I spent the last two days with Hannes Combest, President of the National Auctioneers Association (NAA), at the ASAE Springtime Expo gala in Washington, D.C. The first night of the event, ASAE hosted an event targeting young professionals, which nowadays are also called Millennials because of their birth year. The reception reminded me of a trend I've seen with regards to fundraising auctions. Many of the galas I work have a population in the age range of 45+. Some galas skew much older. ... Read On >
Sherry's Life
Mastermind in California for benefit auction business
Though I am a benefit auctioneer based in Virginia, I travel a lot. And I enjoy it! Six times in February and seven times in March I was on a plane or train headed off to work or visit clients. Most of that travel was along the East Coast, but this trip was out West ...to California! Earlier this year I was in Los Angeles for a related business conference, but this is a new group. This trip is part of a 12-month Mastermind program focused on using new media (the Internet) in a business ... Read On >
This Virginia benefit auctioneer is in Indiana for an “MBA”
This week I've been in Bloomington, IN. I'm attending the National Auctioneers Association (NAA) Education Institute's program known as Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI). CAI is a three-year program, so I won't graduate until 2011. My colleagues include ~66 auctioneers of all specialties. The Education Institute describes CAI as being "designed for leaders in the industry." It's an "executive development program focused on developing skills and providing tools." Most of us just refer ... Read On >
Live auction item idea: Time on boats and yachts
One of the enjoyable aspects of my work is the people I meet in wildly different professions. Like, for instance, the patron at a Miami auction who invited me to join his crew as they moved yachts from Miami to Fort Lauderdale after the Miami Boat Show. We left before sunrise, navigated up the intercoastal waterway, and arrived in Fort Lauderdale a few hours later to enjoy lunch. What a nice way to spend the morning! Boating activities are a good silent or live auction item, though I ... Read On >
Learning to expand my soul … and bank account.
Though this Virginia benefit auctioneer is currently hanging out in Miami after conducting a gala down here, I'll soon be leaving for Los Angeles to attend a 4-day business / spiritual symposium sponsored by Christine Closer, author of, "The Freedom Formula: How to put Soul in Your Business and Money in Your Bank." Keeping in mind that Red Apple Auctions only works with charities ... and realizing that these charities raise money for causes which pull at our heart-strings ... and given ... Read On >