PRESS RELEASE
Bloomington Livestock Exchange will host World Livestock Auctioneer Championship June 9
May 24, 2018
Kansas City, Mo.
CONTACT
Lindsay Graber Runft
lrunft@lmaweb.com
Bloomington Livestock Exchange will host World Livestock Auctioneer Championship June 9
Special one-hour highlight show to air on RFD-TV June 25
Bloomington Livestock Exchange, Bloomington, Wis., will host the 2018 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship (WLAC) on Saturday, June 9. The 55th annual WLAC will take place in conjunction with the Livestock Marketing Association’s (LMA) Annual Convention in Dubuque, Iowa.
For the World Livestock Auctioneer Champion title, 31 semi-finalist auctioneers will compete in auctioneering and interview contests. The auctioneering contest will take place during a live sale where contestants will sell cattle to actual bidders in the seats. Additionally, because of the important, high-profile role, each WLAC semi-finalist must establish their knowledge of the livestock marketing business, and demonstrate ability to express that knowledge with clarity, in an interview competition.
The interviews will be on Friday, June 8, at the Grand River Center in Dubuque and can be viewed live on LMAauctions.com starting at 3:00 p.m. (CDT). The auctioneering competition will be at Bloomington Livestock Exchange beginning at 8:00 a.m. (CDT) and will also be streamed live on LMAauctions.com. On June 25, the WLAC will be broadcast as a special, one-hour show on RFD-TV, starting at 7:00 p.m. (CDT).
Reigning World Livestock Auctioneer Champion, Brian Curless, will serve as event emcee. Many past World Livestock Auctioneer Champions will attend this year’s contest, and each will sell cattle during the Parade of Champions, a portion of the WLAC sale between the semi-finalist and finalist rounds.
Contestants who have qualified to compete are Mitch Barthel, Perham, Minn.; Neil Bouray, Webber, Kan.; Chuck Bradley, Rockford, Ala.; Colton Brantley, Modesto, Calif.; Albert Carroll, Downeyville, Ontario; Leon Caselman, Long Lane, Mo.; Bill Cook, Billings, Mont.; Eric Drees, Nampa, Idaho; Dean Edge, Rimbey, Alberta; Will Epperly, Dunlap, Iowa; Brandon Frey, Creston, Iowa; Philip Gilstrap, Pendleton, S.C.; Steven M. Goedert, Dillon, Mont.; Cody Hanold, Brighton, Ill.; Jonathan Kraft, Hobart, Ind.; Kyle Layman, Morland, Kan.; Wade Leist, Boyne City, Mich.; Cody Lowderman, Macomb, Ill.; Jacob Massey, Petersburg, Tenn.; Thad McDermott, Wellfleet, Neb.; Brandon McLagan, Milan, Mo.; Jared Miller, Leon, Iowa; Daniel Mitchell, Cumberland, Ohio; Lander Nicodemus, Cheyenne, Wyo.; Jay Romine, Mt. Washington, Ky.; Jason Santomaso, Sterling, Colo.; Ethan Schuette, Washington, Kan.; Russele Sleep, Bedford, Iowa; Justin Steward, Wyoming, Iowa; Tim Yoder, Montezuma, Ga.; Zack Zumstein, Prairie, Idaho.
The general public may attend the auctioneering portion of the contest free of charge.
The 2018 LMA Annual Convention and WLAC is sponsored in part by Professional Livestock Insurance Company and Livestock Marketing Insurance Agency, Berkley Agribusiness, Nationwide, Cattlemen’s Beef Board, and the official animal health sponsor, Boehringer Ingelheim. More information about the events can be found at LMAweb.com.
About the Livestock Marketing Association
The Livestock Marketing Association (LMA), headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., is North America’s leading, national trade association dedicated to serving its members in the open and competitive auction method of marketing livestock. Founded in 1947, LMA has more than 800 member businesses across the U.S. and Canada and remains invested in both the livestock and livestock marketing industries through member support, education programs, policy representation and communication efforts.
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