[auctioneer calling bids]
It's a big night,
and Jenny Markham-Gehl's got to be ready.
- $10, $10, $20, $20, $90, $90, $100, $100, $10, $10.
Tommy Tatmus took two T's,
tied 'em to the top of two tall trees.
Two hundred, want to get two, want to get two, want to get two to three.
Sold it, your way $275.
[cheers]
- Angela: Jenny is a professional auctioneer
and was named
the 2019 Wisconsin Auctioneer of the Year.
- We all have unique creative abilities.
We all have passions.
And when we can really put our all
into that passion
and into that ability, that just naturally shines.
- Angela: Jenny's been in the bidding game
since she was a child.
Her family ran an auction company,
and every weekend, it was all hands on deck.
- Host: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jenny Gehl.
- I started out, I believe I was ten years old.
I was running sheets for the auction company.
And over time I moved, up into the position of cashiering.
And I also worked as a clerk,
and eventually, a ringman.
If it was on a Saturday or Sunday,
no matter what day, we were expected/required to be there.
Anybody else?
- Angela: She stepped away from the family business
and tried her hand at finance and real estate.
But as the years passed, something was missing.
The auctioning world was calling her back home.
- You know, I've always had the itch for auctions,
but I never knew exactly how I could get back into it,
but I knew I had a lot to offer.
...Humane Society, I really liked--
- Angela: Combining her passion for auctions
and helping worthwhile organizations,
she joined forces with her brother Tim,
and her father Jim,
to form Bravo Benefit Auctions.
- Jenny: Lots of energy tonight.
Yeah. - Always do.
- Always bring it, yeah.
We have this talent.
We have this energy and excitement
when we can share our knowledge
with other nonprofit organizations.
And I felt like that was really the space
for us to make a difference.
- Angela: Tonight, the family is helping to raise funds
for the University Lake School in Hartland, Wisconsin.
- Third and final call, 2-2-9, bids $100.
An auction together as a family,
so many times, I'm behind the mic as the auctioneer,
and my brother and my dad will be out in the audience
as ringmen.
Put your hands together.
This is kind of fun.
Then there's that extension of the auctioneer,
which kinda takes that excitement,
and that energy out on the floor.
And they're able to get more bids
and maybe talk 'em into bidding one more time.
- Tim: Fifty, $25, $25, $25...
- Angela: Tim, Jenny's brother, shares auction duties.
So when she's not behind the mic,
she's on the floor with her dad.
- Tim: One last call and I have... [laughter]
Sold it at $50.
$50, get on up here.
- Working with my dad and brother
and coming in as a family unit,
for me, it makes my heart smile.
It's just really a full heart
because all three of us have such passion
and energy and love for this business,
and being able to raise money for deserving organizations.
It's just full circle.
Anybody else?
- Angela: Jenny has high hopes
for the field of auctioneering,
and she wishes more women would consider this career.
- There's been occasions where I show up,
and they're like, "A female auctioneer?
This is so cool!"
Yes, he says!
I hope to create a legacy where people remember me
as that person that really made a difference
or I've trailblazed a way, you know,
for more women to get into the industry.
That's what I'd like to be remembered for.
- Angela: Sold on a lifetime of using her unique talents
to make a difference,
she's found her calling.
- ... this bid $750; what do you think?
I keep just paving my way, and I keep that persistence,
you know, and I have a goal, and I'm gonna reach it.
Moving on, thank you again, one more round of applause
because that is amazing.
[cheers and applause]