FRANKLIN, Tenn. -

Missouri Auto Auction will play host to the top auctioneers from North America and the U.K. during this year’s World Automobile Auctioneers Championship.

Scheduled for April 15 at the auction’s Columbia, Mo. location, the event will also be webcast live on NIADA.tv starting at 8 a.m. (CST).

"We are pleased to sponsor this year's World Auctioneer Championships in partnership with the National Auto Auction Association and Nextgear Capital," said Kevin Brown, owner and general manager of Missouri Auto Auction. "And we are particularly excited to host the event here at our auction. We're extremely proud of our facility, which has undergone quite a transformation over the past several years as a result of a series of renovations and expansions.

"It is not often that an auction has the opportunity to open its doors to people from all areas of the auction business: auctioneers, ringmen, independent auction owners, corporate auction officials and national consignors. We're looking forward to welcoming them all, and showing them the best that Missouri Auto Auction has to offer."

This year’s judges include:
Spanky Assiter, the president of the National Auctioneers Association
Tom Moore, director of remarketing at Ally Financial
Jim Jackson, auction manager for ARI
Charles Nichols, BSC America’s president
Mike Scott, remarketing manager at Consumer Portfolio Services
Eldon Booth, vice president of operations, west for KAR/ADESA/IAA
Julie Picard, regional vice president of the west for Manheim
Frank Hackett, NAAA’s chief executive officer
Brian Geitner, NextGear Capital’s president
Mitch O’Neil, vice president of asset remarketing for Santander
John Elizaga, director of vehicle remarketing at EMKAY
Chad Baily, president of Akron Auto Auction.

In other auction news, Flint Auto Auction will host its annual Corvettes and Classics sale on April 13, which will feature 250 Corvettes and 200 classic and specialty units.

In conjuction with the auction’s regular weekly sale, total consignment is expected to eclipse 3,000 units.

"Over the years, the Corvettes and Classics Sale has become a grand tradition at Flint Auto Auction," said John Luce, the auction’s owner. "The Corvette was 'born' at the General Motors Plant right here in Flint, Michigan in 1953, so we're always excited to commemorate that red-letter event in automotive history by holding this annual sale."

For more information about Flint Auto Auction and its upcoming sales, visit its site here.