Keeping up with conversations may have been a bit harder than usual for some in the crowd Friday at the Southeast Kansas Stockyards LLC livestock sale.
Chances are, the person next to you was a world-class auctioneer.
Friday’s special sale — celebrating the company’s third anniversary as owners of the Gas-based livestock auction barn — brought special guests Lanny Ireland, Brian Little, Russele Sleep and Jim Hertzog.
All were on hand to honor Charly Cummings, a managing partner at Southeast Kansas Stockyards and newly minted Livestock Marketing Assocation World Champion. Cummings beat out 32 other competitors from around the world in June.
The sale also brought in a larger than usual number of cattle. More than 2,200 cattle were sold Friday.
Not so coincidentally, the guest auctioneers were on hand to help with the sale.
Like Cummings, the guests of honor know a thing or two about the auctioneering business.
Ireland is the 1996 LMA World Champion, while Little, Sleep and Hertzog have been finalists. The 2011 competition was in Williamston, S.C.
Cummings lauded his fellow competitors while noting Southeast Kansas Stockyards’ steady growth.
In their first year of business, taking over from the former Allen County Livestock Auction in 2009, about 14,000 cattle were sold, Cummings said.
The number more than doubled with more than 30,000 cattle sold in 2010.
“We’ve had some hills and valleys,” Cumming told the audience. “We’d like to thank you for sticking with us and showing your support.”
Auction brings world-class callers
