HARRISBURG, Pa. — Persistence pays off. In his fourth attempt as a contestant in the annual Pennsylvania Auctioneer Competition at this year’s 109th Pennsylvania Farm Show, one man realized his dream of holding the bid-calling trophy. Colin McPeak stood out atop 21 other contestants on Jan. 8 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex for the coveted honor.
The competition is organized by the Pennsylvania Auctioneers Association in Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania.
McPeak is a specialist in firearms and auto auctions from Needmore, in Fulton County, Pennsylvania. He runs Youngblood and McPeak Auctions, based in Berkeley, West Virginia, with his grandfather, Lewis Youngblood.
He spoke about his road to the championship — after auctioning a 2007 Buick Luzerne CX sedan with a little more than 80,000 miles for $3,000 — at the end of the contest. McPeak was named Rookie Champion in 2022 and took third place in the auctioneer contest in 2023 and 2024.
“There are great teachers at these events,” McPeak said. “We study how it’s done and we, as auctioneers, are willing to learn from it.”
One of McPeak’s inspirations comes from the National Auto Auction Association’s world champion auctioneer, James Benton Pendleton, of Salt Lick, Kentucky. McPeak also credits a great influence, Michael Adcock of Adcock Auctioneers Inc., York, Pennsylvania. Also helpful were auctioneer Preston Hardee, of Ocala, Florida and Zach Shelley, of Baltimore, Maryland.
In competition
Eight judges, seven of them previous Farm Show PAA champions, judged competitors on their presentation, voice control, clarity and salesmanship.
There were three rounds: warm-up, preliminary and final. The warm-up round featured one auction item for each contestant on the block.
In that round, McPeak auctioned a charcuterie board for a bid of $29.50. In the preliminary round, which featured two items on the block, McPeak accepted bids of $145 for a Dutch oven and $55 for an electric wine set.
In the final round, which narrowed the contestant number to 10, McPeak accepted a bid of $55 for a 19th-century inkwell and $225 for a designer purse.
First-generation auctioneer
One of his specialties is antique guns, so selling the inkwell allowed McPeak, a first-generation auctioneer, to be knowledgeable and fluid in his banter to the bidders.
McPeak has a Federal Firearms License. He is a recent graduate of the Worldwide College of Auctioneering in Des Moines, Iowa.
In addition, McPeak received some recent education from the Mason-Dixon Auto Auction in Greencastle, Pennsylvania.
McPeak lives in Fulton County with his wife, Allyson, and their 1-year-old girl, Berkley.
At the PAA competition, coming in second place was Chase Noll, Manheim, Pennsylvania. Third place went to Levi Fisher, Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
The PAA has six chapters. This year, the Lehigh Valley chapter helped run the statewide contest.
A fun youth auction was scheduled during Pennsylvania Farm Show Week at the 2025 annual PAA Conference and Trade Show at the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey.
For more information, visit www.paauctioneers.org.
