Training on SmartAuction and AutoIMS technology, as well as a course titled, “Condition Report Writing 101,” were part of the sixth class group training from Auction Academy in mid-May.
The two-day session was the first in the two-year program for the new class from Auction Academy, which is a TPC Management Co., continuing education program for auto auction industry professionals.
Classroom training, auction facility tours and meetings with key auction personnel were part of the training, and the meetings featured in-depth discussions about auction operations. Auction Academy’s Pierre Pons welcomed the group. Tony Long introduced IARA CAR Certification, which the academy says continues to be an important part of its curriculum. Academy president Penny Wanna, who administered the first phase, is IARA CAR certified.
Auction Edge senior vice president, auction systems Julie Warpool started the first of eight training modules that are now in Auction Academy’s course syllabus. Each session of the academy’s two-year program will include a different aspect of Auction Edge and corresponding training. According to Auction Academy, that ensures that the class group will get to know key team members and become familiar with Auction Edge and its products.
In the classroom, Brent Ramels led SmartAuction training, Joe Miller covered AutoIMS Technology, and Dan Hinojosa Jr. of ASI Auto Group introduced Condition Report Writing 101.
Two Nashville auctions in Auction Academy’s backyard hosted visits by the sixth class group, which also toured Music City Auto Auction and Manheim Nashville. It was Auction Academy’s first visit to Music City Auto Auction, and office manager Wendy Barritt and operations manager Brad Baird, discussed what they felt were the most important facets of auction operations.
The sixth class group also toured Manheim Nashville and met with key staff members who discussed their personal journeys in the industry, their specific areas of responsibility, insights on leadership, industry connections and the importance of safety in the workplace.
The two-day session wrapped up with a casual night out for a taste of Nashville at 55 South. At that event, 2018 American Idol contestant Carly Moffa entertained the group.
For its next session, Class 6 will go to Spokane, Wash., in July. Bob McConkey and the DAA Northwest team will host the session during this year’s Rock & Roll Sale. The group then visits the Nichols family at BSC America’s Bel Air Auto Auction, with plans to spend a full day on dealer training with NADA’s Michael Hayes.
“We are pleased to have Auction Edge as a program sponsor and excited that Auction Edge training is now part of each of our class sessions,” Auction Academy president Penny Wanna said in a news release. “Auction Edge plays a significant role in the auction industry, and we feel that this training will add another layer of knowledge to the remarketing process.”
“It is an honor and privilege to host Auction Academy Class 6,” said Music City Auto Auction general manager Tim Sherk while greeting the group. “The executive team at Music City Auto Auction believes in mentoring as well as ongoing education for upcoming leaders in the automotive field. We are committed to the development of the next generation of leaders in an industry which has given us so much professionally and personally.”
“We always look forward to hosting tours for Auction Academy,” said Nashville Manheim general manager Sam Chapel. “When you’re new to the industry, there’s nothing better than getting a snapshot of a brick and mortar facility, and I think the Auction Academy training really launches the participants into a full sense of the remarketing industry. We particularly emphasized safety when we hosted the tour this year and the importance of building a culture of safety at each auction location. Plus, I shared my thoughts on one of my favorite subjects: being comfortable around your competitors. To me, being open and transparent, and sharing vital information, grows the industry and helps us all to excel in a great business.”
“We are so grateful to both Music City Auto Auction and Manheim Nashville for opening their doors to our sixth class group,” Wanna said. “They were so generous with their time and knowledge, and contributed a great deal to this training session of Auction Academy. Auctions like these represent the best part of Auction Academy’s program, and have certainly played a vital role in the program’s success.”
“Empowering young adults to achieve their dreams in the face of financial adversity,” is the mission statement shown on the Hourglass Foundation’s website.
The Hourglass Foundation believes that great change can come from helping young adults, and “that everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve their dreams for their best life possible, through hard work and commitment,” foundation chairman Ron Shoemaker said in a news release. The Hourglass Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Hourglass Management and its portfolio companies, which includes Flexco Fleet Services.
Now, ServNet Auctions and Flexco are working to support the foundation’s work, raising funds for the foundation’s scholarship program. The program seeks to help community college and technical school students pursuing their education in mechanical fields.
ServNet will participate in two areas, said ServNet president Eric Autenrieth. For every Flexco vehicle sold at auction, ServNet auction locations across the United States will make cash donations to the scholarship program. Second, representatives from the local auctions will work to make high school, two-year college and trade school students in their communities aware of the scholarship program as well as opportunities for workplace experience at the auction.
The owners of the ServNet auctions say they are committed to supporting the education and training of the next generation. For many years, Autenrieth said, ServNet has contributed to the NAAA Warren Young Sr. Scholastic Foundation, and in 2016 it founded its own scholarship program for children of ServNet auction employees.
Autenrieth said ServNet admires The Hourglass Foundation’s work “to provide opportunities for young adults through scholarships and its focus on trade school and community college education.” He said individuals who are educated in mechanical fields—including condition report writers, technicians and managers in the mechanical, body and recon shops — “are a critical link in the chain of our auction operations.”
“We are excited to work in partnership with The Hourglass Foundation and Flexco to create opportunities for the next generation,” Autenrieth said.
As leaders of many family-owned businesses, ServNet owners take a strong interest in their employees, says Greater Rockford Auto Auction owner Ryan Clark.
“ServNet’s scholarship program is a great way for us to encourage the members of our auction families and to help lay the groundwork for the next generation that follows,” Clark said in a news release.
Clark is a member of ServNet’s board of directors, overseeing the auction group’s scholarship program. ServNet established the program in 2016 as an ongoing initiative to help ServNet auction employees and their families pursue their higher-education dreams. During its spring owners meeting in April, ServNet announced the 2019 recipients of the group’s scholarship program.
ServNet started the program to help full-time ServNet auction employees, their children, stepchildren and grandchildren planning to pursue education in college or vocational school programs.
Dane Rogers, son of Lisa Simmons of DAA Northwest, is one of those students. Rogers, who received a $1,500 scholarship, will attend Spokane Community College in the fall, beginning a two-year training program as a hydraulic and pneumatic automation technician.
Clark said employees and associates at ServNet auctions around the country have enthusiastically supported ServNet's scholarship program. Clark also said several students have applied for and received the ServNet scholarship in multiple years.
“ServNet's scholarship program is both an important way to support the families who work so hard in our industry and to invest in our collective future,” Clark said.
Clark said the group awarded $18,000 in scholarships for the 2019-2020 academic year. The awards will be distributed in increments of six awards of $2,500 to students attending a four-year college or university, and two awards of $1,500 for students attending a two-year college.
In addition to Rogers, others receiving the scholarships are:
$1,500 scholarship for study at a two-year college
— Zoe Friedel (daughter of Jennifer Friedel of Bel Air Auto Auction) is a sophomore at Glendale Community College. She is pursuing coursework in preparation for her application for the nursing program. While in high school, she worked at Bel Air Auto Auction for two summers.
$2,500 scholarships for study at a 4-year college or university
— Anne Dabroski (daughter of Joseph Dabroski, who works at State Line Auto Auction) is a senior at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pa., majoring in digital media. This year, she receives her third ServNet scholarship award, with previous awards in 2017 and 2018.
— Keith Dabroski is the second of Joseph Dabroski's children to receive a ServNet scholarship, and he begins his sophomore year at Grove City College just outside Pittsburgh. He is majoring in physics with a minor in astronomy.
— Kayleigh Elliott (daughter of Dan Elliott of DAA Northwest), is pursuing a degree in nursing and will attend Washington State University in the fall.
— Michaela Long, (daughter of Kelly Long of DAA Seattle), who attends Washington State University, is working toward degrees in psychology and exercise & nutrition physiology. She was a 2018 ServNet scholarship recipient.
— Margaret (Maggie) Roszko (daughter of Marsha Roszko of Bel Air Auto Auction) will start her junior year at Frostburg State University this fall. She is majoring in early childhood education.
— Max Willis (son of Greenville Auto Auction's general manager Billy Willis) is a Western Carolina University sophomore majoring in business.
