Manheim Auctions’ Nashville Auto Auction recently hosted the 2003 World Auctioneer Championships. Auctioneers and ringmen from across the United States and Canada gathered to compete during a two-day, live sale.

Judges scored auctioneers on their clarity and cadence, block presence, product selling points and bidder interaction. Ringmen were judged on ring presence, bidder interaction and product selling points. Judges also scored auction teams on clarity and cadence, ring/block presence, bidder interaction and teamwork.

Winners were:

Auctioneers:
John Nicholls of Fredricksburg, Va. (First place)

Cheri Boots-Sutton of Louisiana, Mo. (Second place)

Phil Faulkner of Uxbridge, Ontario (Third place)

Ringmen:
Steve Shelton of Barrie, Ontario (First place)

Clint Minchew of Fairfield, Texas (Second place)

Dustin Taylor of Albertville, Ala. (Third place)

Teams:
Phil Faulkner/ Steve Shelton (First place)

Steve Holt of Peyton, Colo./Derek Reeves of Boone, Colo.

(Second place)

Phillip McCristall of Oshawa, Ontario/ Phil Faulkner

(Third place)

“We’ve made a lot of friends over the years,” said Phil Faulkner, a 21-year auction veteran of Toronto Auto Auction who won three awards overall. “It’s great to gather with other auctioneers who are serious about this profession. We really do care about what we do.”

The 15th annual event, considered “the Super Bowl for auctioneers,” also raised more than $28,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Seven-year-old Mary Jo Dietsch, a St. Jude patient, served as Grand Marshal of the event.

Mary Jo drew pictures throughout the day that car dealers attending the event purchased for more than $1,000 apiece. Seven donated vehicles were auctioned to raise more than $12,000 for the hospital, and Nashville Auto Auction made a donation of more than $8,000.

“It’s a great day at the auction when you can make auctioneers into champions and make a donation to a good cause all in the same day,” said Sam Chaple, auction manager of Nashville Auto Auction. “We’re proud that we do business with such generous people. On a day like this, everyone wins.”

Mary Jo was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2001. After an initial surgery, the tumor returned and she was given a slight chance to live. But her father, Dan Dietsch, assistant general manager of operations at Nashville Auto Auction, located a doctor at St. Jude in Memphis who performed an experimental radiation therapy that saved her life.

About Manheim Auctions

Dedicated to helping dealers succeed, Manheim Auctions offers services that impact every stage of a used vehicle’s life cycle. These include transaction, reconditioning and certification services, managed remarketing, end-of-lease-term management services, vehicle transportation, dealer floor planning, retail inspection and government auction services. The company also assists auto manufacturers, fleet and lease companies, banks and other financial institutions in selling their used vehicle inventories. A technology provider to the wholesale auction industry, Manheim offers technology tools that help dealers and national consignors handle their remarketing transactions more efficiently.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., Manheim Auctions has more than 32,000 employees at its 124 auctions and related businesses. Manheim is a global remarketing organization with 85 auctions in North America and additional operations in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Australia and New Zealand. In the year 2002, the company says it auctioned 9.6 million vehicles at its North American auctions.