ONTARIO AUCTIONEERS GATHER IN OWEN SOUND FOR 24th ANNUAL CONVENTION CONFERENCE & COMPETITION
OWEN SOUND, ON. – There will be some fast-talking in the Scenic City during the weekend of February 21-24 when members of the Auctioneers Association of Ontario will gather in Owen Sound for the 24th Annual Convention. Most of the events will take place at the Best Western Inn on the Bay, but the feature event of the weekend, the Ontario Auctioneers Championship Competition will be conducted at the Rockford Auction Centre.
Jim Snider, President of the Auctioneers Association of Ontario, and his wife Missi, are hosts not only of the auctioneers competition at their area auction facility, but the convention as a hole, which has typically been restricted to larger centres. “The auction tradition”, says Snider “has a long and credible history in the Grey-Bruce region, which included my father Elwood and my uncle, Lawrence Knaggs. I’m proud that I’ve continued that tradition and that my son, Steven, has also taken up the profession. There are good reasons for Owen Sound to be the host site for this 24th Annual Convention, with a significant number of auctioneers actively practicing their profession in the area.” Snider said that he had always wanted to host the convention, but the absence of a suitable hotel and conference centre was an obstacle until the expansion of the Inn on the Bay.
The theme of the convention, “Laugh & Learn – A Spectrum of Successes” was coined to cover two aspects of the gathering which features a variety of educational and professional development seminars, an auction trade fair and exhibition, a provincial auctioneer championship competition, and a variety of social and networking opportunities. Nearly 100 auctioneers and their spouses are expected to attend the weekend program. Three guest speakers will present seminars on various aspects of the auction industry. Two of the speakers, Stuart Reid, Curator/Director of the Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery in Owen Sound, and Judith Scolnick, Director of the Toronto Office of Heffel Gallery Inc., will present lectures on the Canadian fine art scene, with a special perspective on the Group of Seven and their contemporaries. The third speaker, Brian Dykstra, Ontario Area Manager of Ritchie Bros. Auctions, will speak about the phenomenal history and growth of the largest industrial auction company in the world.
The pinnacle of the weekend for many will be the Ontario Auctioneers Championship Competition that will take place on Saturday February 23rd at the Rockford Auction Centre, commencing at 11:00 am. As host of the competition, Snider wants to make certain that conditions are just right for the 20 or more auctioneers who will sign up to compete in the experienced or novice divisions. Snider says, “The competitors take this event very seriously and it is important that they compete in front of a real auction audience and at a real auction event. We will be having an estate and household consignment auction that day and the competitors will be able to demonstrate their skills by selling actual consignment items to actual buyers. It will be a level playing field for the auctioneer competitors, and the audience will get to hear a variety of auction chants and selling styles. The public, including all our regular auction goers, are welcome to attend this auction and competition.”
The auctioneers convention will conclude with a banquet on Saturday evening at which awards and honours are to be presented, and at which Snider will hand over the President’s Gavel to incoming-President Krista Richards, of A Touch of Class Auctions in Barrie.
The Auctioneers Association of Ontario was founded in 1984. It is the voice of all Auction professionals in the Province of Ontario and pursues excellence in the Auction industry through a combination of legislative programs, uniform standards of professional practice, professional development and a Code of Ethics, designed to ensure the highest quality of service to the public.
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