Braun & Helmer Auction Service

Saline Auctioneer to Compete for International Auctioneer Championship Title

Filed under: Auction news — David @ 2:22 pm

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MSAA 2008 Ringman Champion

Filed under: Auction news — David @ 2:36 pm

David G. Helmer, GPPA, CES
MSAA 2008 Ringman Champion

David G. Helmer of Saline , MI won the coveted title, Michigan Ringman Champion, Thursday, January 31, 2008. David and his wife Jennifer have three children, daughter Olivia and twin boys Luke and Caleb. He is a 1996 Graduate of Missouri Auction School, a life member of the Michigan State Auctioneers Association, a member of the National Auctioneers Association, and holds the Graduate Personal Property Appraiser (GPPA) designation from the Auction Marketing Institute. David earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication / Marketing from Eastern Michigan University 1998. He is partner in a family run auction business that was started in 1971 and has been involved in over 750 Auctions including Real Estate, Antiques, Farm, and Benefits.

In his spare time, David is Treasurer and Auctioneer for the National Football League Alumni Detroit Chapter, serves on the fund raising Board for St. Joseph Hospital, and is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Auctioneers International. His pastimes include traveling, reading, collecting antiques and sports memorabilia. David is also a past President (2006) of the Michigan State Auctioneers Association and was the 2006 MSAA Bid Calling Champion.

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Michigan Auctioneers Gather for Annual Conference in Bay City

Filed under: Auction news — David @ 2:34 pm

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Working Lunch

Filed under: Braun and Helmer News — David @ 1:55 pm

Working Lunch
Brian Braun of Braun and Helmer Auction Service
By Sean Dalton
Staff writer

June 14, 2007

So how long has Braun and Helmer Auction Service Inc. been around?
We’ve been in business for 31 years. My dad started the business in the early
70’s and I worked with him since I was a kid. I’ve been an actual auctioneer
for 10 or 11 years. I went to school for it in Missouri.

I’ve never seen an auction as a kid, but after watching you earlier
with those fourth graders at Wylie I have to wonder about you initial reaction?
I pretty much understood it right away. I was going to auctions all the time,
every weekend at least and during the week. My grandmother collected antiques
so I had an understanding of collecting antiques and the competition to buy
good stuff and get a good deal on what you are buying.

What’s your favorite item to deal with or venue?
This is tough. First fund-raisers are rewarding in that you don’t necessarily
get paid so much, but, like Monday night I did one for the Children’s Hospital
in Ann Arbor; and it felt good to benefit children in need of special care.

I’ve really enjoyed antique estate because you find some unusual things that
people really clamor to buy.

I always like farm auctions. There is a community of people that we are familiar
with and we know alot of the area farmers and they’re usually a pretty interesting
sale, and a lot of fun.

Farm auctions? Are we talking sale of livestock here?
Yeah, we’ve sold livestock and tobacco before. Usually auctions at state fairs
are for champion livestock. I’ve sold pigs.

How does one present a pig to a bidder?
They have a little pen and they set it all up or they have a ring and there
are bleachers around it and everyone is given a paddle, like usual. They’re
usually sold by the pound for 40 cents a pound, so bids go by the cent per pound.

You said estate sales are like someone’s life laid out on their lawn.
That has to be interesting.

Sometimes we work for a bank and they’ll give the key (to the house) and tell
us to take care of it, and the house might be full of things and you empty the
drawers and you finds a lot of interesting things.

You might find letters dating back to the Civil War. You just find all kinds
of interesting things in an estate. It’s that person’s entire life. They might
have a trunk in the attic with their school papers from the 1800’s from a school
that you heard your grandparents talking about.

Your neatest discovery?
There was a picture of Elvis Presley that was signed and the person we were
selling for went to Olympia Stadium (In Detroit) and got to see him live.

Weirdest?
We did the Saline Police Department seized vehicles and equipment auction a
couple of weeks ago and there was a big gold coin necklace thing that brought
$300 or $400. It was 14-karat gold and there was gold coins inside of it.

Are we talking like a “Flava-flav” medallion here?

Well not big enough for him, you know; he’s got the big clock. He’s got standards.

Great finds! Do you ever see stuff that you would like to have yourself?
Do you just snatch it up?
That’s one thing they taught us in auction school, that an auctioneer can bid
on anything he wants as long as it’s fair as long as he’s part of the process.

No “cherry-picking” eh?
Oh no. We’d never get another auction again if we did. If you cherry-picked
one thing everybody would know it - the son, the neighbor, the family.

If there’s something I want, I make sure that it’s almost over-advertised and
if I don’t get it, I’m all the more ecstatic, because it brought more than I’m
willing to pay. I wouldn’t want to cheat somebody out of it. It’s like somebody
that steals. I can’t deal with that.

It sounds like you’ve had your fair share of run-ins.

We see them at auctions trying to hide thingsin boxes in the backyard. But that
doesn’t happen as much.

We notice a lot of people start policing each other. We don’t have much trouble.
If we have a table for fine jewelry we set somebody there. It can be a pretty
bid temptation if you’ve got a diamond ring sitting there or something worth
thousands of dollars.

I take it you’re a big fan of “Antiques Roadshow”?
I like it. I’ve never watched anything on TV regularly. I’m pretty busy with
the family farm that’s been in the family 100 years this year. It’s just on
the dge of Ann Arbor and Dexter. So I have to get my centennial farm sign. I
just haven’t had time to fill out the paperwork.

So why did the Braun family go from sure and steady farmers to fast-talking
auctioneers?
Our family has enjoyed going to auctions like other auction-goers, but for some
reason my dad at an early age realized that farming wasn’t going to pay, so
he went to barber school in Ann Arbor and cut hair for 30 years.

Then he went to work for an agri-service company and on the side he was restoring
antiques and my grandmother got him on antiques, so he was buying things, fixing
them up, and trying to resell them, and kind of got the notion that he should
go to auction school.

At the time he said this to his friend and his friend said that he was crazy,
but then he said “Aw, heck I’ll go with you” and they went to auction
school.

Was your dad’s partner, Jerry Helmer, that friend?
Yep. Now Jerry has more than 2900 auctions to his name as our partner.

What made you follow in their footsteps?
My dad always wanted me to go to auction school. I had worked enough with him
at auctions and on the farm. I tried college and it didn’t work out.

You know when you’re in your early 20’s and you want to do something else.
I started a landscaping business and was comfortable with that for 12 years
and was quite successful, but my dad ended up getting cancer and we knew that
it was malignant, so I decided it was time I went to auction school and my dad’s
partner’s son went too, and two days after auction school we were doing it.
I went to auction school in 1996.

Any words of wisdom from your father that you would like to share with
our readers?
He used to tell me “It’s not what you make, it’s what you can save”
He’d tell me to save my pennies like a kernel a week and soon I’d have a bushel.

What is auction school like?
You learn everything. The main thing I got from auction school was the confidence
to get up in front of people. My mother said that as a kid I was afraid of my
own shadow. If I was with my dad I would walk close to him. I wasn’t the kind
of kid that would run off and climb a tree.

So being an auctioneer has made you face one of your greatest fears.
I’ve never thought of it that way, but yeah. I also learned the chant. I pretty
much knew the basics and had the groundwork for being an auctioneer from working
with my dad. It’s a two week course. You know I had always wanted to be a doctor,
but I figured, eight years of study or two week course? They send you a book
of tongue-twisters in the mail and they tell you to learn these number drills
and tongue-twisters and come to class.

Do you have regualrs? Who is the weirdest regular you have seen?
There are probably 50 or 75 that go to every single one.

Probably the weirdest one was when a woman came right up and bit my dad on
the chest one time. She just came running up and bit him.

She was nuts or something. I don’t know if that was her way of trying to bid
or what.

Before we’re done say, “Sally sells seashells on the seashore.”
You know what you want to.
Betty Botter bought some butter, But she said the butter’s bitter, If I put
it in my batter, It will make my batter bitter, But a bit of better butter,
Will make my batter better, So she bought some better butter, Better than the
bitter butter, And she put it in her batter, And her batter was not bitter,
So ’twas better Betty Botter Bought a bit of better butter.

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Marbles play well at Braun and Helmer auction

Filed under: Braun and Helmer News — David @ 1:53 pm

News Article

Marbles play well at Braun and Helmer auction

by Barb VanLoo
Braun and Helmer Auction Service, based in Saline, Mich. recently held an estate auction at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. A portion of the preview time at this auction was devoted to a pre-auction party to celebrate the induction of Jerry Helmer into the Michigan State Auctioneers Association Hall of Fame at the MSAA annual convention in early February. His partner for many years, Lloyd Braun, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998.

Jerry is a 1971 graduate of the Reisch World Wide College of Auctioneering located in Mason City, Iowa. Becoming an auctioneer was not something that he had planned; he met Lloyd Braun in the late 1960s and when Lloyd told him he was going to become an auctioneer he thought it was one of the funniest things he had heard of, but decided to go along for the adventure. That adventure turned into a lifetime profession and he has been involved in more than 3,000 auctions. He and Lloyd became partners, and when their first auction received coverage in the Detroit Free Press, their business took off like a meteor and he never looked back.

It is evident that Helmer thoroughly enjoys auctioneering. He has a smile for everyone and a warm handshake. He does his best to make every auction an enjoyable experience for everyone – the sellers, the buyers, and those who just want to see what an auction is like. He also has a large repertoire of jokes, which he likes to share with others at auctions, sometimes several times. The “retirement” word has come up occasionally but he is having too much fun to do this on a full-time basis. His son David, and Larry’s son Brian have followed in their fathers’ footsteps and are now integral parts of the auction company. They also attended auctioneering school at the same time, graduating from Missouri Auction School in 1996.

Auctions held by Braun and Helmer begin in a most unusual way – with two rings. It is not unusual to have two rings at the beginning of a large auction but they are not usually side-by-side; however, this is the Braun and Helmer method. If they are outside there is usually one auctioneer on each end of a large wagon and they begin calling for bids. At this one, they were next to each other. It might seem a little confusing at first but it works. It also allows the attendees to know what is being sold in each ring.

The initial item sold at this auction drew the interest of everyone, including a telephone bidder. It had also generated numerous calls prior to the auction. This desired item was a salesman’s sample box of Akro Agate marbles. The Akro Agate Co. formed in 1910. Initially, they merely repackaged marbles made by other manufacturers. In 1914, however, they began manufacturing their own marbles and by the 1920s became the leading manufacturer of marbles in the United States. The winning bid for this excellent example, which will remain in the Ann Arbor area, was $12,100.

A pair of large sulfide marbles, each with a chicken in them sold for $80 each. A large multi-color swirl marble known as a shooter saw a final bid of $175. Smaller swirl marbles sold for $40 each and a slag marble sold for $25. A State Fair marble game sold for $60.

A highly desirable majolica nut dish by George James drew interest and a final bid of $700. Other maiolica pieces included a plate with water lilies, which sold for $90 as did one with shells and feathers; a plate with maple leaves which sold for $80; and two others which sold for $70 each, one with fern leaves and the other with roses and shells.

A hand-painted pitcher by Fenton sold for $80; a Beatrix Potter Bunnykins baby dish signed Barbara Vernon saw $50; an orange Hall water pitcher crossed the block for $60; and a selection of pink Depression glassware sold for $55.

A bronze Art Nouveau dish with a maiden figurine earned $250; an early Beatrix Potter Bunnykins baby dish, $45; a head vase sold for $35.

Among the toy guns that crossed the block were a Daisy Superman Krypton Ray Gun that earned $170; a pair of Daisy squirt guns for $25 each; and a Daisy Exterminator gun saw $160.

A wood piccolo went to a local man for $45; a mandolin guitar in the original box sold for $80; and a German harmonica for $45.

An early framed picture of local men who appeared to be a threshing team sold for $150; an advertising poster for the Indiana Savings Bank dated 1930 saw $30; and lithograph of a milkmaid sold for $80. Cartes de Vistes of Civil War generals sold for $70 to $100.

A cast-iron dog nutcracker sold for $20; a cast-iron lion bank for $80; and a cast-iron horse sold for $30. Another cast iron piece a cannon, circa World War I, sold for $50. A bronze bust of a young girl sold for $150; and a Marine Corps insignia piece, which no one was quite sure just where it would be used sold for $30.

When the auction did break into two separate rings Jerry sold jewelry and coins in one while the remaining furniture and other items were sold in the other. There were many desirable pieces of jewelry there were many bidders eager to buy. This was also true for the coins. Examples of the jewelry items included: an opal ring which sold for $100; a cameo bracelet which saw $260; and a 14K gold bracelet which weighed 1.6 ounces and which sold for $400.

A selection of gold rings, most of which were class rings, sold for $270. Pocket watches sold for $200 and $110; and a lady’s sterling silver pocket watch sold for $65.

Two desirable gold $20 coins, one from 1908 and the other from 1925 sold for $1,000 each; a 1898 gold $10 coin sold for $375; and quarter dated 1838 sold for $55. A silver Olympic set sold for $325. Paper currency in the amounts of 10 and 25 cents sold for $40 each.

A tin magic lantern, complete with box and slides sold for $240; a papier-mache jack-o-lantern saw $60; and a Coke tray sold for $70.

Other items that crossed the block included: an early rubber Donald Duck in a car which sold for $80; a small mantel clock which saw $60; and Miller lamps with a hand-wrought stand which sold for $70.

A pair of parrot shelf-sitters, Pete and Polly, with their tails intact sold for $50; a windup pig sold for $25; and a Fire Chief pedal car for $70. An Erector set in its original box sold for $60; bound volumes of Harper’s Weekly, $50; and a jar marked Monarch Fine Foods sold for $25.

Jerry’s sense of humor was very evident when he held up a small wooden box, looked at one attendee and with a semi-serious face asked, “Sir, are you going to be cremated?” A bid of $15 bought the box.

A set of Community Plate flatware sold for $60; cherry pitter for $35; and an abalone shell plate for $50. A sterling silver basket sold for $50; and a pair of weighted candelabrums for $30. A three-piece sterling dresser set sold for $50; a pair of weighted sterling candlesticks saw $35; and a hallmarked salad set sold for $25.

Old powder flasks sold for $50 to $90 each; a three-piece cast iron train set crossed the block for $50; and a pair of opera glasses with mother-of-pearl earned $40.

Braun and Helmer conduct auctions for of all types including farm, estates, and benefit. Some are conducted on site and some in a venue such as the building on the Washtenaw County Farm Grounds - as this one was.

If you are considering having an auction or are interested in upcoming auctions visit their website at braunandhelmer.com. You can contact David Helmer by phone at (734) 368-1733 or by e-mail at dhelmer@verizon.net. Brian Braun can be reached at (734) 996-9135 or by e-mail at bbraun@braunandhelmer.com.

4/9/2007

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Saline auctioneer inducted into Auctioneers Hall of Fame

Filed under: Braun and Helmer News — David @ 1:33 pm

Saline auctioneer inducted into Auctioneers Hall of Fame

February 28, 2007

LANSING, MI - Being one of 10 children, Jerry Helmer always had a strong sense of family. His children and grandchildren are the lights of his life. He has always been good at selling and started at a young age.

He sold ducks, chickens, birdhouses, corn, Christmas cards, encyclopedias, fireplace wood and most successfully real estate. When he met Lloyd Braun in the late 60’s auctioneering had never crossed his mind. When Lloyd said he thought he would go to auction school Jerry thought it was the funniest thing he had ever heard. But he thought it sounded like an adventure and he guessed he would go along.

In 1971, Lloyd and Jerry went to Reisch World Wide School of Auctioneering. Little did he know what an adventure it would be.

Their first auction received press coverage in The Detroit News and they were instantly in business. It wasn’t just the selling things that made Jerry successful, it was also the caring. Jerry wanted to help people through what can be the traumatic process of disposing of a lifetime of memories. He always saw to it that they received the most money possible for their items. Happy, grateful faces at the end of the day made all the hard work worthwhile.

They did a lot of charity from the very beginning. It was rewarding to help so many people and do it in such a fun way and fun is what Jerry is about. He likes to laugh and make people laugh. He can tell jokes for hours, and sometimes does.

He has his own following at auctions with people who can help him out with the punchlines if he forgets as they have heard the many jokes over and over. But they still laugh every time. He keeps talking retirement but has too much fun doing what he does to give auctions completely.

Jerry is a member of the National Auctioneers Association, a life member of the Michigan State Auctioneers Association, has earned his CAI designation from the Auctioneers Institute and his AARE designation from the Auction Marketing Institute. In his career, Jerry has been involved in over 3000 auctions. He was inducted into the MSAA Hall of Fame at their annual conference in Lansing, MI on Feb. 2.

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Benefit dinner draws thousands

Filed under: Braun and Helmer News, Community News — David @ 1:51 pm

Benefit dinner draws thousands

Event raises money for local Marine injured while serving the country in Iraq

By Brian Cox, Staff Writer

PUBLISHED: January 25, 2007

There was a collective gasp of astonishment from the hundreds gathered in the large hall at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds Sunday afternoon when Marine Cpl. John Lockwood phoned from a military rehabilitation center in Florida and spoke to the crowd.

“I just want to say thank you to all of you,” Lockwood said in a clear, strong voice. “It’s wonderful how the community has come together to show support. I just want to say I love you all.”

Applause and cheers erupted.

More than 2,000 people turned out from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday for a benefit dinner and auction organized to raise money for Lockwood and his wife, Lisa. The 26-year-old Marine reservist, who was a Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department deputy and once a part-time Saline police officer, was seriously injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq two months ago. He lost his left eye, broke his feet and legs, fractured his pelvis, and also broke his nose and thumb.

The benefit was organized by some of Lockwood’s fellow law enforcement officers and area veteran groups to help the couple financially during Lockwood’s long and difficult recovery process.

The response to the fund-raiser stunned its planners.

They figured to serve 1,000 spaghetti dinners over the course of six hours and raise additional money through an auction and raffle. But by 3:30 p.m., more than 1,800 dinner tickets already had been purchased and the steady stream of people arriving showed no sign of letting up.

“We can’t make enough trips to Meijer for more supplies,” said Saline Fire Chief Craig Hoeft. “We ran out of salad in two hours and had to get more.”

Volunteers had to bring in more tables to accommodate the turnout. Shortly after 5 p.m., the food was gone, only a few spaghetti strands were left clinging to the side of the pot.

At the front of the hall, where people purchased $10 dinner tickets and $5 raffles, volunteer Donna Willbanks, wearing a white “Operation Lockwood” T-shirt, said the flow never let up.

“It’s been amazing,” she said. “Lots of people buying a couple raffle tickets give $50 or $100 and say keep the change or just come in and give $100 and leave.”

Saline Police Sgt. Jay Basso, who helped organize the event, said one man purchased a dinner ticket with a $2,000 check.

“It’s been like that all day long,” he said. “This was not just a police or fire thing, it was a whole community thing.”

Many of those who came did not know Lockwood personally.

Brian Zoner, a member of the Wolverine Chapter of the motorcycle club The Leathernecks and a resident of Redford Township, said he heard about the event through an e-mail distributed by a club member.

“We keep our ears to the ground for any Marine Corps news,” he said.

The motorcycle club is made up of former Marines.

“Anything we can do to help a fellow Marine out, we do,” he said.

Zoner served in the Marine Corps from 1999 to 2003, including six months in Iraq. He came to the dinner with three club members. Zoner said it didn’t matter that none of them knew Lockwood personally.

“We all knew him; he’s a Marine,” Zoner said. “A Marine is a Marine.”

Jami Grigal is a detective with the Pittsfield Township Public Safety Department. She came to the dinner with her 2 1/2-year-old son, Nathan. She said news of what happened to Lockwood rippled throughout the law enforcement community.

“Whenever something like this happens, we try to reach out the best we can,” she said.

Savannah Butler, a student at Woodland Meadows, presented Lockwood’s family with a check for $2,498 raised by the students and parents of the school. Lockwood’s mother, Ruth Lockwood, is a retired Woodland Meadows teacher.

“We care about John a lot,” said the school’s principal, David Raft.

The auction began shortly after 4 p.m. Up for bid were items ranging from signed jerseys to a quilt made by Lisa Lockwood’s grandmother.

Ted Miller, 19, of Milan purchased a framed photograph signed by Al Kaline for $125. He said as soon as he saw the picture, he knew he had to have it. His mother, Lisa Miller, purchased a World Series baseball autographed by Detroit Tiger pitcher Nate Robertson.

Miller said he learned about the benefit from his aunt, who is a police officer in Milan, and his uncle, who is an officer in Ann Arbor.

Organizers had hoped to raise around $30,000 for the Lockwoods, but early estimates were that they had well exceeded their goal. Other fund-raisers are being planned, including possibly a golf outing.

“John and Lisa still have a long and difficult road ahead of them,” he said.

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Benefit raises money for defibrillators - with video news report

Filed under: Braun and Helmer News, Community News — David @ 1:50 pm

Benefit raises money for defibrillators - with video news report
By Dan Meisler
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS

Country singer Michael Harding had a very personal reason for taking part in Tuesday night’s benefit concert to raise money for automated external defibrillators for Hamburg Township police.

Last time he was in the township, for last year’s Hamburg Fun Fest, he fell victim to a heart attack, and his life was most likely saved by a defibrillator used by a first responder.

Steve and Renee LaFave also have personal reasons. Their son, Michael, died in a 2005 boating accident, and they wanted a way to pay tribute to his memory. So they donated a defibrillator.

The LaFaves’ and Harding’s generosity, along with dozens of others who gathered at Zukey Lake Tavern for the benefit, raised about $8,000. That’s enough — along with defibrillators donated by Mike Mills of the Hamburg Pub and Chuck Plante and Rick Glazer of the Zukey Lake Tavern — to equip all seven of the township’s police cars and the police headquarters with defibrillators.

That’s more than Township Clerk Joanna Hardesty, one of the event’s organizers, expected to raise.

“I thought we would get enough for one unit,” she said.

The township’s Fire Department already has the defibrillators — which are used to shock a person’s heart back into normal rhythm — but the police cars didn’t, Hardesty said.

Harding drove from Indiana for the event, and had another show in the Indianapolis area the next day, but said he was glad to be able to be a part of the fundraiser.

“I figured, what better spokesman than me?” he said. “I’m very proud to be a part of this and have the opportunity to say ‘Thank you’ to the community.”

Steve LaFave said this was the perfect chance to pay tribute to his son.

“If it can save one person, it’s worth it,” he said.

The event also featured two auctions — one silent, and one conducted by professional auctioneer Brian Braun. Most of the items for sale were sports-related framed pictures or jerseys. Lonesome County, a bluegrass band, also played. The event was sponsored by the Hamburg Enhanced Recreation Organization, which puts on the Hamburg Fun Fest.

Although previous estimates had the price of a defibrillator at $3,000, Hardesty said going through a state purchasing pool lowered the cost to $1,300 each.

Contact Daily Press & Argus reporter Dan Meisler at (517) 552-2857 or dmeisler@gannett.com.

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How I won the Bid Calling Championship

Filed under: Braun and Helmer News — David @ 1:48 pm

How I won the Bid Calling Championship

A True Story by David G. Helmer

It was easy really. Just follow my steps and you are ¾ of the way there. The following account will give you a glimpse into the mind and actions of a champion.

As I was beginning to dress for the competition I realized that I could not find my suit. I looked everywhere for it. My wife and three year old daughter were sharing the room with me and they were down at the pool, and I couldn’t get a hold of them to say, “Where the heck is my suit”. I figured that they must have put it somewhere. As time crept by I realized that I would have to wear plane B. Now plan B was my suit of 8 years. Which I look fine in unbuttoned and usually slipped the jacket off after making a professional entrance. See I was thinking of the advice that Mike Jones gave me on the competition, “Always have your jacket buttoned”. Well that’s fine in my new suit, but in my old one, I look like an overripe tomato with it buttoned. (I must have gained a lot of muscle over the last few years). Anyway, time crept on and it was time to get to the competition. A quick bathroom break and I’ll be on my way. As I closed the door, I saw on a hook behind the door, under a robe was my new suit! Well overcome with joy I switched out my clothes. Relaxing with the find I let time slip away and when I checked the clock, it showed one minute to check in. I sprinted the half mile to check in and made it on the dot. As I drew my contestant number I realized that sweat was rolling down my head. When I say rolling, I mean pouring. You see I don’t have the dam of hair that I used to. Not a big deal, I headed to the bathroom for that visit I so desperately needed and to get a wipe down for my head. As I flushed the urinal handle a jet of water blasted out of the handle and hit me in the midsection, leaving a wet spot about the size of a baseball. Luckily my jacket was open. I considered my options but decided to pass on the above mentioned suit and that with a buttoned jacket most people wouldn’t notice. I wiped my head and face down with a paper towel and noticed in the mirror that the fuzz from the towel was stuck on my whiskers and causing my face to turn red. Not a big deal I said, calm down and relax until my turn, I’m sure everything was running smoothly with the fun auction. You see I was the convention chair; my job was to make sure things were running on time and smoothly. I was exhausted and going on 3 hours sleep. Also, I had lost about half my voice from talking too much and was worried that I might hit a few high notes during the competition. So, I peeked in on how the fun auction was going. To my dismay I found out that it hadn’t started yet, about 20 or so minutes behind. I found the head of the Fun Auction and with as few harsh words as possible got that on track.

I drew a high number for the competition and at that point really wanted to get it over with. I sat back and waited my turn. I said a little prayer and closed my eyes for five minutes. A funny thing happened when it was my turn. I wasn’t nervous, my voice which was worn out had a little more timber to it, and inside I was laughing about the big wet spot I was concealing. I auctioned my items and when I got off the stage, I thought maybe, just maybe. When they called my number as a finalist I was excited, but at that point my nerves started jumping.

All my calmness was gone and Michael Vinecki (who was also a finalist) immediately started messing with me saying, “you got this in the bag”, “you will win for sure”, and “they should just give you the award now”, I know he was teasing, because I wasn’t the only one he was saying it to! Anyway, I went up there, sold, answered the questions and got off the stage.

The rest as they say is history. It really is one of my proudest moments. My family and partners were all there. My Wife and daughter were so excited and I could tell my dad was really proud. I haven’t told many people about the lead up to the championship because I didn’t want them copying me as a formula for success, but the cat is out of the bag so have at it. Just do exactly like I did and you will have yourself a trophy!

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Helmer completes NAA Education Institute’s Certified Estate Specialist designation.

Filed under: Braun and Helmer News — David @ 1:47 pm

Helmer completes NAA Education Institute’s Certified Estate Specialist designation.

Overland park, KS - David Helmer of Braun and Helmer Auction Service, in Saline, MI has completed courses to receive the National Auctioneers Association Education Institutes Certified Estate Specialist (CES) designation.

The CES program educates auctioneers on how to best handle the settling of estates; as well as how to be a facilitator with family members and lawyers when an estate is settled. The CES designation requires 21 hours of instruction and a written examination.

In addition to the CES designation, The NAA’s Education Institute offers designations for Accredited Auction Real Estate (AARE), Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI), Graduated Personal Property Appraiser (GPPA), as well as various certificate programs.

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Braun & Helmer Auction Service

January 28, 2008

Saline Auctioneer to Compete for International Auctioneer Championship Title

January 4, 2008

MSAA 2008 Ringman Champion

January 3, 2008

Michigan Auctioneers Gather for Annual Conference in Bay City

June 14, 2007

Working Lunch

April 9, 2007

Marbles play well at Braun and Helmer auction

February 28, 2007

Saline auctioneer inducted into Auctioneers Hall of Fame

January 25, 2007

Benefit dinner draws thousands

Benefit raises money for defibrillators - with video news report

December 11, 2006

How I won the Bid Calling Championship

November 22, 2006

Helmer completes NAA Education Institute’s Certified Estate Specialist designation.

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