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For Immediate Release

December 23, 2011

Greeley market hosting Jan. 17 qualifying contest for 2012 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship

     GREELEY, COLO. — Twenty-three livestock auctioneers from 12 states and one Canadian province will compete here Jan. 17 with the same goal: qualifying for the 2012 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship (WLAC).
     Producers Livestock Marketing Association, 711 O Street, is hosting the third of four qualifying contests for the 2012 WLAC, to be held next June in Turlock, Calif.
     The sale and contest here is free and open to the public. Auction Manager Brad Jones said the opening ceremony will start at 11 a.m. (MT) with the sale immediately following.
     After the competition here, and at the three other qualifying contests, three winners – champion, reserve and runner-up champions – will be named.
     Those three, along with the next five highest-scoring contestants at each contest, will move on to the June 16 World Championship.
     The WLAC – next year will be the 49th annual – was created and is conducted by Livestock Marketing Association, the national trade association for progressive marketing businesses like Producers Livestock.
     For the sale and contest here, Jones said he’s expecting 3,500 head “of grass cattle and feeder cattle. These will be some of the ‘best of the best’ from our area’s top producers.”
     Jones said there were several reasons why he wanted to host the competition.
     “We have some of the best market facilities in Colorado, and the National Western Stock Show runs from January 7-22, just about 60 miles away in Denver.
     “That means we’ll have a lot of cattle producers in the area, and there’ll be a lot of them who’ll bring their cattle to sell in Greeley, and then go on to the stock show. Put together our outstanding facilities, the timing of the Stock Show and the contest, and it’s a perfect fit.”
     The contestants here will be:
     Chris Arnaman, Cameron, Mo.; Mike Bailey, Jennings, Kan.; Justin Banzhaf, Cambridge, Neb.; Randy Baxley, Visalia, Calif.; Fredrick Bodnarus, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Jeff Bynum, Southside, Ala.;
     Eric Duarte, Beatty, Ore.; Dustin Focht, Stillwater, Okla.; Travis Holck, Ruthton, Minn.; Mike Imbrogno, Fresno, Calif.; Lance Kinderknecht, Amena, Kan.; Blaine Lotz, Edna, Kan.;
     Martin Machado, Winton, Calif.; Mike ‘Hoss’ Manske, Shattuck, Okla.; Daniel Mitchell, Cumberland, Ohio; Adam Redland, Ten Sleep, Wyo.; Don Rodgers, Bakersfield, Calif.; Kevin Schow, Paxton, Neb.;
     Shawn Silverberg, Walden, Colo.; Russele Sleep, Bedford, Iowa; Robb Taylor, Perkins, Okla.; Brian Weitzel, Brush, Colo.; and David Whitaker, Ames, Iowa.
     The master of ceremonies for each qualifying contest is Charly Cummings, Yates Center, Kan., the 2011 world champion. Contest rules prohibit the world champion from re-entering.
     Contestants must be at least 18 years old, and employed and sponsored by a livestock market.
     Contest judges, all LMA members, score each contestant on clarity of chant and voice quality, bid-catching ability, and conduct of the sale.  The judges also ask, “Would this auctioneer make a good spokesperson for the livestock industry?” and “Would I hire this auctioneer?”
     The champion in each qualifying contest receives a cash award and a custom-made belt buckle. A buckle is also awarded to the reserve and runner-up champion in each of these contests.
     The three titlists in next June’s WLAC – the world champion, reserve and runner-up champions – win thousands of dollars in cash and prizes.
     The first qualifying contest was Sept. 19 in Glasgow, Ky., and the second was in Dickinson, N.D., Oct. 20. The remaining qualifier will be March 8, in Groesbeck, Texas.
     There is still time to enter the Texas contest.   Rules and an entry form are online at www.LMAWEB.com; click on World Livestock Auctioneer Championship.
     The qualifying contests, and the WLAC, will be broadcast live at www.LMAAuctions.com.