|
I think we can all agree that "working hard" is a big part of the success of the Auction Method of Marketing, even if much of the hard work is mental. Perhaps much of the hard work that was performed fifty years ago hammered down a strong foundation for our contemporary industry to build on. The nay sayer would respond to the negative such as, "We don't do tobacco auctions we conduct modern real estate auctions, the fastest growing segment within the industry."
The inside front cover of the January 1957 Auctioneer magazine has a full page advertisement for a "Real Estate Auction School." Yes, an Auction School that taught only the fine points of selling real estate at Auction. The school was operated by "Col. R. C. Foland of Noblesville, Indiana." ("Col." was short for Colonel, and every Auctioneer was a Colonel fifty years ago. Somewhere along the way we lost our title and for the most part the "Colonel" style Stetson hat that most Auctioneers wore, and the NAA sold as part of their product line.) The real estate school taught the "four fold service necessary to follow, to efficiently and successfully operate a real estate auction business."
The course was 3 weeks long and priced at $300. One line in the advertisement can be utilized today in marketing your Auctions, "Auctioneering is indeed the 'white heat' of salesmanship."
The President of the NAA in 1957 was Col. E.T. Sherlock from Kansas, the First Vice President was Col. Harris Wilcox from New York. Harris is still an active Auctioneer utilizing the "white heat of selling" and sporting a Colonel's hat in his every day affairs. He is a fantastic role model for our industry. The Second Vice President was Col. C.B. Smith from Michigan. The Secretary was Bernard Hart from Indiana and the Treasurer was Col. Henry Rasmussen from Nebraska. There were fifteen Directors serving on the Board. The Executive offices for the NAA were in Frankfort, Indiana.
The magazines in the 1950's averaged about forty pages and were full of great articles and photos. There were regular monthly contributors such as Col. B.J. Coats from Long Branch, NJ, Col. Guy L. Petit, Bloomfield, Iowa, Col. Walter Carlson, Triumph, Minn, Co. "Pop" Hess, Worthington, Ohio, Col. Fred W. Smiley, Saginaw, Mich., Col. C.E. Sandeffer, Topeka, KS, Col. Ernest T. Nelson, Renville, Minn, and Col. R.C. Foland, Noblesville, Ind. Their articles were very positive, uplifting, encouraging and always promoting the NAA and the Auction Method of Marketing.
The Auctioneer magazine of fifty years ago was much smaller in size but contained a lot of information including photos of graduating classes of Auction Schools, articles on the Auxiliary, news on Auctioneers, Auction events and state associations. There were letters to the Editor and display advertising.
Page fourteen of the January 1957 Auctioneer magazine gave a special thanks to the Auction schools and Auto Auction owners that underwrote the 1956 National Convention Luncheon that featured former President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. (If you would like to see and hear Truman's speech you can purchase a copy of the CD from Lynn Ward, Curator of our National Auctioneer's Museum, as part of last year's Limited Edition Historical package. Lynn's info is at the end of this article.) Wow, the NAA had a past President of the United States address the Auctioneers!
Col. Pop Hess' column, "Organization - The Wheel of Progress" touched on a subject that I believe still holds true and it has to do with the importance of the Auctioneering Associations. Pop said, "The National Association is the hub - on a strong axle, that must be well oiled to kill the squeaks that can be running dry. The State Associations are the spokes that hold the rim and tire in place, and the tread of this tire is the active members who do their bit to keep the tread from wearing into a flat tire."
The state associations were recognized then as now, as an integral part of the success of Auctioneers and the Auction Marketing. It was being proposed in 1957 by Col. Ralph S. Day, to form an Association of State Secretaries for the purposes of exchanging information. Today, the NAA sponsors the Annual State Leadership Workshop for the same reasons. Leaders can share ideas to bring home to their respective states to improve services and programs for the state Auctioneers. Of course, this is good for membership growth as well, which adds more tread to the tire.
The membership of the National Auctioneers Association in 1957 six hundred (Feb 16th). Today, the NAA has grown to nearly ten times what it was fifty years ago.
Today's National Auctioneer's Association President, Bill Sheridan, would be proud to know that the 1957 National Convention was held in his home state of Michigan. The National Conventions have traditionally been held in July. The 1957 Convention was slated for July 18th, 19th and 20th in Lansing, Michigan.
-top-
|
