Page Text: You need a license to be a benefit auctioneer?
In some states, yes.
It can be expensive.
It’s time consuming.
It’s confusing. In some jurisdictions, government employees are unfamiliar with the rules as it relates to benefit auctions.
About half of the states and the District of Columbia require licensing of benefit auctioneers. Many of these states are east of the Mississippi River.
Below is a list of states where I do or have held licenses.
Florida AU3344 // Division of Professions, Board of Auctioneers, 1940 North Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-0783 // 850-487-1395 // www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/pro/auct/
Georgia AU004174 // Georgia Secretary of State, Professional Licensing Division, 237 Coliseum Drive, Macon, GA 31217-3858 // 478-207-2440 // www.sos.state.ga.us/plb
Illinois #441002144 // Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation, 320 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor, Springfield, IL 62786 // 1-800-560-6420 // www.idfpr.com/DPRdefault.asp
Indiana AU11300062 // Indiana Auctioneer Commission, Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, Attn: Auctioneer Commission, 402 W Washington Street, Room W 072, Indianapolis, IN 46204 // 317-234-3009 // www.in.gov/pla/auction.htm
Kentucky #3638 // Commonwealth of Kentucky, KY Board of Auctioneers, 2819 Ring Road, Suite 200, Elizabethtown, KY 42701 // 270-360-0736 // http://auctioneers.ky.gov
Massachusetts #3228 // Office of Consumer Affairs & Business Regulation (OCABR), Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, 1000 Washington Street, Suite 710, Boston, MA 02118-6100 // 617-727-3074 // www.mass.gov/dpl
New Hampshire #6031 // New Hampshire Board of Auctioneers, Office of the Secretary of State, State House Room 204, 107 North Main Street, Concord NH 03301 // 603-271-3242 // http://sos.nh.gov
Pennsylvania AU005743 // Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, State Board of Auctioneer Examiners, P.O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649 // 717-783-3397 // http://www.dos.pa.gov
Tennessee #000006480 & #00005613 // Department of Commerce and Insurance, 500 James Robertson Pkwy, Nashville, TN 37243-0565 // 615-741-2241 // www.tn.gov/commerce/
Texas #17444 // Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, POB 12157, Austin, TX 78711 // 800-803-9202 // www.tdlr.texas.gov
Washington, D.C. #600517000002 // DCRA’s Occupational & Professional Licensing Administration, 1100 4th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024 // 202 -442-4400 // http://dcra.dc.gov/book/about-business-licensing/professional-occupational-licenses
Wisconsin #2740-52 // State of Wisconsin, Department of Safety and Professional Services, PO Box 8935, Madison, WI 53708-8935 // 608-266-2112 // http://dsps.wi.gov/contact
Virginia #2907003083 and #2908000859 // Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 400, Richmond VA 23233-1485 // 804-367-8500 // http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/Contact/
Incidentally, there is no specific benefit auctioneer license. One is given an auctioneer’s license which — depending on the area — can be used to sell all types of goods and services.
(A few places require an additional or specific license to sell certain items, like livestock or automobiles.)
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What auction planners say
Sherry, oh, Sherry! You were an invaluable asset to this year’s gala. With your assistance we were able to add so many new elements that truly made a difference in taking our event to another level. This year was the most successful yet! Everyone loved you and the amazing energy that you brought to the event. We look forward to having you again in 2018!
Krystal Fenwick
Thank you so much for the outstanding job you did for us on April 1! I have received so much positive feedback from so many who attended. You even earned Sister Suzan’s (our Vice-Principal) seal of approval! Safe travels to all your many events and thank you for making our biggest fundraiser of the year our best ever!
Diane Albano, Director of Development
St. Joseph Academy Catholic High School (St. Augustine, FL)
Sherry is flexible and easy to work with. She gives honest feedback and advice throughout the planning and implementation process. Without a doubt, Sherry and Red Apple Auctions has helped take our annual fundraising event to the next level.
Beckie Middendorf, Development Director and Janet Gulla, Development Coordinator
St. Henry District High School (Erlanger, KY)
Sherry is “on board” from day one of auction planning, works closely with our steering committee and is only just a phone call away. The night of the auction, we toss her the keys and let her drive the event! We are never disappointed!
Charly Ryan, Director of Institutional Advancement
The Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, MD)
I was very fortunate to have Red Apple on board for my first auction. Working with Sherry was invaluable. She provided guidance at every phase of planning, from procurement on forward – and she challenged us to make our event more ambitious and more successful at every stage. Thank you, Sherry!
Pete Goldlust, Director of Development
Oak Hill School (Eugene, OR)
If your auction needs to upgrade, call any auctioneer you find on Google. But if you want your auction to be impressive, meaningful, and profitable, you need to call Sherry.
Erin Banda
2016 NYUMBANI Board member
The auction was entertaining .. proactive … the crowd was involved and felt a part of it,” he said, emphasizing, “The entertainment value was huge.
Darrell, a long-time attendee
We plan on booking Red Apple Auctions much earlier for our next event so we can take advantage of more of the pre-event offerings.
Nicole Carr, Director of Grants and Special Events
The Ivymount School (Rockville, MD)
Sherry, personally, I can’t even begin to tell you the immense amount of positive feedback that I received having YOU (and Darby) there with is this year!… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”
Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple?
They liked that I “moved the crowd along … kept the crowd engaged but wasn’t obtrusive or invasive. We were able to talk but still keep track of what was going on.”
You have NO idea of how many people came up to me (I know Julie as well) and said, ‘That auctioneer was incredible … she engaged the crowd, …… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”
Geri said: “Great job of getting potential donors in the room to step up to the plate and not feel guilty or bad about it. They actually wanted to give more … and that’s not something I’ve seen in many other auctioneers.”
The following… Read The Rest “Geri”
Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk.
“I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal… Read The Rest “Irene”
Most product & consulting remarks are found on their respective webpages, but I’ve listed two below so you’re assured my products are as spot-on as my auctioneering. Not only was our 2013 auction a blast, but our Washington, D.C. public school raised $67,000 — that’s $25,000 more than last year! The evening went… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”
As a former Fox News Anchorwoman, I am often called on to perform at auctions. So, I know first-hand that auctioneering can be a difficult job. Sherry Truhlar is one of the best in the business.… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”
Cynthia Steele Vance
Guest at The Potomac School 2014 auction (McLean, VA)
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