FRANKLIN, Tenn. -

Team work, cars and the Rock & Roll Sale — members of Auction Academy’s inaugural class met for their second training session earlier this month and learned about all three.

The students are part of a two-year training and development program for the sons and daughters of today’s independent auction owners, with sessions held quarterly in different cities around the U.S.

They received extensive hands-on training during the two-day session in Spokane, Wash., held July 16–18 and hosted by DAA Northwest during its annual Rock & Roll Sale, which is billed as the largest promotional sale in the country, featuring consignment of more than 3,500 vehicles.

The participants’ second session also included field work at the auction site, and a rigorous classroom curriculum covering topics from leadership assessment and technology to condition reports to dealer funding and floorplanning, reported Auction Academy chief operating officer Randall McCathren.

Course instructors for the session included Len Roll and Greg Mahugh of DAA Northwest; Pierre Pons of TPC Management; David Wells, Scott Finkle and Dan Diedrich of AuctionEdge; Skip Thompson; Dale Ainsworth of Valley Vision; Stephen Houston; and Neill Waters and Joe Keadle of Automotive Finance Corp., which also sponsored this session.

“This class group was privileged to learn from the best of the best at the second session in Spokane,” McCathren said. “The course instructors are known throughout the auction industry for their leadership and expertise, and they shared information and insight with the class that the students would be hard-pressed to find in any one location anywhere else.”

Students also job-shadowed with key auction managers in the Rock & Roll Sale event, and spent time with well-known auction owners from across the country, McCathren noted, including Henry Stanley of Carolina & Indiana Auto Auctions; Charles Nichols of BSC America’s Bel Air and Tallahassee auctions; John and Georgianne Poteet of Louisiana’s First Choice Auto Auction; and Mike Hockett, chief executive officer of Auction Broadcast Co.

“To top it all off, they enjoyed an extraordinary evening at the Rock & Roll Sale concert, as (musical guest) Foreigner took center stage,” McCathren added.

The 16 students, representing 13 independent auto auctions and one vendor company, were also guests at a barbecue at the home of Bob McConkey of DAA Northwest. McConkey attended several classroom sessions and worked with the students on sale day; he said the academy program benefits future auction leaders.

“While auto auctions can have many similar practices, students of Auction Academy are able to see the many nuances of the business at different geographic locations encompassing varying market areas,” he stated.

The fall session of the inaugural Auction Academy class will convene in October in East Windsor, Conn., and will be hosted by Southern Auto Auction.
Auction Academy’s first quarterly session was held in May in Nashville, Tenn.

Structured similarly to an Executive MBA program, the Auction Academy continuing education program for industry professionals was developed by TPC Management Co.

Auction Academy has now opened enrollment for a second class group that will target current auction management personnel, and for an Auction Performance Group geared to auction owners and finance executives, focused on review and benchmarking of key financial performance metrics.

For more information, email Randall McCathren at rmccathren@auctionacademy.net or visit www.auctionacademy.net.

Note: Auto Remarketing is among the sponsors of the inaugural class of Auction Academy.