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Oregon Auctioneer Competes in 46th Annual World Livestock Auctioneer Championship

July 6, 2009

FERGUS FALLS MN - Eugene, Oregon Auctioneer Jake Cheechov competed in his first World Livestock Auctioneer Championship (WLAC) held Saturday June 13 at the Fergus Falls Livestock Auction Market in western Minnesota. Cheechov qualified for the WLAC by placing in the top 8 of the LMA’s Midwestern region quarterfinal held in Kingsville, Missouri last December. The Championship is an actual auction sale where each of the semi-finalists sell 8 drafts of cattle. Six judges score the semi-finalists on vocal clarity and quality, talent at keeping the sale moving, bid-catching ability, and by answering the question, “Would I hire this auctioneer?”. A quarter of the contestant’s score is determined by a pre-contest interview, where they’re judged on several criteria, including knowledge of current issues affecting the livestock industry, and the ability to act as a spokesman for the livestock marketing sector. The 33 semi-finalists are then narrowed to 10 finalists, who then sell 10 more drafts of cattle, and are again judged on the above criteria.

Although he didn’t qualify to be one of the top 10 finalists, Cheechov had an impressive first trip to the WLAC placing 16th overall, and placing 4th in the pre-contest interview as well as receiving the highest score in the contest for his industry knowledge. The eventual Champion was Ty Thompson of Billings, Mont., this was his 12th time in the WLAC. He’s come close to winning the contest several times, taking the reserve championship twice, and the runner-up spot last year. Before this year, he’d also been one of the ten finalists seven times. The 2009 reserve world champion is Tom Frey, Creston, Iowa, and the runner-up is Kyle J. Shobe, Lewistown, Mont. who also won the 2009 Audrey K. Banks “Rookie of the Year”. award for having the highest score for a first year competitor. The remaining seven finalists, who emerged from a field of 33 contestants, were, in alphabetical order, Charly Cummings, Yates Center, Kan.; Justin Dodson, Welch, Okla.; Jim Hertzog, Greenwood, Mo.; Mike Nuss, Minatare, Neb.; Ted Odle, Brush, Colo.; Jason Santomaso, Sterling, Colo. and Kevin Schow, Paxton, Neb. The Livestock Marketing Association conducts the WLAC and the four regional quarterfinal qualifying contests to put the focus on competitive livestock marketing, and the vital role of the auctioneer in that process.

Cheechov is from Eugene, Oregon and was sponsored by the Klamath Livestock Auction in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He was one of only two qualifiers for this year’s WLAC from the west coast. Cheechov is the first auctioneer from western Oregon to ever qualify in the 45 year history of the contest. The State of Oregon however is well known for its Champion Auctioneers as Trent Stewart from Redmond, Oregon won the WLAC title in 2007.

Jake Cheechov has been an auctioneer for over 15 years and is a two time Oregon Grand Champion Auctioneer winning the honors in 2003 and 2005 at the Oregon State Fair.

He is an active member of both the National Auctioneers Association as well as the past President of the Oregon Auctioneers Association. Jake is a 1993 Graduate of Western College of Auctioneering in Billings Montana and a 2005 Graduate of World Champion College of Auctioneering in Bakersfield California.

Cheechov will attempt to qualify for the 2010 WLAC by competing in one of the four regional quarterfinals which will be held Sept. 25 at Public Auction Yards, Billings, Mont.; Oct. 9 at Crawford Livestock Market, Crawford, Neb.; Oct. 15 at Calhoun Stockyard Inc., Calhoun, Ga. and December 2 at Parsons Livestock Market, Inc., Parsons, Kan. The 2010 WLAC will be held June 19 at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, in Oklahoma City OK, helping to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Stockyards.