Kaddatz Auctioneering

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CORPUS CHRISTI - Auctioneers including rookies and experienced veterans took center stage here in Corpus Christi Friday night, as they called bids to become the 50th Annual Texas State Champion Auctioneer.

These guys have to put in a lot of practice to have a shot at the title. Travis Kaddatz takes bids to win the rookie auctioneer title. He said his competitors have more professional experience than him, but this trade runs in his family too.

"My dad's an auctioneer, so I grew up with it," Kaddatz said. "They graduated school before I did. I just got my license Monday, so I really am a rookie."

Auctioneers young and old called bids for this 50th annual competition. Judges scored about 35 contenders on elements like clarity, presence, crowd control to take the title in several categories.

"I think it is a prestigious title to have, and I think a lot of people would like to have that," Buddy Thomas, Texas Auctioneers Association president, said.

The organization's president said you need some schooling and a state license to be a legit auctioneer but there's some strategy involved to get good at it.

"The numbers have to come automatically," one competitor, John Sisk, said. "That's what auction school does for you. You go to auction school and you learn to count without thinking. Because if you had to think about it and you have a thousand lots to sell in a day. You'll never get done with it."

"You try to get them to bid more," Thomas said. "You're trying to get more money for your seller because we basically work for the seller."

Sisk said he hopes for a championship win, but experience tells him he has to remember one thing.

"If I can just relax, everything else is natural," he said.

The finals will be held Saturday, and the winner will go on to compete in the national competition coming up next month in San Diego, Calif.

All of the auctioneers in the group will call bids together in an effort to set a new world record.

Online Reporter: Melissa Monti