contest, with Ron Spiva coming in second and Dennis Huggins getting third.
Over 40 people competed this year, which was up from last year.
In addition to the competitions, Willie Morgan was inducted into the association’s Hall of Fame.
For winning in the pro division, Staggs has the opportunity to represent the association at the NAA Bid Calling Championship this July during the International Conference and Show in New Orleans.
Judges for the Arkansas event were National Auctioneers Association President Tim Mast, 2018 International Auctioneer Champion Barrett Bray and past state champion Donnie Stumpf.
Bray said the conference was one of the best he has been to. “I love it. I’ve been to half a dozen (auctioneering conferences) over the last four months,” Bray said, adding that this was one of the best put together ones he has been to.
Bray said the judges look for three things: stage presence, how well they can do the actual bid calling, and salesmanship.
Bray said he loves judging these events, partly because auctioneering is like a brother/sisterhood where a lot of the joy of it comes from watching the auctioneers improve their craft.
Bray said a year ago he didn’t expect to be getting invited to this kind of event. Last year, he entered the Oklahoma competition as a rookie who had never competed before. Not expecting to win, Bray said he was just hoping to get into the finals. He said he didn’t expect to win at the international competition, either.
Shannon Hunter, president of the Arkansas Auctioneers Association, said he was pleased with the event and Hot Springs, as well. “It’s really good, we’re increasing our numbers every year,” he said. This was the third year in a row the conference was held in Hot Springs, and it will return next year.
Because of the feedback and increase in attendance at these events, Hunter said, “we will more than likely stay here” after their contract ends next year.