Kuhlman Auction Service

I just returned from a terrific week at the Certified Auctioneer’s Institute in Bloomington, Indiana. You might have noticed the letters “CAI” following an auctioneer’s name in an auction ad. You will only see this designation in connection with professional auctioneers. These letters indicate that the auctioneer has completed a three year program of advanced auction education. This program is held at Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana and enrollment is limited to professional auctioneers with several years of experience in the auction business.

This was my second year in the program. I attended courses in Auction Law, Real Estate Marketing, Interpersonal Communication, Auction Technology and others. In addition to the classes, one of the other main benefits is the opportunity to meet professionals from other parts of the country. Surprisingly often, an auctioneer will find an opportunity in another state and will be able to team up with a fellow CAI auctioneer to hold an auction. My classmates were from Texas, Wisconsin, Indiana, South Dakota, Illinois, California, New York, Maryland, Ontario, New Hampshire, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alberta, and Georgia.

I am coming back full of ideas which I hope to include in our auction business here in Northfield.

This is a report from the CAI class in Bloomington Indiana. This was a great day with classes in interpersonal relations and making contacts with prospective auction clients. Tonight we had a networking event that encouraged us to meet people from all three CAI classes. I have added some pictures so you can see some of what we are doing. The networking event included both bowling and playing pool. The bluegrass band was so good that I never even went to the bowling alley to take pictures (my apologies)

Tonight I am writing from the Student Union at Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana. After the auction last night, Doug Wornson drove me to the airport and I flew down to Chicago and then to Indianapolis and then by shuttle to Bloomington, Indiana, where we started classes for the Certified Auctioneers Institute. This afternoon we learned about new Internet auction technologies and on-line bidding. I only had 1 hour of sleep on the plane last night, so I will turn in and get ready for tomorrow.

This is one of my favorite auctions. The NAG Auction for the Arts is one of the premier social events of the season in Northfield. I am always amazed by the generosity of the donors.

This year there are works by Shoger, Somers, Halling, Alberg, Nau, Frear, John and Tom Maakestad, Teorey, and Arneson to name only a few. These talented artists are home town heroes who have given their time to benefit the entire community through the work of the Northfield Arts Guild.

Griff Wigley has taken lots of pictures that you can see at Northfield.org’s NAG Auction Photo Gallery. We’ve put some of them up in a NAG Auction photo gallery here on our site. Click on any of these four thumbnails below for a large, full-size shot.

I just got back into the office after the auction. It was terrific. What a night for Northfield. The crowd was wonderful. The art was great. The prices were terrific. It just doesn’t get any better.

Right now it is 11:00 PM. I will have just enough time to change out of my tuxedo, stop in the Contented Cow for a glass of champagne and get to the airport in time to catch the plane for Indiana. CAI class starts at 2:00 PM.