I grew up going to auctions.
We were farmers. When a farm sold, everything went under the hammer — the land, the equipment, the way of life. My dad also worked at the tobacco warehouse where they auctioned the leaf, and at the stockyards. So from the time I could walk, auctions weren’t some high-society event. They were just… Wednesday.
And I loved Wednesdays.
An auction meant you didn’t have to work on the farm. It was a social gathering. Everybody knew everybody. The dust, the chant, the energy of a room full of people deciding value together. I was all in.
My First Auction Purchase: Age 7, Second Grade
I’ll never forget the first item I ever bought at auction.
I was seven years old, in the second grade. There was an estate sale for an older lady named Mrs. Mildred Peters. Sitting there among the furniture and tools was a Carrom board — the classic board game where you flick rings into the corner pockets. We only had one board at home, and I had two older brothers. If I owned my own board (and this one was an antique), I wouldn’t have to fight them for it. I could practice whenever I wanted. That board represented freedom.
So I stood right beside it.
For two hours. Maybe three.
Everyone at the sale saw me standing there. They all knew exactly what I wanted. The auctioneer that day was a good man named Howard Stone. When he finally reached the Carrom board, he looked straight at me and said:
“Scott… where do you want to start us on this?”
I answered, “Twenty-five.”
I meant twenty-five cents. A quarter. But it came out “twenty-five.”
Howard smiled, started the bidding at twenty-five dollars, and the next bid jumped to fifty. Then… silence. Not a single person in that room was going to bid against a seven-year-old farm kid who had been guarding that Carrom board like it was the most important thing in the world.
I got it for twenty-five cents.
That little Carrom board changed the trajectory of my life.
Why This Moment Still Matters to Me as a Charity Auctioneer
In that moment I learned something that still drives every charity and benefit auction I call today:
An auction is never just about the stuff. It is about the people. It is about the stories. It is about a room full of human beings who decide, together, what something is worth — and then celebrate when the right person (or the right cause) gets it.
That feeling never left me.
Today I am Scott Robertson, CAI, BAS — founder and chief auctioneer of Champion Fundraising Auctions. Since 1994 I have worked exclusively as a professional charity and benefit auctioneer. My team and I have helped nonprofit organizations, schools, hospitals, churches, and foundations across the United States raise more than $500 million. I am one of fewer than 200 auctioneers in the nation to earn the Benefit Auctioneer Specialist (BAS) designation from the National Auctioneers Association.
And every single time I step on stage, I am still that seven-year-old kid standing next to the Carrom board — heart pounding, completely locked in, knowing something special is about to happen.
What Makes a Great Charity Auctioneer?
The best charity auctioneers don’t just chant numbers. We create energy. We tell stories. We make donors feel like heroes. We turn a fundraising event into a memorable experience that people talk about for years.
That is exactly what I learned on a dusty sale lot when I was seven years old. The community protected me. The auctioneer saw me. And the room decided that a little kid’s dream was worth more than another bidder’s wallet.
That same spirit is what I bring to every gala, every school fundraiser, every hospital foundation event, and every nonprofit auction I lead.
Ready to Raise More at Your Next Event?
If your school, nonprofit, hospital foundation, or charity is planning a fundraising auction and you want an auctioneer who still gets goosebumps every time the bidding starts, I would be honored to help.
Scott Robertson, CAI, BAS Founder & Chief Auctioneer
Champion Fundraising Auctions
Serving Nonprofits Nationwide
📞 (239) 246-2139
🌐 www.championauctioneer.com
Let’s make your next auction the one people never forget.
Watch me tell this story from this clip from our very 1st “Serving with Purpose” Podcast!
