At the June 20th Tool Auction in Livingston, Louisiana, Henderson Auctions auctioned off one of their company hats to benefit St. Jude Children's Hospital. The wining bid was an unbelievable $1,500 purchased by Turn Around Welding, a local company with Henderson matching the top bid. To add to the excitement, another local Sam Mack, with White Horse Maintenance, stepped up and announced a separate donation of $500. This started a donation fury with many others shouting out their donations. Henderson raised an incredible $10,000 in about 20 minutes for St. Judes!!!! Many thanks to all that participated.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Henderson Auctions Raises over $10,000 for St. Jude Children's Hospital
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
MARVIN HENDERSON…AMERICA’S AUCTIONEER
By Harry Rubenstein
Auctioneer Marvin Henderson hasn’t forgotten where he came from. Today, Henderson Auctions is one of the largest auction houses in
From pencils and tables Mr. Henderson moved on to selling antiques and then to farm equipment. By the early 1970’s he was selling heavy construction machinery and equipment. This became his specialty and he has become known nationwide as one of the leading auctioneers of heavy construction equipment.
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Out on the sales floor big trucks and heavy equipment roll past Marvin’s gavel. “It turns out,” he says, “that sometimes spotting a bid can be harder than calling the auction. First sale I had,” he says, “I couldn’t see you if you were waving both hands. Now, you walk in a crowd and I don’t recognize you….I don’t even see you…unless you look like you’re going to bid. It’s a natural instinct to pick it up and see you.” He manages to see quite a few.
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There’s Renita Martin, the office manager, and James Martin, the yard manager. Their roles in the company are critical as well.
The atmosphere at the auction is active and exciting. The auctioneers and ring men are aggressive and persuasive in soliciting top bids for merchandise while maintaining friendly and comfortable relationships with the buyers. It is a major league environment and experience. It is state of the art… first class all the way. Many dollars change hands. Millions…in fact, over a hundred million a year at last accounting.
Marvin helped pioneer the sales of surplus equipment at auction by the Louisiana State Department of Transportation. He also introduced the auction process to shipyards and fabrication facilities. He conducts auctions all over the
Sales of items for over one million dollars are not particularly unusual. One memorable accomplishment occurred in 2004 when he sold a Manitowac lift crane in
As we said, Marvin Henderson remembers his beginnings. He still takes time to conduct liquidations for Mom and Pop businesses and applies as much of his expertise to these as he does to his much larger sales. Even though Marvin has been a busy and successful auctioneer throughout his career, he takes the time to mentor and groom younger auctioneers coming along. He welcomes them to his sales and acknowledges their presence. He gives them work. He is available to them. He is credited by many young auctioneers with helping them start their careers. Indeed, the name