Canby auctioneer, JillMarie Wiles, earns
first place in national competition

A loquacious Canby resident has won the auctioneering world's highest honor. The National Auctioneers Association named JillMarie Wiles, 35, the 2001 Women's International Auctioneer Champion after more than 10 hours of competition in Boise, Id. on Wednesday, July 18.

"I'm just so excited about what's happening," the newly-crowned champion said from Boise last week. "Man, it was so exciting. It really is an honor to win it."

Wiles was one of 13 women to compete in this year's IAC contest. Seventy-one men competed in the men's division, with Scott Musser, 37, of Kennewick, Wash. taking first place.

The IAC began in 1988, but it was not until 1994 that it was split into men's and women's divisions. This year, entrants competed in what is known as the nation's largest auctioneer bid-calling contest. They were judged by a panel of seven auctioneers from across the country and were assessed against four criteria: command, appearance and poise; body language, eye contact and crowd relations; clarity, rhythm and speed of the trademark chant; and whether the judge would be inclined to hire the auctioneer based on his or her performance. Contestants went through preliminary and final rounds, and were also interviewed by the judges on industry practices. Auctioneering and interview scores were combined for a final score used to determine the winners.

As IAC champion, Wiles was given a prize package worth more than $12,000, according to the NAA. She now becomes one of the official media representatives of the NAA. She will travel around the country and make television appearances, representing the auctioneering industry and the auction method of marketing.

"I'm looking forward to the next year," said Wiles, who was the first-runner up in the Oregon Grand Champion competition in 1999 as well as the first runner-up in the women's division in the NAA's auctioneering championship in 2000. Wiles owns Beneficial Auction Services in Canby and has specialized in auctioneering at benefit auctions since 1996. She is a certified toastmaster, and regularly conducts seminars and consultations on the auction method of marketing for fund-raising.

In 1994, Wiles graduated from the Missouri Auction School in Kansas City, Mo., and in 1998 she graduated from Indiana University's Certified Auctioneers Institute in Bloomington, Ind. She continued her studies of the auction profession at the World Champion College of Auctioneering in Bakersfield, Calif., and graduated in 2001.

In addition, she has served on the Board of Directors for the Oregon Auctioneers Association since 1997. Fellow auctioneer Anne Kearney, who now lives in Pennsylvania, went to MAS with Wiles in 1993. She said she always knew Wiles would be a successful auctioneer. "I knew from the day that I met her, that she would be the country's best auctioneer," Kearney said in an email last Thursday.

In addition to her success and involvement in the autioneering profession, Wiles is an active member of the community. She works with Kiwanis International, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oregon, and she volunteers for St. Jude's and Doernbecher Children's Hospital. She said her work for Doernbecher's has become one of her passions.

"I really want to be a champion for children," she said, adding that she can use her role as an NAA representative will help her bring attention to her cause. "That's the most fulfilling part of this contest. Being able to promote the profession I love and bring awareness to St. Jude's is just going to make for a great year."