Charly Cummings

CharlyCummings was born April, 29, 1979 in Yates Center, a rural community in
southeast Kansas. He grew up helping his dad and mom, Rick and Deanna, on the
farm while he was in school.  As a young
teenager, Charly would help his uncle and an auctioneer, Mike Audiss, at local
household sales and farm auctions.  He
would hold up items and catch bids, but soon discovered that the bid calling was something that came natural to him.
His Uncle Mike suggested that Charly should attend auctioneering school
and so he did.  In 1995, he attended the World Wide College of Auctioneering in Mason City, Iowa and for a week he was able to learn about several different facets of the auctioneering profession.  He continued to assist his
Uncle Mike with his sales and was able to take part in the bid calling more and
more as he got better and better.

Charly has a love for cattle and so he knew which way the auctioneering profession would take him, to the sale barn.  He tarted selling at age 21 at the Eureka Livestock Auction in Eureka, Kansas. Since then he has regularly sold at several area livestock barns including FortScott Livestock Market, Anderson County Sales, Mo-Kan Livestock Market, and Coffeyville Livestock Market. He has been selling the longest at Allen County Livestock Market, which he recently acquired part ownership in and is now known s Southeast Kansas Stockyard in Gas, Kansas.  long with his partners, John Adams, Josh Herrmann, and Scott Welch, the sale barn is managed with integrity ensuring that every Friday true price discovery is found.  Charly loves to to get acquainted with his customers when he is not behind the microphone and he believes that virtue and honesty will always come out on top in the end.  There is nothing that Charly will ask of his employees that he would not do himself, thus he can often be found at the sale barn on other days besides sale day unloading cattle, sorting cattle, and
making sure the health and safety of the animals is insured.

His first competition in the auctioneering world came in 1997 at the Kansas State
Fair in the Kansas Auctioneer Association (KAA) Bid Calling Contest.  At age 18, he was one of the youngest competitors and was able to come home with a fifth place finish. He would compete four more times before he was crowned the KAA Champion in 2009.  He would also be named the first KAA Livestock Auctioneering Champion in 2009 when the KAA held the competition at the El Dorado Livestock Market in El Dorado, Kansas.  In 2008, Charly entered the World Livestock Auctioneering contest, competing against the best in the world of livestock auctioneering. He qualified in Lamoni, IA and went on to the semi-final contest in Souix Falls, South Dakota. He was named the Rookie of the Year and was also a top-ten finalist.  In 2009, he competed in the WLAC again. He qualified in Texhoma, Okalahoma and then went on to
Fergus Falls, MN to repeat his performance as a top-ten finalist. In 2010 the
competition was in Oklahoma City at the National Stockyards. After a reserve champion qualifying run in Parsons, Kansas, Charly was able to earn the title of reserve runner-up in the World Livestock Auctioneering Contest finals. This year he had a focus and a drive to compete on the highest level yet.  He sharpened his interview skills and prepared himself mentally to take home the highest honor. His aim was right on because he was able to top the toughest field of competitors in the Greenville, SC championship.  Charly was honored and humbled to receive the championship crown because of the wonderful friendships he has made with the other auctioneers who also competed and were also worthy of the title.

As the 2011 WLAC champion, Charly is most looking forward to being the best
spokesperson for the LMA and for livestock markets and auctioneers all over the
nation.  He loves to meet new people and make appearances to develop new friendships and connections in the auction profession as well as the livestock market world.  Whether it is the farmer who is selling his livelihood that day at the market or if it’s the order buyer buying the farmer’s cattle or the market owner that is representing those cattle, Charly wants to be a steward to all of the facets of the livestock marketing world and get to know the men and women who keep it going. The impact that Charly would like to make as champion is to educate those he comes in contact with about how important the auction method of marketing is to keeping true price discovery as the focus of selling cattle on that particular day.  He would also like to emphasize how the LMA is an organization that can provide a variety of tools to make livestock markets run more profient and professional.

Charly has a loving and supportive family. Carrie, his high school sweetheart, has
been his wife since 2001.  She is a coach and future teacher in the Yates Center school district.  In 2005, they had their first child, a son, Cashten.  In 2008, they welcomed home their second child, a daughter, Cayten.  Charly would like to thank them, as well as, his parents, his Grandma Ivy Bell, and all his family, friends, and auctioneering mentors for their support in his endeavors in the auction profession.  When Charly is not at a sale barn working, he can be found at his ranch doing a variety of chores and taking care of his cattle.  He also likes to spend time helping his dad and mom run the farm and haying operations. Charly enjoys family time, where he can say he is exceptionally close to his parents and loves to devote his free time to his wife and kids.