From left to right is Craig Meier, co-owner/instructor, Colonel Daren R. Anderson, and Mike Jones, President, are pictured after Anderson graduated from the World Wide College of Auctioneering. (Photo/Submitted)

Marylou Nagel | Writer 

Daren Anderson, of Hartford, has recently graduated from the World Wide College of Auctioneering.  
The World Wide College of Auctioneering is located in Mason City, Iowa. Auctioneering students receive over 80 hours of intensive auctioneer training in the areas of real estate, estates, antiques, heavy equipment, purebred and market livestock, automobiles and fundraising events.
The students are instructed by some of the world’s most successful auctioneers of which include past presidents of the National Auctioneers Association, state association and past international, world and state champion auctioneers. These instructors teach rapid-fire chants, how to contract auctions, ethics, auction bookkeeping, auction laws and technology, and the importance of the internet in today’s auction world.
While at the World Wide College of Auctioneering, Anderson and his classmates put their training to use at a student auction for St. Jude’s. The group raised $20,000 in a little over two hours.
Anderson, who owns and operates Big D Technology, plans to incorporate his auctioneering skills with his knowledge in technology. “Most people have a bucket list – I don’t even own the bucket, but this has always been a lifelong dream for me,” stated Anderson. “My Dad used to set me on a hay bale during the summer at the Sioux Falls Stockyards at sheep sales, where sheep were sold Mondays through Thursdays, then on Thursdays, we would also go to the cattle sale sometimes. Since I grew up by Hartford on our family farm, we were always going to auction sales buying tractors, and those one-of-a-kind boxes, where you couldn’t wait to get home to go through it to see what you bought.”
As he moved into his technology career, Anderson wrote a livestock software package for Magness Livestock Auction in Huron. They used scoreboards from Daktronics to show previous and present sales, as well doing all of the livestock check-ins and all of the final sale activities.  
“I always said I got over my shyness quickly when you have 300 farmers yelling at you to get the computer system back up and running during a sale,” Anderson added. He also was heavily involved in the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce, and took several days off to work at the Farm Show helping with cattle auctions for five years.
Graduating auctioneering school is a logical next step in Anderson’s career. While in auctioneering school, he learned about the technology needed for today’s auctions, and also about how most auctioneers may not know how to protect their data and keep updated on new technology methods. “We plan to incorporate our 34 years of technology experience and using our sister company, Big D Technology Solutions, Inc., to market our services to those involved in the auctioneering world,” Anderson explained. His future plans include offering online auctions through his company Big D Auctions, Inc., and as he becomes more established, doing live auctions specializing in estates, personal property, farm equipment, and antiques.
To contact Anderson, please visit www.bigdauctions.com or call (605) 306-3513. For more information on the World Wide College of Auctioneering, please visit www.worldwidecollegeofauctioneering.com or call 641-423-5242.