If you stand outside any of the auction lanes at Manheim North Carolina, one of the voices you may hear is that of Phillip Batchelor.
The Wilson, N.C., native has been an auctioneer in the auto business for 25 years, but he actually got his start as a youngster, auctioneering off cakes at a talent show in the third grade.
From an early age, Batchelor began to pick up his chant, tailoring his style to that of the Kenneth Aycock — the late father of Manheim North Carolina general manager and newly inducted NAAA president Ellie Johnson — listening to him auction clothing items at the stockyard in Rocky Mount, N.C.
(Aycock began auctioneering in 1958, before the family opened what would eventually become Manheim North Carolina in 1984).
“I listened to him all through the years, and never dreamed that I would work for him, or that he would help me get into this business, and he did,” Batchelor said.
In talking with Auto Remarketing in the offices of Manheim North Carolina this summer, Batchelor was a wealth of knowledge on the tools of the trade for being an effective auctioneer.
And interestingly enough, much of his success comes from what he does away from the block to build professional relationships and foster trust with buyers and sellers.
And whether you’re on the block or not, you have to learn to juggle, and do so energetically.
“You have to maintain a great energy level,” Batchelor said. “You have to keep your mind sharp. Multitasking, to me, is a major part of this business, because everything just happens in a microsecond, so to speak. And if you’re not on top of your game, then you fall backwards a little bit.”
When it comes to keeping his multitasking skills sharp, the little things can help. For example, Batchelor said that even at home, he will play around with his phone while watching TV — just to make sure he is doing two or three things at the same time.
That’s just one skill he has picked up along the way; Batchelor still learns on the job, even after 25 years.
“You almost learn something new every day,” Batchelor said. “Because the cars are changing, the auction business is changing some … when we started out, you had a printed block sheet. Now everything is computerized. Now we’ve got video and audio in the lanes; we didn’t have that many years ago.”
The Dealer
One of the changes in the auction business that Joey Boykin has seen firsthand has been the information available through the Internet. The Smithfield, N.C., independent dealer — who runs two dealerships and a mechanic shop — is both a buyer and seller at the auction.
And given the rapidly advancing information age of the Internet, he readily admits that this presents a double-edged sword.
“When I’m selling out there, I’m all for the Internet. But when I’m buying, I’m all against it,” he says.
It gets a few laughs among those seated with Boykin during an interview, but the challenge is very real: dealers have much more information at their disposal during an auction, but so do their competitors; and if they’re selling cars at auction, so do the bidders.
Boykin, who owns Boykin Motors in Smithfield, said he has adjusted his business model, given changes like these — among others — in both the wholesale and retail markets that have impacted him and other dealers.
“I’ve been in business 20 years and have been a truck and SUV man for all of those years. And I’ve had to learn to make changes to sell cars,” he said. “Trucks have gotten so expensive that we are not able to make a profit … I’ve learned that I can buy a car for $10,000 to $12,000, less miles, less money and I have less (to do to it) to get it ready.”
Another change Boykin has made a few years back was to start doing condition reports on any car he sold at the auction, an idea actually prompted by Johnson at Manheim North Carolina.
“She was the one who recommended I do it, because I was struggling a little bit. I would get the cars here on Saturday or Monday morning, and we weren’t doing the numbers that we needed to do,” said Boykin.
“She said, ‘Why don’t you try to do some condition reports? That way they’re online, people can view the cars over the weekend or at their convenience and they know what they’re trying to buy, whether they’re here or on the Internet buying,’” he added.
On that particular Monday he was talking with Auto Remarketing, Boykin had 47 Internet buyers, but he said that number has been as high as 90.
“When you’ve got that many buyers on the Internet … like I said, when you’re selling, it’s a great advantage; when you’re out on the floor trying to buy, it’s tough,” Boykin said. “If I was in the wholesale market, I would highly recommend you get the cars here on time to have a condition report.”
The Ringman
Jason Littlefield has been a ringman for more than a decade, and the biggest adjustment he has had to make in his job certainly has to do with cars, but it’s not what you might expect.
Littlefield said the first thing that comes to mind when he thinks about adapting to the ringman’s life has been the time spent on the road.
“Growing up, it was 20 miles to Spartanburg, which is where the mall was. And if we did that, it was on a Saturday and it was a big deal,” Littlefield.
He’s got a different perspective now, to say the least.
Littlefield — who is based in upstate South Carolina town of Gaffney — estimates he is on the road more than 1,500 miles a week across the Tar Heel and Palmetto states for trips to Manheim North Carolina and auctions in Greensboro, Charlotte and Charleston.
“You just get used to it, I think,” he said, adding that carpooling helps, as well. “It’s almost like you get used to being on the road; just like anything else, it almost becomes a habit and not quite as big a deal as you thought it was 15 years ago.”
And maintaining that sharpness and alertness in the lanes, especially after long trips, is key for a ringman.
“It does get hectic sometimes, especially some of the lease lanes, where you have a lot of people bidding,” he said. “If (the auctioneer is) locked in on two people, I try to look and see if somebody else is trying to bid that he maybe he didn’t see and try to keep all the confusion down.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned is trying to make sure there is no confusion after the hammer falls, trying to make sure that all the confusion — if there is any — is taken care of before the hammer ever falls,” Littlefield said.
As such, it’s also important to keep an open line of communication with the auctioneer. That includes maintaining eye contact, hand signals, pointing things out that the auctioneer may have missed and clearing up any confusion before the hammer drops.
“I always try to be courteous to the auctioneer,” Littlefield said. “To me, I work for that auctioneer at that point in time. I don’t try to override him; I don’t try to overrun him; I just try to work together.”
And in an industry where there are so many interwoven pieces moving at once, that seems to be sage advice.
The latest respective philanthropic efforts by Manheim and Dealer’s Auto Auctions are designed to help some worthy constituencies — military veterans and impoverished youth.
Basketball fans might remember this name from the 1990s: Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. Dealer’s Auto Auctions kicked off a two-day fundraising campaign with a silent, and not-so-silent auction of some of Hardaway’s NBA memorabilia with proceeds going toward Penny’s FastBreak Courts, an inner-city youth sports training program for youngsters in the Memphis area.
In hopes of providing area children the opportunity to play in a better environment, the former University of Memphis and NBA star announced plans for a 100,000-square-foot facility with a championship court and six additional regulation courts.
Lexus of Memphis hosted the opening fundraising event, and DAA Memphis general manager Phillip Butler brought the hands up to bid top dollar on several items, culminating in a $6,500 winning bid for a Schwinn WHIZZER motor bike.
David Andrews, chief executive officer of City Enterprises, was heard to say “it took a five iron and several auctioneers” to raise more than $100,000 for a good friend’s charitable fund that has been close to his heart for quite some time.
The second day of the campaign is when the five-irons came into play at the Spring Creek Ranch Golf Course, where pros were matched with dealers for a tournament to benefit Hardaway’s project.
“With declining government funds and facilities for youth sports, we knew it would be a challenge for Penny to raise the funds while still trying to keep his program going in the interim,” Andrews said. “This was a cause our entire company could — and did — get their hearts around.”
The $20 million facility would house seven basketball courts, including a 2,000-seat arena, a rehabilitation clinic and classrooms for tutoring. The facility also would be used for volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading and other indoor sports.
Hardaway says it’s a way to give back to the city. Hardaway made a mark early in his NBA career when he teamed with Shaquille O’Neal to lead the Orlando Magic to the league’s championship finals. He also was part of a notable Nike campaign highlighted in commercials like this one.
"I grew up on a dirt basketball court, just trying to play the best way I could," Hardaway said. "Then I was with the Boys Club, which was really my savior, because it allowed me to go and play away from my neighborhood, to have the peace of mind to be able to do the things I wanted to do."
Mark Hopkins, national fleet lease manager for Dealers Auto Auction, added, “We believe in Penny’s vision, and how important he felt it was to build a facility that can house these kids and help direct their life away from the gangs and dangerous influences found in many inner-city communities.”
Special Auction to Benefit Purple Heart Service Foundation
The Purple Heart Service Foundation and Manheim are partnering to offer a special charity classic car sale at Manheim Fredericksburg beginning at 11:30 ET on Oct. 2.
Organizers highlighted these rare and valuable classic cars all were donated to Purple Heart Services to be auctioned off to raise money to help continue this organization’s mission of more than 50 years of providing valuable services and benefits to all veterans.
The dealer-only event will include live bidding from dealers in the lanes and making offers online. This special sale will feature more than 60 classic cars, including a 1928 Ford Model A Coupe, a 1971 Mustang Fastback and a 1951 Daimler Hooper Empress.
The profits from the auction of Purple Heart Cars make it possible for The Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation to provide emotional, physical, educational and financial support for wounded and disabled veterans, to help improve their lives. Programs include suicide prevention, support for veterans with brain injuries, counseling for post-traumatic stress (PTS) and assistance for women’s health issues — all common challenges for veterans,” according to the organization.
The Purple Heart Service Foundation also provides scholarships, family assistance, claims assistance and employment training. Family members can get support, learning how to help disabled veterans to cope with their physical, emotional and behavioral challenges.
For more information, visit www.PurpleHeartFoundation.org.
Manheim Showcases Investments Totaling More Than $100 Million
Along with its latest charity work, Manheim highlighted that it is investing more than $100 million during three years in its North American auctions.
Officials explained the investment, which started last year, includes various facility upgrades and renovations, lane improvements, energy saving projects and a long-term modernization initiative that will significantly improve how employees and customers interact.
To date, Manheim pointed out this initiative has automated how sales are set up at auction, reducing this task from two days to two hours and replacing paper-based vehicle lists with a new mobile tool that creates more efficient routes for auction drivers.
Here are some examples of the company’s largest projects:
• Auction Modernization Initiative: This long-term, multi-million dollar redesign effort will take advantage of new technologies to greatly improve auction processes and enable employees to spend more time interacting with customers. Tapping employees’ auction expertise, including having them help customers navigate more effectively through physical and digital sales, is what customers told Manheim they valued.
• Renovations and facility upgrades at Manheim Chicago, Manheim Denver, Manheim Fort Lauderdale, Manheim Lakeland and Manheim Louisville: New lane upgrades and the addition of a double-block lane set-up were implemented at Manheim Chicago this year. These improvements double the space of each lane, allowing medium to smaller-size cars to run down the lanes together.
Manheim Denver received 11 new auction blocks, while Manheim Louisville underwent significant remodeling that resulted in a larger lobby area that offers customers more space. This location also opened a new digital lounge where dealers can access digital tools such as iPads to buy and sell vehicles. Manheim Fort Lauderdale will receive a larger dealer sales area and new digital lounge by November. A new canopy was installed at the vehicle entry area at Manheim Lakeland, allowing enough space for reports on up to four cars to be written simultaneously under cover from the weather.
• eGate Transportation Enhancements: Working with Ready Auto Transport, Manheim launched a new electronic gate pass process at all auction locations. This enhancement improves vehicle delivery time for buyers at auction. Ready Auto Transport now can electronically deliver eGate passes for all customer vehicles directly to its 6,500-member qualified carrier network, making the pickup of vehicles from the auction faster and more efficient.
• Enhanced Vehicle Imaging Suite: This product, unveiled earlier this year, can offer customers high resolution image quality along with up to 15 vehicle images with “heat map” graphics that can help buyer quickly assess vehicle condition. Each location also offers a dedicated photo staff in an attempt to ensure consistent image quality and standards across all Manheim locations. This suite is now offered at 20 locations in North America.
• Alternative Energy: During the last year, Manheim installed approximately 9,000 solar panels across Manheim Albany, Manheim New Jersey, Manheim New York, Manheim North Carolina and Manheim San Diego. Solar panels are supporting local efforts to reduce energy consumption. At Manheim New Jersey, 4,000 of the total panels complete the final phase of its 7,700 solar panel array. Since 2007, Cox, Manheim and its affiliated foundations have invested millions in sustainability and conservation through operations projects and grants to environmental nonprofits.
“As we celebrate our 70th anniversary next year, it’s an exciting time to recognize the role that auctions have played in the past and the important role they will play in our future,” said Janet Barnard, Manheim North America executive vice president and chief operating officer.
“Our goal is to continue to invest in areas within our auctions that make it easier for customers to do business, while freeing up time for our employees to deliver the type of service our customers have come to expect,” Barnard added.
At the NAAA Convention in Boston, the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association awarded its 2014 Auto Auction of the Year honors to Dealers Auto Auction of Huntsville, Ala.
The award, which began back in 2008, is designed to highlight an NAAA member showing the highest level of customer service and resources for NIADA dealers, while also supporting its state association and its dealer members, NIADA said. The annual winning auction is also one that participates in dealer events and gives back to the community.
“This is an auction that has truly exemplified its business excellence, industry involvement and community service and has shown a real heart for taking care of its own employees and families," NIADA executive vice president Steve Jordan said.
“With a standing challenge to each of his location managers to find meaningful ways to give back to their communities, (owner) David Andrews has created a corporate culture that seeks to contribute to the lives of those they serve in business,” he added.
Elsewhere at the convention, Columbus Fair Auto Auction owners and president Alexis Jacobs was inducted into the NAAA Hall of Fame.
The annual Hall of Fame Award is given to an auction executive and/or industry supporter consistently carrying out the NAAA Code of Ethics.
Jacobs has headed up the auction started by her father, William Jacobs, since his death in 1982 and has won numerous business and auction industry accolades, including the 2011 NAAA Pioneer Award.
“Alexis puts her all into absolutely everything she does,” said Jim Hallett of KAR Auction Services, who presented the award to Jacobs. “She is a true inspiration to many in the industry, in the community, and to me personally.
“Anyone who knows Alexis, knows that she loves cars; she loves the auction business; and she loves people. She truly is one-of-a-kind and has created a lasting legacy in our industry.”
These awards were in addition to several others announced during the NAAA Convention, including Auto Remarketing founder and publisher emeritus Ron Smith earning the 2014 Marie Hingst Exhibitor of the Year Award.
Ron Smith, chief executive officer of S&A Cherokee and Publisher Emeritus of Auto Remarketing, earned the National Auto Auction Association 2014 Marie Hingst Exhibitor of the Year Award during the 66th Annual NAAA Convention & Exposition in Boston this week.
Smith has long been a highly visible fixture in the remarketing industry as publisher of Auto Remarketing, the national trade publication dedicated to providing automobile dealers and industry vendors with the most up-to-date and vital information about the wholesale and retail used vehicle marketplaces.
Smith has worked in publishing and communications for more than 40 years. He started S&A Cherokee, parent company to Auto Remarketing, The National Remarketing Conference, and Used Car Week in 1982 and has operated the company continually since that time.
Today, the burgeoning operation lists three divisions: Cherokee Media Group, which owns and operates print and digital media as well annual industry conferences and events; S&A Communications, a full-service, diversified marketing and public relations firm; and CarMark, which owns and operates CarMark Certified Pre-Owned and CarMark Auto Finance.
“This award is such a great honor, and Ron is so deserving,” said Bill Zadeits, president of Cherokee Media Group and publisher of Auto Remarketing and SubPrime Auto Finance News. “He's been involved with the fine people at NAAA for nearly 30 years, and Auto Remarketing, with Ron at the lead, has been supporting the convention as an exhibitor since the early '90s.
“The NAAA Convention has always been a 'must-attend' for Auto Remarketing team, and Ron has been the one to spearhead our investment in time, effort, resources, energy and our preparation and planning for the convention. He believes strongly in the people and companies that make up the NAAA membership and has always been an advocate.”
Frank Hackett, executive director, said the association was pleased to honor Smith for his decades of support to the auction association and the remarketing industry as a whole.
“Ron has been a supporter of the association in providing our industry with news, information and analysis as well as excellent profiles of many of our industry's leaders,” Hackett said. “Auto Remarketing never misses one of our events.”
A lifelong entrepreneur, Smith has served successful tenures as a newspaper reporter and editor, magazine publisher and editor, association executive and public relations counselor. He began his career while in high school by working as a writer for a newspaper.
He worked his way through college as an employee of various newspapers, and he completed college while working at a newspaper full-time. He is a member of the Public Relations Society of America since 1976 and was accredited in 1981. He was recognized in 2011 by the NAAA with the prestigious Warren Young Fellow award.
The Exhibitor of the Year Award is named in honor of its first recipient in 2006, Marie Hingst. In recognition of her years of dedication and commitment to NAAA, the award is presented each year at the NAAA annual convention to an exhibitor who displays a similar degree of devotion.
More NAAA & Auction Awards
Elsewhere at the NAAA Convention this week, the associate posthumously honored Don Meadows with its National Auto Auction Association Industry Pioneer Award. His wife, Shannon, and daughter Lucy Meadows accepted the award.
Meanwhile, earning the NAAA Association Bernie Hart Memorial Auctioneer Award was Michael Chambers.
NextGear Capital revealed its second annual auction awards on Wednesday at NAAA, giving the honors to:
Large Market: Southern Auto Auction
Medium Market: Harrisburg Auto Auction
Small Market: ABC Bowling Green
Remarketer of the Year: Akron Auto Auction
Next, Chase Auto Finance announced its 2014 Chase Cup for Auction Excellence winners at NAAA, spotlighting auctions for exceptional performance in retention, operational efficiency, expense control, accuracy, sales and service delivery.
Winners were determined based on Chase’s review of the 31 auctions it does business with from August 2013 through July. The company examined the auctions’ performances in preparation, sales, invoice processing, transport requests, title processing and other capabilities.
“Chase Auto Finance congratulates these auto auctions for their outstanding performance and significant contributions to the used vehicle industry,” said Sandra Broderick, senior vice president and operations executive for Chase Auto Finance. “The Chase Cup celebrates auctions with a strong commitment to exceptional customer service, high-performing financial results and operational excellence.”
In its press release, Chase said the following about its winners:
- ADESA Lexington was named the winner of the Best National Auction Performance, in addition to being recognized for delivering the best regional performance in the Southeast.
- Manheim Orlando was awarded the Douglas F. Wininger Memorial Award for Best National Performance Service Delivery, an award that recognizes outstanding service in measurable areas such as transportation management, sales, invoicing and other operational measures.
- Manheim Seattle received a number of national and regional honors, including best performance in the West and best national performance in Mazda and Subaru sales.
Other top-performing auctions recognized by Chase were:
- Best National Jaguar Sales – Manheim Dallas
- Best National Land Rover Sales – Manheim Riverside
- Best Regional Performance, Northeastern – Manheim Pittsburgh
- Best Regional Performance, Midwestern – Columbus Fair Auto Auction
- Best Regional Performance, Central – Manheim Denver
Additionally, Chrysler shared that it presented Manheim Detroit with its auction of the year back in June. This marked the second straight year Manheim Detroit has won this award.
KCI Kansas City’s 5th Annual Guitars and Cars Sale brought over 1,000 buyers to the two-day sale for record-breaking results at the end of August. With more than 2,000 vehicles crossing the block, the auction successfully sold 58 percent of its consignment during the event.
According to Doug Doll, the auction’s co-owner, the only thing as exciting as the flow of sales were the performances.
“This year we changed things up by bringing in Lee Brice, a more current country music artist, and he performed above and beyond everyone’s expectations,” Doll said. “The atmosphere was electric, and everyone had an amazing time.”
The event began with a mid-morning sale featuring a $1,000 pre-sale drawing and over 500 fleet, lease and repossessed vehicles. The concert followed, with KCI’s own Justin Temme, and the The Cronkites, opening for Lee Brice. Thursday morning featured the main event sale, with over 1,500 vehicles and $20,000 in post-sale prizes and giveaways.
On the East Coast, the State Line Auto Auction in Waverly, N.Y., acknowledged two employees each with a month of paid vacation for each of their 25-year contributions to the auction as employees. Bernie Andrews and Steve Olmsted were honored and thanked for their service by auction owner Jeff Barber.
“Both Bernie and Steve have been instrumental to our success at State Line Auto Auction,” Barber said. “As two key members of my staff, they have helped build this facility, quite literally, and their contributions are part of the very fabric of our business, helping to shape the experience our customers have every time they buy or sell at the auction.”
More information on Andrews’ and Olmsted’s contributions to State Line Auto Auction can be found on the ServNet Auction’ Group’s website.
With the National Auto Auction Association’s annual conference about to start, Manheim highlighted the success of its fast-growing mobile auction network, which is now available in more than 10 states and expanding soon into Canada.
Even though the network has been operating for more than 10 years, Manheim highlighted dealers are still discovering this solution as a viable option for conducting business, one that extends their market reach and includes all the excitement of a physical auction but hosted locally on their own lots.
Furthermore, Manheim noted that participating sellers still are finding the sales to be beneficial because they’re attracting customers from previously underserved markets — buyers who now have access to inventory in their local area.
“Although we pioneered mobile auctions over 10 years ago, we’re seeing dealer demand for them starting to soar,” said Bonnie Hensler, vice president of Manheim Product Development. “Dealers tell us that this type of sales channel lets independents and other local buyers gain efficient access to their used vehicles, while benefitting from the many services that our physical auctions offer.”
Because Manheim’s mobile auction travels to a dealer’s lot, transportation and travel costs for dealers are reduced. Most mobile auctions are facilitated via a converted RV trailer, using a satellite dish to enable the full Simulcast capability.
Manheim provides an auctioneer and staff while the dealer supplies the vehicle and the location.
Manheim also provides the support services dealers have come to expect and appreciate, including financing, condition reports and post-sales inspections.
A typical Manheim mobile auction will draw up to 90 live buyers and up to 50 off-site buyers, often international, via Simulcast.
“When we finally committed to Manheim and the mobile auction, we began to see results immediately,” said Don Allen, vice president at Jerry’s in Weatherford, Texas. “Today, 10 years later, we sometimes need to have two sales per month in order to run all the cars. The partnership we have formed with Manheim has been very beneficial for us. We will sell approximately 200 vehicles at each mobile sale and with Manheim’s help, have very good participation from the wholesale dealers.”
The company added that the ideal seller candidate for a Manheim mobile auction is a dealer with a minimum of 100 vehicles for sale each month and requires turnover of at least that number 10 to 12 times a year. Manheim’s traditional auction fees will apply.
Customers interested in the Bel Air Auto Auction and the Tallahassee Auto Auction will have a new auction tool available next month.
BSCAmerica, the parent company of the two auctions, has announced the forthcoming launch of its mobile app, which will allow dealers to view auction information, perform searches and make bids to purchase vehicles via their mobile devices.
With an early-October launch expected for Apple iOS and an Android-compatible version available shortly after, Michelle Nichols, BSCAmerica’s vice president, believes the new app will be a much-appreciated option for busy dealers.
“Our website is an indispensable tool, and we’re pleased to offer the new mobile app that makes its features available to our customers when they are on the go and don’t have access to their desktop computers or laptops,” Nichols said. ‘The app focuses quickly and directly on the tools our customers need to search auction inventory at both Bel Air Auto Auction and Tallahassee Auto Auction, evaluate vehicles, and bid using their mobile devices.”
Nick Pirovolidis, BSCAmerica’s IT manager, said: “Customers already using our website will find similar convenience with BSCAmerica’s mobile app. A simple login with an Auction Access ID will give immediate access to auction inventory.”
Specific features of the app will include the ability view run lists, search vehicles by year, make and model, while also being able to bid on vehicles via simulcast sale.
With its VIN scanning feature, a dealer will be able to order and send condition reports to the dealership and also save their favorite searches and VINs for easy future access with optional notifications when one of the favorites is added to a run list.
When you walk the halls and auction space at Manheim North Carolina, it doesn’t take long before Ellie Johnson shares a kind “hello” or “good morning” with her customers, employees or colleagues.
And then another and another.
The general manager of this Kenly, N.C., auction has grown up here — both in the geographic and metaphorical sense — and community seems to run deep, whether we’re talking about the auction industry itself or this town an hour east of Raleigh where she was born and raised.
Her late father, Kenneth Aycock, started auctioneering in 1958, and her family owned an auction company that sold mostly real estate and farm equipment.
Aycock also worked an auto auction circuit, with the family eventually starting an auction of its own in the early 1980s: Aycock Auto Auction, which was sold in 1988 and eventually became Manheim North Carolina.
After finishing her education at Barton College in Wilson, N.C., and completing her apprenticeship with an accounting firm, Johnson came to work for her family’s auction in 1986 and has been there ever since.
Not that she hasn’t been on the move. Johnson’s involvement in the used-car business stretches from NAAA’s Southern Chapter to the association’s membership committee to the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association and beyond.
And 700 miles to the north of her hometown, the National Auto Auction Association’s community of auctions and industry partners comes together this week for its annual convention in Boston — and that’s where Johnson will assume the 2014-2015 presidency of NAAA.
When Johnson takes the helm, she will bring her vast experience in leadership, both in her own town and the national auction community at large.
Restoration with Character
Johnson’s home in Kenly is a house originally built in 1898, and it is part of a labor of love she enjoys with her family: renovating old houses.
Including her own house, Johnson and her family have restored several homes in Kenly — among them, the oldest house in town, she said. They renovate these buildings while maintaining the original characteristics of the house.
That may be one of the more concrete examples of the impact Johnson has had on Kenly, but the positive differences she has made don’t end there.
Within Kenly — a town of around 1,300 people, according to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data, where “you’re very familiar with your neighbors,” Johnson said — she has served on several different boards, including time as president of the Kenly Chamber of Commerce of Commerce and president of the Kenly Kiwanis Club.
She also helped spearhead efforts to bring the National Night Out program to Kenly, which took part in the national crime-prevention program for three years.
“You’re able to be a part of those types of groups and organizations,” she said of living in a small town. “And being able to make a difference in your community and in your town I think is a huge benefit of living in a small town.”
Johnson added: “And that goes back to redoing the homes in Kenly … just being able to take something in your community and make it better.”
But her difference-making goes far beyond North Carolina.
National Leadership
In beginning her role as NAAA president, one of her goals in this national leadership position is to maintain what’s been somewhat of a localized effort: that is, to continue visiting auctions across the country with NAAA, particularly those who haven’t been paid a visit by the association.
It is something Johnson has been doing for nearly two years with her NAAA leadership colleagues, first as vice president in 2012-2013 and then as president-elect this past year.
In fact, Johnson and 2013-2014 president Jack Neshe, along with NAAA chief executive officer Frank Hackett, visited Dealers Auto Auction of Alaska this spring. She said it was the first time that NAAA leadership had stopped by the Anchorage auction.
“Steve and Kim (Sautner), the owners of that auction, were extremely proud to show their auction off, and they were very pleased that we would take the time to go and visit them,” Johnson said. “And that has been the case at any location that I’ve been to over the last year-and-a-half … going to a location and letting that auction owner or manager of that facility introduce us to their employees or show us their facility, they certainly take pride in everything they work for each day.”
During this time traveling the country visiting auctions, Johnson has also noticed that some are in a “growth pattern,” she said. And this presents both challenges and opportunities.
“Companies are starting to use our recon facilities again, where back in ’08 and ’09, a lot of the recon facilities at any location — whether it be a chain or independent — that business certainly went down when companies were cutting back and trying to save money,” Johnson said.
“But were seeing now that they’re utilizing our facilities, and we’re trying to bring those back up to speed,” she said. “Even if you’re at a facility that doesn’t have those shops and avenues, we see some growth issues there, where they’re trying to make arrangements to be able to offer those services to the customers.”
However, she did emphasize that auctions have been seeing economic improvements over the last year.
Looking into the coming year, Johnson would like to hone in on increasing safety awareness, which is something she has talked about recently with her colleagues in NAAA leadership.
Safety, she said, is at the forefront of importance at any location — whether that’s safety on sale day or even just during the week when the auction is moving cars. Johnson said she aims to help NAAA member auctions emphasize that message to employees.
In the coming years, NAAA will also be working with Cherokee Media Group, publishers of Auto Remarketing, as NAAA is combining its annual convention with Cherokee Media Group’s National Remarketing Conference beginning in the fall of 2016.
The combined meeting will be known as the National Remarketing Conference and National Auto Auction Association Convention and will be held each year during Cherokee Media Group’s Used Car Week.
Beginning in 2016, the event will be billed as the National Remarketing Conference/NAAA Convention. Used Car Week that year will be held at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas.
“We want continue to keep that line of communication open and make sure that event comes off very well. And we want to push to get good attendance at that event,” Johnson said.
Editor's Note: This story appears in the print and digital editions of the Sept. 15 Auto Remarketing, our Special NAAA Convention Issue.
Brasher’s Portland Auto Auction has announced the addition of Nissan and Infiniti Remarketing Services. The Nissan-based consignor will take part in its first sale with Brasher’s on Oct. 16.
Jerry Hinton, the auction’s general manager, noted that Brasher’s will host monthly sales events for Nissan and Infiniti Remarketing.
“At Brasher’s Portland Auto Auction, Nissan and Infiniti Remarketing Services will reach a dealer base that is eager for the opportunity to purchase import brands,” Hinton said. “We have an established and extremely successful 20-year relationship with another Japanese automaker, now making Nissan our second Japanese OEM. This demonstrates a ready market and continuing high demand for vehicles from Japanese automakers.”
Elsewhere within the ServNet auction family, Dealers Auto Auction of Oklahoma City welcomes football season this year with Tailgate Thursdays. The event, on the first Thursday of every month during football season, will host a drawing for a prize package for football fans. Customers at the auction will receive two entries for the drawing for every item purchased at the auction’s tailgate and bake sale. Potential prizes include a grill, tent, chairs, ice chest, prep table and utensils.
Gary Smith, DAAOKC’s president and owner, looks forward to the custom that his company’s Tailgate Thursdays has become.
“Our tailgate/bake sale has become something of a tradition here at DAAOKC,” Smith said. “It’s a great way for our auction family to work together to help each other, and we’ve received tremendous support from both our employees and our customers.”
DAAOKC also plans to have its annual Fall Party sale on Oct. 16, which they expect to include over 1,800 vehicles along with food and $10,000 in prize giveaways and a drawing for a surprise, brand new vehicle.
It’s mid-morning on a Monday, and Manheim North Carolina is already buzzing with activity. The overlapping chants of auctioneers hum from the lanes all the way through the parking lot leading in to the facility — which is filled with the smell of fresh popcorn and sounds from the first batch of some 2,100 cars that are slated to pump through its eight lanes that day.
The first sale at this auction about an hour east of Raleigh kicked off at 8:30 a.m., but for general manager Ellie Johnson and her staff — along with the consignors, dealers, lenders and all the parties that make an auction work on a weekly basis — the preparation began days before.
In fact, prep work typically begins when the weekly sale ends on Monday, as the auction’s part-time staff will help move no-sale vehicles and units sold that day to clear parking room for the following week’s sale, Johnson told Auto Remarketing in an August interview at the Kenly, N.C. auction.
Then it’s all hands on deck, with a cornucopia of moving parts, over the next seven days: consignors setting their respective sales through AutoIMS on Tuesday, the shop taking care of any approved body or mechanical work, and dealers starting to bring in cars on Sunday night to be checked in for Monday’s sale.
And then that’s when the action begins.
In the Sept. 15 print and digital editions of Auto Remarketing — arriving in your mailboxes and inboxes soon, if they haven’t already — we celebrate the National Auto Auction Association and the entire auction industry, as NAAA gets set for its annual convention in Boston next week.
In our NAAA Special Convention Issue, we showcase the many working parts of an auto auction, share more of Johnson’s story as she takes on the role of NAAA president, spotlight commercial consignors, feature your auction photos from the past year, and much more.
Stay tuned!
