Tag Archives: Jeff Hazaleus

“The Missouri Waltz”

After Thursday’s events concluded in Butler, Missouri LMA REO Jeff Hazaleus and I started off on the journey to Bowling Green,Missouri.  We made a quick jaunt back to Kansas City en route toBowling Green and I had the opportunity to meet Jeff’s family and snag some dinner.  Luckily for me Jeff knows of my love for BBQ and we stopped to have dinner at Timber Creek Bar & Grill in Louisburg, Kansas.  The BBQ was terrific!  I am a big fan of Kansas City style BBQ.  They really know what they are doing!

 When we were headed east out of Kansas City we drove right by Kauffman and Arrowhead Stadiums at the Sports Complex in Independence, Missouri.  They are home to the KC Royals and the KC Chiefs.  The Royals were playing the Mariners when we drove by and I have officially added attending a KC Royals game to my to-do list.  Their newly renovated stadium looked awesome! 

 We landed in Bowling Green late in the evening and we hit the sack as soon as we got to the hotel.  Friday morning Jeff and I headed off to Eastern Missouri Commission Company (EMCC) to attend their sale.  Justin Angell, Jon Angell and Mike VanMaanen are the owners of EMCC and did a terrific job of securing quality cattle consignments for the day.  They sold approximately 1,500 head of cattle consisting of about 1,000 feeder cattle and 450-500 cow/calf pairs.  The highlight of being on the block Friday at Eastern Missouri Commission Company was selling a cow/calf pair for $2,500.  I was very impressed and could not wait to tell everyone about it.  Having the opportunity to sell across the Country never gets old because something unexpected, new and unique seems to happen at every appearance I make, like selling a cow/calf pair for $2,500.

 A few other exciting things that happened on this trip include a visit by Brian Scribner from the National Auctioneer’s Association and an interview with Sara Brown from Farm Journal

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The pictures you see are courtesy of Brian Scribner.  Sara Brown took video and interviewed me.  She is from Mexico, Missouri and is the Livestock and Production Editor for Farm Journal.  You can check out their various publications on their website.  I believe the article about EMCC is going to appear in Top Producer Magazine

 My trip to Eastern Missouri Commission Company was a great way to round out my trip to Missouri.  Add to that quality time spent with Jeff Hazaleus on the road and some Kansas City BBQ and I could not have asked for a better experience.  I hope I can get another trip to Kansas City on the books, maybe even bring the family, check out a Royals game and sample some more BBQ.  Jeahn insists that Oklahoma Joes is the best inKansas City, but I have met a large group of loyal Jack Stack followers that disagree.  I feel that it is my duty as a BBQ fan to return to KC and make my own decision. :)

Curious about why I titled this post “The Missouri Waltz”?  The Missouri Waltz is the state song of Missouri!  Check out this clip of the song being sung by the Great Johnny Cash.

Good Morning Kansas City

I am currently on a trip in Missouri and had an awesome day yesterday in Kansas City and Butler.  I had the opportunity to promote the industry I love on television and sell at a highly respected market.  All in all it was a day for the books or in this case, this blog!

There will be two different posts about yesterday and I will put up notes about today as soon as possible!

 I started yesterday morning at the Fox 4 News Station in Kansas City at around 8:00 AM.  Even though I had been briefed before entering the studio I was still a tad nervous about what I had gotten myself into.  In the fifteen minutes before my airtime I met with meteorologist Karli Ritter and news anchors Mark Alford and Loren Halifax.  They gave me a very quick rundown of what would happen and then it was Showtime.

My first job in the studio was to do part of the weather broadcast.  I stood in front of the green screen and did my best to interpret the image I saw on the monitor with numbers and arrows.  Karli seemed impressed by how quickly I picked up the system.  I was happy I made it through without any major stumbles and I hope the unsuspecting citizens of Kansas City understood what I was saying.

 Funny thing happened when I started with the weather, the camera cut off the top of my head/hat.  The cameras are all controlled by a remote and it took them a second of me being on screen to adjust it for my height.  I was almost the headless auctioneer and everyone I know who was watching found it pretty comical.

Next stop in the studio was the anchor desk.  I stood next to news anchor Mark Alford and we did a little segment on auctioneering and then transitioned into talking about the value of livestock markets toKansas City and local communities across the country.  It was nice to have the opportunity to focus on the industry and importance of livestock marketing, not just auctioneering.  He did ask questions about ‘fast talking’ but seemed to understand that livestock auctioneering is more than just spitting out numbers and I appreciate that.

A side note about Mark Alford, he actually is a bit of an auctioneer himself.  He has done some charity auctions in Kansas City and even gave me a sample of his chant on air, cowboy hat on and all.  I gave him some pointers on what to say between the numbers and I hope they helped!  Good luck at your next auction Mark!

 After about an hour at the Fox 4 News studio LMA REO Jeff Hazaleus and I headed off to Butler, Missouri  to check out the sale at MO-KAN Livestock Market, Inc.  It was a relatively short drive and it gave me time to re-group and fully realize that I had just done a weather broadcast and interview LIVE on the News.  What a great day for firsts!