From Left to Right: Blake McDaniel, Paul Ramirez, Jay Romine, Darren Carter, Brandon Neely, Will Epperly, Tom Frey, Brian Little
Yesterday was an awesome day! I traveled to Coffeyville Livestock in Coffeyville, Kansas and was hosted by James King and Brian Little at their 7th Anniverary sale. I want to say Congratulations to them on their 7th year of operation and on having their biggest sale yet of over 2,600 head of cattle!
It was a fun day full of ribeye sandwiches and great company. There were a lot of familiar chants in the sale barn yesterday. First off ther is Brian Little who just recently qualified for this year’s WLAC in Turlock, California and is one of the market’s co-owners. Paul Ramirez and Jay Romine also qualified for WLAC in Glasgow, Kentucky and they were put to work as well. Dustin Foct, last year’s WLAC Runner-Up Champion and Andrew McDowell, one of last year’s semi-finalist were also up on the block. There was a new face in the midst, Blaine Lotz is an up and coming face to the auction block. If you remember, last year during intermission of the Semi-Finalists competition, Blaine gave a speech about being an auctioneer. This year he has graduated from speech giver to auction competitor. He will be competing at the WLAC Quarterfinal in Greely, Colorado. I think yesterday he was able to get some pointers and hopefully ‘us old veterans’ didn’t scare him off. It is great to see new faces up on the block, especially ones with the passion and drive of Blaine.
All day we were joking that Coffeyville was hosting their own auctioneer competition. Though we didn’t have judges, and prizes weren’t awarded, Jay Romine named himself Champion of the day. Congratulations Jay!
Throughout this mini auctioneer competition I got to thinking (dangerous, I know), about what makes events like this so much fun and I trailed off into thinking about the uniqueness of our industry when it comes to relationships and camaraderie. Just look at it; at this one sale in the Midwest there were auctioneers representing Arizona, Kentucky, Illinois, Oklahoma and Kansas. We were all in one place to support our peers, celebrate their success and get some work done. Yes, it isn’t all work and we have a great time swapping stories, but at the end of the day we were all there FOR Coffeyville Livestock and to represent their consignors the best we possibly could. I see this type of gathering often and it makes me proud to be part of an industry where differences can be put aside, and everyone joins together to celebrate a job well done. The livestock marketing industry is very much about relationships. When looking at the big picture, we all work together to overcome obstacles to keep our businesses viable on a global scale. Livestock Marketing Association is a key example of how we get this done. Yesterday was a reminder of the importance of maintaining positive relationships in the industry and of what can be accomplished through hard work. My thanks, of course, go out to Coffeyville Livestock for hosting me and to all of my peers who helped make their special sale a success!
Well, this weekend I am off to watch the KSU vs MU game and the to NASCAR race in Kansas City! It will be nice to have a weekend off from farm work and to enjoy some family time. Happy Weekend to you all!
