One of the highest honors an auctioneer can receive is to be inducted into the National Auctioneers Association Hall of Fame. This year, you may recognize one of the inductees as Lonny McCurdy, founder of McCurdy Real Estate & Auction. Only three auctioneers are inducted each year after being nominated and then selected by a committee. Lonny was recognized for his achievements, leadership, and impact within the auction industry.
“I feel truly honored. I am so thankful for everyone I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the years… they made this all possible,” remarked Lonny.
Lonny and his wife, Annette, opened McCurdy Auction forty years ago in 1982. However, Lonny started auctioneering long before that – his first auction was at the age of 14. His father, a part-time automobile auctioneer who owned and operated a car dealership, was the one who inspired and began Lonny’s career as an auctioneer.
He continued to gain auction experience and knowledge throughout high school and college and graduated from Emporia State University with a degree in business administration. Afterward, he married his high school sweetheart, Annette, and they moved to Wichita where he worked in banking for 12 years.
Even as a Vice President in banking, Lonny never stopped auctioneering. His part-time auction business was growing, so in 1982, he and Annette fulfilled their dream of owning a full-time auction business and opened McCurdy Auction Service. They conducted a variety of auctions such as household, farm machinery, business liquidations, real estate, coin collections, and many others.
As a new business with three young children, McCurdy Auction has always been centered around family. From their kids helping at auctions at the young age of five, to eventually promoting them to CEO and COO, McCurdy is a family business through and through. Both Lonny and Annette grew up in family-owned businesses, and the same business principles and foundation they lived by, such as sticking to the Golden Rule, are still considered crucial business practices today.
“Dad [Lonny] always taught us to not worry about making a living but to worry about treating people right and taking care of them, and you will always make a living that way,” remarks Megan McCurdy Niedens, COO, and auctioneer.
Added to their auction family in 1986 was Rick Brock, a rookie auctioneer with a desire to learn the business.
Lonny taught Rick all he knew, and soon they became great friends.
Today, Lonny’s dream of a small family business has flourished into a full-service auction company conducting over 500 auctions a year, reaching bidders in almost all 50 states with nearly 40 staff members. McCurdy has repeatedly been recognized as Small Business of the Year in Wichita, one of the Best Places to Work, Wichita’s Top Auction Firm, and has been awarded over 90+ National Marketing Awards from the NAA.
Lonny never forgets the role the Wichita community plays in this success. He has a passion to give back and has helped raise over $45 million for different local charity organizations through benefit auctions and fundraisers.
Lonny McCurdy is a man of integrity, grit, and compassion. It shows in his work, his management style, and simply in the way he treats anyone and everyone. He takes pride in getting to work with his two children, his wife of over 50 years, and one of his best friends.
Congratulations to Lonny, a pioneer who has truly created a legacy of auction.
