I’ve reached a personal and professional milestone. I’m happy to report that as of March 22, 2012, I completed a three-year training with the Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI). This is the auctioneering industry’s premier training program developed by the National Auctioneers Association (NAA) for auction professionals.
Less than 5% of auctioneers nationwide hold the CAI designation and I am proud to say that I am now one of them.
It was an incredible and FUN journey for me at the University of Indianafor one week each March, which started in 2010. The intense executive development program and instruction offered me and my fellow professional auctioneers coursework in:
- Business management and ethics,
- Finance and communication, and
- Strategic planning, and marketing.
How can I ever forget the first year as my classmates elected me as co-chair for the annual CAI Fun Auction, which would be our class project for the following year? Yes, that’s right, it is an auction for auctioneers held during CAI Week. No pressure here when you’re putting on an auction for some of the most respected colleagues in your industry! We had one year to plan the event with 50 auctioneer classmates from around the world. That experience alone was a huge learning opportunity and one that I will always remember. I was humbled with the level of trust and gratitude from my fellow auctioneers.
In addition to my current certification as a Benefit Auctioneer Specialist (BAS), you’ll start seeing the CAI on my website, Facebook and in other areas next to my name, but most importantly it means I’m one of seven auctioneers in the state of Texas that has earned both the CAI and BAS credentials.
How does this impact you? I’m so proud and happy that I will be able to use what I’ve learned through the CAI training right here in Central Texas and beyond, putting what I’ve learned to work right away, and smarter to help you meet your fundraising goals and help your organization meet its mission. And the kicker–every three years I’m required to do an additional 24 hours of training in order to keep my CAI designation current, which benefits us all as we work together to serve Central Texas.
If you’d like to learn more about National Auctioneers Association (NAA), I invite you to visit their website: www.auctioneers.org. In the meantime send me your questions about my CAI training and what new information I can share with you to help us reach the finish line together.
Have fun this week!
Gayle Stallings, CAI, BAS
Learn more about FUNauctions’ Gayle Stallings.
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