A big congratulations must go to Anthony O'Dwyer on winning the ALPA National Young Auctioneers Competition in Sydney this year at the Royal Easter Show. He and Jack Henshaw brought home the nab Agribusiness team shield to Queensland once again. Maybe that was an omen for the election result. It was pleasing to watch Anthony win the title against a very strong field of competitors from across the nation. I have been fortunate enough to watch his progress over the past five years from the ALPA auctioneer selection schools at Rockhampton every June. Anthony has worked hard on his selling style and presentation during this time, putting into practice what his tutors, mentors, and speech pathologists advise. Learning how to change facets of your repertoire and patter is hard to do. He never gave up the vision of making himself into a more professional agent and auctioneer.
We wish him all the best when he embarks on his well-earned trip to Canada to compete at the Calgary Stampede in July. This is certainly a trip of a lifetime. The Australian Champion gets to sell at quite a few auction barns in the lead-up to the International Livestock Auctioneer Competition. This is such a fierce competition because unlike Australia, where we cap our age at 25 years, there is no age limit. Being on one of these tours a few years ago when Lincoln McKinlay won the Rookie Title at Calgary, I can highly recommend any family or business acquaintances to go along for the trip. Quadrant run a very professional tour including a lot of industry relevant visits during the trip. The social side of the trip is also entertaining to say the least.
While we are speaking of winning the national title for young auctioneers, we are about to head back to Rockhampton again on June 10 and 11. At this school there is a range of participants from beginners to advanced. This year we have 19 registrations with 12 eligible to go to the ALPA Young Auctioneers Competition at the Ekka in August. At the end of the second day the 12 eligible competitors are judged by the tutors, who select the top 10 to progress to Brisbane. This selection process is the same as the judging for the competition which includes presentation, diction, clarity, patter and values, all of which has been covered at the school.
It is not that easy being criticised in front of your peers and to have to change facets of your style which can be quite ingrained. The outcome of this is the provision of skills that will help throughout their career in social, professional and personal attributes that will result in the creation of a better agent for our industry.
- Cyril Close is a member of Australian Livestock and Property Agents Association (ALPA).