COLUMBUS — Auctioneers from across the state convened Jan. 4-6 for the Ohio Auctioneers Association annual conference.
During the conference, held at the Columbus Hilton Easton, the association inducted Bart Sheridan of Cedarville, Ohio, and Paul Good of Van Wert, Ohio, into the Ohio Auctioneer’s Hall of Fame, its highest award.
Bart Sheridan’s longtime auctioneer friends and competitors John Muncy, of New Lebanon, and Kevin Wendt, of Plain City, shared the microphone as they shared Sheridan’s biography and the accomplishments that paved the way for the recognition.
His father, longtime auctioneer and the 1996 OAA Hall of Fame inductee Keith Sheridan, was in attendance and provided the final introduction comments by video.
Sheridan received a bachelor of accountancy degree in 1989 from Miami University before practicing as a CPA in New Jersey and Ohio. He began his career as an auctioneer and real estate broker in 1995, shortly after returning to Ohio from New Jersey with his wife, Sandy, and his children.
Sheridan is a licensed auctioneer and real estate broker and today, with his brother Matt, owns and operates Sheridan & Associates, a full service auction and real estate company located in Cedarville.
The newest inductee earned his CAI (Certified, Auctioneers Institute) designation in 2001 and served as the OAA’s president in 2006 and also as its treasurer from 1998 to 2003. He was instrumental in numerous legislative victories for the industry in the early- and mid-2000s. Gov. John Kasich appointed him to the Ohio Auctioneers Commission in 2013, where he served for four years.
He is also involved extensively in church, civic, and government activities in Greene County.
Paul Good
Paul L. Good, a Van Wert native and auctioneer, was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame. Peter Gehres, also a Van Wert native and past president of the OAA, and Bill Sheridan, past president of the National Auctioneers Association, led the induction.
For over 35 years, Good was a leading auctioneer of purebred Angus cattle, Arabian horses and hogs, as well as benefit and charity auctions. From the 1940s through 1975, his skills were in high demand from coast to coast, as well as internationally, and he was highly regarded for his knowledge of the animals, the market and the buyers.
Good was born in 1916 and raised on the family farm near Van Wert. He attended The Ohio State University where he majored in animal science and was a member of the 1937 animal judging team and 1938 meats judging team. He was also a champion Ohio State wrestler and a member of the “Ten Depression kids at OSU” who went on to create a lasting impact in the livestock industry.
He sold sales for former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Senator Albert Gore, J.C.Penney, actor Fred McMurray and many other well-known individuals throughout his remarkable career.
In 1975, his auction career stopped suddenly as he was paralyzed from the hips down after surgery. He died in 2005.
In addition to the Ohio Auctioneers Hall of Fame, Good is also in the OSU Saddle and Sirloin Hall of Fame and the American Angus Association’s Angus Heritage Foundation.
Champions
Wayne Yoder, of Kaufman Realty & Auctions in Bridgeport, West Virginia, won the 2019 Ohio Auctioneers Senior Division Championship, and Landyn Butler of Portage, Ohio, was crowned the junior champion.
The competition, which featured 41 auctioneers vying for the title, is based on ability, expertise in the industry and presentation.
Yoder grew up on the farm and was a nationally known horse trainer for more than 10 years before he was encouraged by an old cowboy to get his auctioneer’s license. Wayne took the man’s advice and although a first generation auctioneer, had a natural talent for bid calling.
The champion will serve as an ambassador for Ohio in the coming year, including representing the state at the International Auctioneers Championship this July in New Orleans.
Yoder is a partner of Kaufman Realty & Auctions on Main Street, and is licensed in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
Association election
Throughout the weekend, auctioneers attended educational seminars from industry leading auctioneers and presenters, sponsored by the Ohio Auctioneers Commission/Department of Agriculture.
Featured speakers included Tim Luke; Barrett Bray, 2018 International Auctioneer Championship Champion; Mike Brandly; Tim Mast; and Camille Booker, and Jeanne Wiedt as the keynote speaker.
At the annual membership business meeting, Laura Mantle, of Columbus, was elected president; Wade Baer, of Rogers, vice president; Karen Huelsman; of Fairborn, treasurer; Brian Davis; of Columbus, director at large; Billy Peyton, of Middletown, Southwest Director; Robert Carpenter, of Wayne, Northwest Director.
Remaining board members include: Eli Troyer, Buddy Barton, Steve Hummel, Anna VanDyke and Immediate Past President, Darren Bok.
Marketing awards
The Wendt Group, of Plain City, Ohio, received the top marketing award, Auction Campaign of the Year, as well as best of show and 12 additional awards in brochure design, newspaper advertising, public relations, auction promotion, photography and digital and social media categories.
Other marketing category award winners included: Andy White, RES Auction Service; Richard Kiko Jr. Kiko Auctioneers; and Beth Rose, Beth Rose Real Estate & Auctions.
