From fill-in clerk to ISAA Hall of Fame

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — While attending several auctions, Marcy Goldring-Edenburn noticed a revolving door of clerks for a particular auctioneer, piquing her interest in getting involved.

She asked the auctioneer to contact her if he needed her to help out as clerk.

“He called me to clerk and I just loved it. I went home and tried to get some of my family members to go into the auction business and they didn’t want to. So, I went to the Missouri Auction School. It was a class of about 150 to 175 people and I was the only gal in the class,” Goldring-Edenburn said.

Her enthusiasm and love for the business continues 43 years later, and she was recognized for her work and contributions to the industry when she was inducted into the Illinois State Auctioneers Association Hall of Fame on Feb. 25 during the ISAA annual conference.

She owns and operates Marcy Goldring Auction in Farmington, a general auction service that includes sales of personal property, estates, antiques, collectibles, cars, classic cars, farm equipment, real estate and more.

“I enjoy meeting the people and making those lasting friendships.”

—  Marcy Goldring-Edenburn, owner and operator, Marcy Goldring Auction

Goldring-Edenburn has been a long-time member of ISAA. Her résumé includes numerous honors throughout her career.

She graduated from the Missouri Auction School in 1980 and the Certified Auctioneers Institute in 1986, the same year earned the Illinois State Champion Auctioneer honors.

In 1994, she earned the first female International Auctioneer Championship title when the men’s and women’s divisions were established. IAC champions are considered the best of the best within the auction industry.

Goldring-Edenburn served as governor of the Certified Auctioneer Institute Board from 1986 to 1989 and a director on the National Auctioneer Association board from 1995 to 1998. She is also an instructor at the Mendenhall School of Auctioneering in High Point, North Carolina.

Q&A

In an interview following the announcement of her induction, Goldring-Edenburn reflected on her career and ISAA.

What are your thoughts about being inducted into the ISAA Hall of Fame?

You work in the business for a long time and you look at the people who have gone before you and you just think, ‘Oh, gee, if I could just be them someday.’ When you start getting involved with the associations at the national level, and with the Certified Auctioneers, it’s always in the back of your mind, will I ever make that?

Because you have to be voted on, you have to be inducted into it, it’s not just a choice, and for your peer groups who are very competitive to say you’re worthy, you’ve made your mark, you’ve done what needs to be done, you’ve helped somebody along the way, it’s very humbling.

I didn’t even think about it when I started that I was an oddity. That wasn’t even in my head, and to walk into a male-dominated profession, which it still is, but there are more women now than there ever was before. I love this business. I love almost everything about it, except when you have a disgruntled seller.

The opportunity to get to sell something new and exciting, for me, it’s been a great profession. I couldn’t dream of a better one. To sell all over the United States with great people, it’s wonderful.

What do you enjoy the most about being an auctioneer?

I enjoy meeting the people and making those lasting friendships. I really enjoy the merchandising of the auction, setting it up, taking the photographs, making sure that they are online because pictures are going to draw people.

What are some of the major changes you’ve seen in the business?

I’ve been in the auction business in the best of times with traditional live bid-calling auctions and now it’s moved to more technology, more online type auctions, which I’ve tried a few times. It wasn’t my forte at that point in life, but maybe in the future.

We would get a couple hundred people to an auction. The auction buyers are dwindling. The young people like technology, so online auctions is just really prominent right now.

How many years have you been involved with the ISAA?

I was in the auction business for about a year and somebody said, ‘You really need to get the convention.’ I missed that year so I started in the association in 1982.

What are some of the benefits of being an ISAA member?

The networking, meeting people, being at the right place at the right time, having the right conversations or overhearing the right conversations and you say, ‘If you need some help give me a call’ no matter what that is. It could be from the smallest thing of being a set-up person, a hold-up person. They like to say ringman. I like to say bid assistant. I worked 15 years for a national company just doing bid assisting.

It’s important to get new people involved in the organization. They don’t understand sometimes what the importance of it is, but any of the new people who are here have seen how important it is.

You’ve got to get networking, you’ve got to get education, new ideas, how to change up your auction business to get yourself more enthused about it because sometimes you get a little dry yourself.