Auburn auctioneer talks his way to state title

By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff WriterAuburn?s David Chaddock is more than a warp-speed-talking, gavel-pounding auctioneer. He?s state champion.Chaddock, 36, won the title, a sterling silver belt buckle, an etched glass trophy, a $500 check, and a trip to the world championship in San Antonio, Texas in competition at the California State Auctioneer Championships earlier this month in Las Vegas, Nev.An auctioneer since he was 13, Chaddock has come close to the title before. In 1998 and 1999, he took the California State Auctioneers Association reserve champion crown.Chaddock?s down-home style and friendly demeanor helped win over judges over this time.?I have never tried to be a stuffed shirt,? he said. ?I?m just a country boy from Auburn.?California has an estimated 1,800 auctioneers selling everything from toys to cattle to land. The Auctioneers Association competition brings together the best to compete for a title that is more about knowledge, style and salesmanship than a speed-talking showdown based on how many words a contestant can squeeze into a minute.In fact, Chaddock said he doesn?t know how many words he can reel off in 60 seconds.He said he?s more concerned with making an audience feel at ease and ready to bid. Judges were looking for speed, clarity, rhythm, presentation, creativity and an innate ability to adjust to a crowd or situation.?I can go just as fast as some of the best but it?s more than speed,? Chaddock said. ?Clarity is more important ? to make people understand what you?re saying. The biggest thing is to be able to use sales techniques.?As well as the auction portion of the contest, Chaddock and other contestants also took part in interviews that tested their knowledge of ethics, auction law, and their ability to think on their feet.A fifth-generation Auburn resident, Chaddock is president of David D. Chaddock Auctioneer & Associates. His business conducts auctions locally and across the United States. As well as auctioneering, Chaddock raises crossbreed cattle on his Wise Road property in Ophir. Chaddock and his wife, Laura, are expecting their first child.One of the oddest sales Chaddock oversaw never was completed. Auctioning off the contents of a self-storage unit, it was discovered that the effects included a family?s cremated remains. Chaddock stopped the sale and the ashes were eventually re-united with family members.The most expensive single item Chaddock sold at auction was a Caterpillar excavator. Chaddock banged down his gavel when bidding ended at $187,500 ? far more than the equipment was valued at.Starting early with Future Farmers of America and 4-H auctions, Chaddock said he evened auctioned off his girlfriend once ? as part of an FFA school auction, to help the winning bidder with domestic chores.With the assistance and encouragement of his grandparents, Vincent and Gladys Anderson of Auburn, Chaddock graduated from Western College of Auctioneering in Billings, Mont. In his early years in the auction business, Chaddock said he didn?t need to look past Auburn for inspiration. He cites local auctioneers Dean Parker, now of Logan, Utah, Jack Parnell, now of Idaho, and Bill Lefty as three of the best in California. Parnell served as deputy U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Parker regularly returns to Auburn to put on horse auctions at the Gold Country Fairgrounds.?Dean has been my biggest mentor, I wanted to be like Jack and I wanted to have as many sales as Lefty,? Chaddock said. Now in the process of becoming a licensed real estate broker with Auburn?s Monopoly Real Estate, Chaddock is positioning himself for a move into residential real estate auctioneering. He?s conducted land auctions and said he feels that for many property owners, the best way to sell a home is to bring together 15 or 20 interested parties at one time.Chaddock?s goal is to hold his first home auction within the next six months.?People sometimes think of auctions like these as fire sales but we?d be talking about prime property,? he said.When Chaddock won the championship, he said his thoughts were on Auburn and his roots.?The neatest thing for me is to bring this back home for my grandparents and back to Auburn,? he said. ?They helped give me a career choice and an ability to learn a trade. If it had not been for the love and support of these two wonderful people as well as the rest of my family I would have never made it.?The Journal?s Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.com.