Livestock auctioneer ready for competition at Calgary Stampede

Livestock auctioneer competition set at the Stampede Rob Bergevin with the International Livestock Auctioneers Championship is in to talk about this weekend's competition and what makes for a really excellent auctioneer.

The final weekend of the Calgary Stampede will include an event that celebrates its deep agricultural roots – auctioneering.

The International Livestock Auctioneering Championship will be held on Saturday at the Nutrien Western Events Centre.

Auctioneer Rob Bergevin is among the competitors and remembers his start in the business more than three decades ago after an employer prodded him into making auctioneering his calling.

“I was working in the cattle business and they suggested that maybe with the gift of the gab that I had, that I might make a good auctioneer,” Bergevin said, in an interview with CTV News Calgary’s Ian White.

Bergevin is perhaps best known for his role overseeing the Stampede’s annual chuckwagon auction.

“It’s our responsibility as an auctioneer to get our homework done and have an idea of who’s interested in who and where their levels might be,” said Bergevin.

Bergevin also provided an on-the-spot demonstration of his skills, simulating an auction for a necktie.