2014 WAA HALL OF FAME HONOR AWARDED TO NELLIE BELAND

The temperatures outside may have been subzero, but inside an Appleton, Wis. hotel it was hot with excitement about the auction industry!

Auctioneers from throughout Wisconsin gathered at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel and Conference Center in Appleton on January 26-28 for “Spotlight on the Auctioneer” Wisconsin Auctioneers Association’s Winter Conference. The conference featured speakers, entertainment and competitions among countless other opportunities. Nationally known auctioneer Mike Brandly, CAI, presented seminars on “Baby Boomers & Demographics” as well as a very interesting seminar on “Auction Verdicts.” Another national speaker presenting at this year’s event included auctioneer David Whitley, CAI, who spoke on several auction industry- related topics. Dr. Jonathan Bock, and speech – language pathologists Carrie Katata and Caroline Ziegler presented on auctioneer voice health.

Highlights of the Winter Convention included the Monday evening Gala & Dinner where some of the Association’s most prestigious honors took place. Auctioneer Nellie Beland of Superior Auction & Appraisal LLC was inducted into the Wisconsin Auctioneer’s Association’s Hall of Fame! Beland has demonstrated her dedication through her leadership in the industry, where she has held many positions including President of the WAA in 2008. Family, friends and staff surprised Beland during the presentation as she received the award.

Beland is the Owner and Lead Auctioneer of Superior Auction & Appraisal LLC, which has been serving Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for 20 years.  Nellie's auction-related education, including degrees and certificates, includes education in the areas of appraisals, antiques, business management, estate specialization, real estate at auction for the non-broker, commercial and industrial equipment, coins, jewelry and Baby-Boomer Collections.  

Beland holds the CAI designation (Certified Auctioneer Institute), graduating in 2007 from Indiana University's 3-year program for professional auctioneers.

STILL feeling grateful:)

We are already more than half-way into the calendar year for 2014 and I am very grateful for another 'booming' year.  In the auction business, you really can't gauge how the next year will be as the buying and selling environment is so dependent on the economy, not only locally but also nationwide. 

We have been very fortunate that our local economy is pretty healthy due to the  Marinette Marine government contracts, the LE Jones & Enstrom Helicopter expansions, the award-winning Winsert Manufacturing Company, and many other local businesses that are doing well!

Although we are extremely thankful that we live in communities that have a low unemployment rate, we also recognize the need to expand the market for the merchandise that we sell through the World-Wide Internet.

Superior Auction offers 'Live Community Auctions' as well as 'Internet-Only Auctions' and have had successful buyers from many states, as well as buyers from Japan, Canada, Italy and other countries....

An obvious trend in today's market is of course, buying through the Internet.  Several of my recent educational opportunities provided interesting facts that are helpful to me in providing the best venue for selling my client's assets.  Last year, ALL of our real estate auctions were 'Internet-Only!... AND we sold all but one property that we contracted for:)  Yahoo!

We are looking forward to the second half of our 'selling year' which will start in August.  (We are trying REAL hard to take a break in July as that has always been a 'soft' month for auctions for many reasons including family vacations, etc)

We are looking forward to the fall real estate, commercial and personal property auctions that we have contracted for - GREAT FORECAST!!    SO... we REALLY won't have the month of July 'off,' but will be working on getting those auctions ready:)

We also want to note some fun summer events in the auction industry that we hope you will like:

Great friend and Oconomowoc Auctioneer Carol Miller will be competing again in the International Auctioneer's Championship Contest on Friday, July 11th and you can view the contest which will be livestreamed through http://www.auctioneers.org/.  (Some of you got to meet Carol at the Piquette Auction in Green Bay recently).  Carol was a finalist in last year's contest and would be an awesome ambassador for our industry!  

AND the 'Wisconsin State Championship Auctioneer's Contest' will be held at the State Fair Grounds in the Milwaukee area on Tuesday, August 5th.  I am extremely honored to be one of the five judges for the contest....AND am looking forward to eating some of those state fair 'heart attack' cheese curds:)!!

If you are at the Wisconsin State Fair on that Tuesday, please stop in to say hello and watch some great talented Wisconsin- Licensed Auctioneers!

FEELING GRATEFUL!

THANK YOU to our buyers, sellers, my 'retired' husband, our staff, professional service providers, food service providers, and other top-notch auctioneers that worked with us last year! It was a fantastic and very successful year for our company and we are very grateful for the solid people that we were surrounded with!!

All indications are that 2014 will be another busy year!  We have four 'live' auctions and one 'Internet-Only' auction scheduled for February, and several other auctions already contracted for in later months.

It felt good to take the month of January off and Gene and I are looking forward to a little more 'R & R' time in March also, although I'm sure we will schedule a couple of auctions that month also.

Some of the exciting merchandise in upcoming auctions include prime real estate, vehicles, antique furniture, several estates, and an excellent fishing lure collection from one owner!

If you have never attended a Superior Auction, we encourage you to give us a try!  We're known as the 'friendly' auction company and also as a pretty fun group of people to enjoy the day with!  We definitely have some fun-loving people on staff that are also very knowledgeable about the merchandise that we sell!

I am sincerely grateful to be a part of the auction industry and for all of our buyers, sellers, and co-workers!