Four RE/MAX agents performed in front of almost 300 of their peers, RE/MAX business partners and invited guests when they competed for the 2016 Auctioneer of the Year title at the mid-year RE/MAX Australia Rally at St Lucia Golf links in Brisbane.
Jacob Secco and Paul Gaffney, of RE/MAX Executives, and Tyler Bean, of RE/MAX Profile Real Estate, faced the reigning champion Greg Parker, of RE/MAX Regency, when the four tried to out-auctioneer each other to claim victory… and proved just how good the level of competition was this year.
Having already shown they can ‘talk the talk’, ‘walk the walk’ and can think on their feet to get to the finals, the four took to the stage at the Rally, where they put their skills to the test conducting a mock auction under the scrutiny of a serious judging panel while they worked their way through some curly questions from the floor tricky mental arithmetic
It was entertainment and professionalism at its best from all, with themes in their clever patter varying from golf to fairy tales, but Paul Gaffney nudged out Greg Parker, Jacob Secco and Tyler Bean in the close but unanimous judges’ decision to take the $2500 prize. It was Mr Gaffney’s first time auctioneering in public.
Judges were Shaun Mahony, from Direct Connect, a RE/MAX Australia platinum partner, Nathan Swain, Australian Property Finance CEO, and Michael Davoren, RE/MAX Australia Managing Director.
RE/MAX Australia Professional Development Manager, Melanie Marsh, said all contenders for the competition, be they beginner or experienced auctioneers, had been through two days of intense training with acclaimed auctioneer and trainer, Jason Andrew, before the finalists were selected.
“The two-day course covers important auction skills and processes in a practical environment and is fantastic for building confidence and understanding the auction process whether someone is considering becoming an auctioneer or not,” she said.
Contact for media:
Lyn Cox, Public Relations, RE/MAX Australia M. 0418 793 096
About RE/MAX: RE/MAX is the No.1 real estate agency business in the world based on volume of sales and many other criteria. It is in almost 100 countries, has more than 6900 offices, and employs or contracts more than 105,000 people worldwide.