The National Auctioneers Association elected Kelly D. Strauss to its Board of Directors at the recent 2018 International Auctioneers Conference and Show held in Jacksonville, FL this summer.
Past president of Virginia Auctioneer Association, Strauss was born in Radford, and grew up in Christiansburg. As a young man working in sales, he was casting around for a profession, so he asked his dad.
“I was at a point in my life after 20 years of sales – I had sold cars, insurance, door-to-door insurance sales… and I was with my dad dove hunting in King George and I said, “If you had to do it over again, what would you do?” and he didn’t even pause and said, “I’d be an auctioneer.””
So, Kelly went to auctioneer school. There are at least 20 around the US including North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
Kelly went to World Wide College of Auctioneering in Mason City, Iowa, then the Certified Auctioneers Institute, Bloomington, Indiana.
“They help you develop your auction chant and learn about real estate, equipment, livestock, tobacco sales. All types of different things. Online auctioneering now too,” he said. ‘They teach you the basics and then help you get with a mentor.”
As an auction coordinator of Nicholls Auction Marketing Group, Inc., Strauss oversees the day-to-day management of complex auction projects for the company that specializes in real-estate sales.
“It’s a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful profession. There’s something new every day.”
The National Association supports its 4000 members with continuing education.
“There may be a class in real-estate taught by an attorney for ethics and new laws. How to list your equipment. Auction marketing management. The new social media platform. How to market your auctions.”
At the 2018 International Auctioneers Conference and Show where Strauss was officially elected, auctioneers from all over the world were represented including people from England Japan, South Africa and Australia. For auctioneers, language is an art.
“In Pennsylvania some auctioneers switch between English and German to serve their audiences,” Strauss said, “I speak some Spanish.”
As a member of the board, Strauss plans to promote mentorship to support new auctioneers.
“I was mentored along. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime. It’s a positive mental attitude. I just like giving back. I will be proposing an NAA mentorship program to assist the success of new and even returning auctioneers as they become part of the NAA auction family.”
Strauss has served on numerous national, state, and local boards and is active in many community and church activities in King George. For more information about the National Auctioneering Association and schools visit www.nichollsauction.com and www.auctioneers.org.
