Partner Category: Auctioneers

Lucas Hunt is the president of HUNT Auctioneers. Our professional auctioneers host live fundraising for non-profit organizations and consult on ways to maximize fundraising at their events.

Our philosophy is value driven, mission based, and donor centric. HUNT believes in making a difference. We donate a percentage of yearly revenue to organizations that are meaningful to our team.

Going once, twice, sold! Taking Bids Fundraising (TBF), based in Kansas City, leads the industry with record-breaking methods for raising money for nonprofits. TBF is dedicated to making the community a better place, one auction at a time.

Education is a priority for Trisha Brauer, the owner and head auctioneer. She holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA, and she completed her auction training at the World Wide College of Auctioneering. Trisha has also served as a board member for the National Auctioneers Association (NAA) and the state associations of Kansas and Iowa.

In addition to her leadership roles, Trisha holds the prestigious Benefit Auctioneer Specialist (BAS) designation, awarded by the NAA, which represents specific education and training in conducting benefit auctions. Only 3% of the nation’s auctioneers have earned this designation. Furthermore, she has completed the Certified Auctioneer Institute (CAI) program, a rigorous 3-year course that is the highest designation recognized by the NAA.

Beyond helping nonprofits achieve record-breaking events, Trisha is a professional trainer for the NAA, teaching auctioneers across the country the art of benefit auctions. She is deeply committed to her community and recently completed a term on the Roeland Park City Council.

 

 

Keith L. McLane, BAS, is one of the country’s preeminent fundraising auctioneers, special appeal/fund-a-need experts, and event-based fundraising educators. Since 1995, he has specialized in organizing and conducting charity and fundraising auctions for schools, charitable organizations, and nonprofit groups from Honolulu to New York City. Never the shy one, Keith has become well-known for his fun and entertaining auctioneering style that frequently takes him out from behind the podium and deep into the audience!

Keith holds an MBA from The UCLA Anderson School of Management and is a graduate of the world-famous Missouri Auction School, which Newsweek magazine dubs “The Harvard of Auctioneering.” He is also one of only a small number of auctioneers in the country–and only 20 auctioneers in California–to have achieved the National Auctioneers Association’s prestigious Benefit Auction Specialist (BAS) designation.

Sherry Truhlar, CAI, BAS is President of Red Apple Auctions, a boutique auction firm that works with nonprofits and schools to improve the profitability of their fundraising galas via strategic planning and engaging auctioneering. Sherry left her corporate career in marketing to become a cheeky auctioneer onstage and a trusted resource offstage for Development Directors seeking to improve the profitability of their fundraising galas.

Though her work has taken her to nearly every state and placed her alongside A-list celebrities, most days she is collaborating with her clients via Zoom, helping them plan their events as a trusted resource.  She’s spoken at many AFP conferences, collaborated with fundraising colleagues to write a book for small nonprofits, and been covered in dozens of newspapers and magazines.

Though based in the Washington, D.C. area, she maintains her bliss by sidestepping the political scene.

A second-generation auctioneer, Chuck Mutz, LA License 748, has worked in the auction industry for more than 30 years. His father, Tim Mutz, founded ServCorp International, Inc. (originally named Sencore Auction Service) in 1976 where Chuck first learned the Auction craft. Working for a traditional auction company, Chuck called bids on almost everything, from antiques to bulldozers to – literally – kitchen sinks.

In early 2017, Chuck earned his Benefit Auctioneer Specialist (BAS) Certification and his company is now the only full service BAS auction company in Louisiana. BAS Auctioneers must meet specific qualifications, undergo specialized training and participate in continuing education. In addition to Live Auction and Fund-a-Need services, he offers consulting, traditional & mobile silent bidding services, revenue enhancers and other key techniques in partnership with Givergy to increase donor participation in Louisiana.