Sunday, July 11, 2010

"Surround Yourself With Good People"

One of the best things that was brought to my attention by a favorite college professor years ago, was to "surround yourself with good people." It's a simple concept but Jerry Anderson made an impact on me with that statement. (We won't go into his "fly with the eagles" communication:)

I am so grateful for our Superior Auction staff! Many of our current employees are "core" staff that have been with us for all or most of our 15 years in business! The majority of them have full-time careers in other fields, and work with us because it's "fun" and they love the auction environment!

My husband Gene is one of the best people that I could have "surrounded myself" with....although he works full-time as a helicopter mechanic, he is always there for business advice, a sounding board, putting up signs, providing "ring" and customer service at our auctions, and so much more!

My first office manager 15 years ago was my nephew, Eric, who was still in high school at the time. He was (and is) an awesome business manager and currently manages one of my brother Jeff's travel business operations in Orlando. Kris Anderson was my first "official" office manager and managed to work productively in a very small office that she shared with me in our home , and with her newborn daughter Cassidy Johnel. Jennifer Nowack, our current office manager, is lucky enough to have a large office all to herself in a separate office building. Jen's been with us full-time for over six years and puts out a huge amount of work, managing "behind-the-scene" duties both for our live and on-line only auctions.

Kathy Sackman (Kat) has been with us for several years in many roles, most recently taking over the management of the prep duties for our auctions. Jerry & Karen Stujenske are a big part of the prep crew and have been very helpful in many ways to our success!

Clerks, cashiers and ring people are essential to the business also. Linda, Kristina, Terri L, Terri K, and Penny have been contributing for many years, and are much appreciated! We also are very grateful for all of our high school students (many of which it is their first job opportunity), and for all of the occasional personnel that work for us.

Without a doubt, contract auctioneers are a very important part of "surrounding yourself with good people." They are the people that are most noticeable to the buyers, so it's important that they present themselves positively, are honest, entertaining, and have good customer service skills. Joe Cicero, has been a part of our business for "forever" and we snag him whenever we can get him! He's been pretty busy lately though, presenting seminars on Internet security all over the nation!
Carol Miller (Bailey's Honor Auction in Oconomowoc) has been a favored contract auctioneer with us for a long time, and we are honored to have her expertise as an auctioneer whenever she's available. Carol is an excellent example of "surrounding yourself with good people!" We're excited that she will be joining us for the August 7th auction in Wallace, and participating in the Waterfront Parade with "Opal, the famous duck boat."