A Coffee with Jan Michener from Michener Allen Auctioneering

Join us for a coffee and chat with Jan Michener to hear all about how Michener Allen Auctioneering got its start in 1971. From opening the business to dealing with the changing digital landscape Michener Allen has been an industry staple for over 50 years! Listen to hear about Jan's next adventure!

Transcript

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Good morning, everybody. Glad to have you here at our, actually, Jennifer, our second edition of Coffee In The Park. And this is exciting that we're here, because today is very exciting. This is our first guest that we have on Coffee In The Park. So, Jennifer, why don't you tell us a little bit about our guest, and then we'll introduce her and let her tell us a little bit about herself. Well, good morning, everybody. I'm so excited to be here at the Wall Coffee Roaster with our first guest. And our first guest is Jan Michener, with Michener Allen Auctioneering. So welcome, Jan. Well, thank you. Thank you. It was an honor to be asked, and I had no idea I was the first, the very first. Jan, you're our first. It's nice to be first. It is. You don't get too many of those anymore. No, you don't. And we're super, super glad that you're here. And Jennifer, we should mention that we are at the beautiful Wall Coffee Roasters in the heart of downtown Acheson. And so an exciting place to be. So if you hear some noise in the background, it's people enjoying coffee. That's what it is. That's right. And Cam, I want to say a little bit about why we've decided to do it at the Wall Coffee Roaster. Yeah, tell us why. Coffee and conversation. Yes. That is why we're here. Coffee and conversation. The best conversations happen when you're just sitting down with a friend over coffee. That's right. And so that's why we're here. And that's why we're so excited to have Jan with us today. So Jan, welcome. Thank you again. Tell us, maybe just tell us a little bit about what Jan does about Michener Allen Auctioneering. Tell us a little bit about that. Well, okay, I can do that. I've worked on and off for Michener Allen. I'm going to say almost all my life, because we started out in 1971 in Edmonton on the east side of Edmonton. And in those days, child labour was just a normal thing. And it actually carried on for a lot of years. So we're like 12 and 11 and 15 and those ages. But we worked with my mom and my dad and one of my uncles actually, Tommy Michener, on sale day. We worked sale day, everybody worked sale day. There was not even an option. You worked sale day. So we started out at that time, you're still in school. You went through the high school years. All your friends worked at Michener Allen. All your cousins worked at Michener Allen. It took a lot of people back in the day to pull off the event. Now of course, it's different because it's all digital, but it's still great. So let's stop there for a sec, so you don't do live auctions anymore? Do you know, we hadn't done a live auction in over three years. Really? But the last three-day unreserved sale was, we did have live bidders in the in-house, and so the auctioneers were taking bids from the floor as well as taking them online, which is really no different than we were doing for a number of years. But it was opened up to live just on the April sale and again this weekend. So on the three, it looks like going forward, the three-day unreserved events, there's going to be live bids taken from the floor. So that means you'll still have one of those guys doing their 25, 30, 35, 44, one of those guys still going? We will, one or two or three of them. Yeah, we'll still have the live auctions. We've had lives on the cast over the last three years as well, and then we've had timed events as well. So things are a little different, and some people like it, some people don't like it. Change is what it is. Well, it's what works for you, right? Yeah, it works for a lot of people. That's actually one of my questions, Jan. When did, Michener Allen, when did you decide that you needed to go down that digital route and make that change? Well, it was no different than a lot of businesses had to change when the COVID situation came, and we were, everyone was required to, you know, meet these mandates, and a lot of them were, you couldn't gather. So rather than stop, a lot of businesses obviously had to find a way to keep going. And with us, it really wasn't a difficult transition because we'd already been doing online, as well as live, and so then it just became exclusively online. So at that time, at that time, but there's a lot of push. I go out, my job, okay, my job. Your job? Is, we call it off-site. What do I do? I do off-site events, so I do all of the promotion that is not on-site. So I do all the trade shows or any golf tournaments or any fundraising events, that sort of thing. So I get a lot of feedback. I hear from people, because that's where you have the time. They approach you, and a lot of people, and they, so many, wanted to have, oh, they miss the live, and they miss having the, you know, the people and the social aspect. And interestingly for me, I'm thinking that's got to be like across the board for a lot of different situations, not just auction, that people do. I mean, you were denied that connection. So that's kind of interesting you talk about that. So like auctions are more than just buying and selling. Oh my goodness. They're a connection that people come to have, right? Oh yeah. It's a cultural, it's a very cultural thing, auction. And even now, even with it being digital, it's starting to define itself. Of course, there's humans involved, so it's going to evolve, you know, and it's going to become what it becomes, but it's definitely still, without the activity of people, there would be nothing, whether it's live or whether it's digital. We still have a lot of activity on site because there is viewing, and people come to view, so there's a lot of people around. So they still get a bit of a connection there. Yeah, they do. But a lot of people did. They would say, I've heard a lot, we've heard a lot over the last three, four years, about people who miss that whole connection, you know, of being. I think that connection is key. People are looking for that community. And I would say that Auctioneering is a community, not only within your family and your staff, but I would imagine that there's probably multi-generations of families that are your clients as well. Okay, so very definitely, definitely. There's, I see people all the time when I'm out doing these shows and whatnot, and they'll come up and they'll say, my dad brought me to a Michener Allen Auction when I was nine. You know, and we came from Saskatchewan, or a lot of people came from that northern, up Fort St. John Way, Dawson Creek, Grand Prairie, a lot of people from up there. And before we had their Calgary location, which opened in 1999, there were people that would come from the south, like far south. They would come to Edmonton. Half of Saskatchewan, I think, came to Alberta for a Michener Allen Auction. And they did, but I hear that all the time, and we still know people, and we still deal with second and third generation. Wow, that's incredible. I'll go out and do a... I go to these show and shines. So we go out and promote our collector auction, which we do for fun, really, once a year. And I'm going to go out to a place called... Oh, what does he call it? Oh, I'll say something Cooley. It's out at Irma, Alberta. Grand Cooley. Grand Cooley, yep. It is. And we're going out there to do a... And the reason we're going is because of the connection with the businesses out there and the people that have supported us. And we just want to go. We just want to go and just keep that... Well, again, using multi-generational connection. It's like family reunion almost. And we'll go out to... And it is. That's where it is, Grand Cooley. And we'll do this show and shine. So talking about the show and shine, Jan, I want you to talk a little bit about the history of that beautiful red truck that you bring out to our golf event every year. Tell us a little bit about that and what the connection is. Well, actually, that's the very first, I think, might have been the first vehicle my dad ever bought brand new. And it's a... He bought it at Fjords in Spruce Grove, Fjord, Ford. It's a 1975 Ford Super Cab. It's an F100 model. And we nicknamed it Jane because it's just like she's just plain. She's plain. She's plain Jane. But it's really survived well. It's in amazing condition. This vehicle, it has 40,000 miles on it, so it's only on its second set of tires. We had to find like white walls, so we had to go shopping for that. But you know, and dish, you know, the little dip. Everything is original on it, but it was my dad's truck. It was my dad's. He bought it new for the business. And a couple of us crashed it. It's had a history. Oh, for sure, we all started driving, you know, and it was... Did you crash it? I crashed it. I ran into my mother. My mom and I had a head on... You actually ran it? Yes. Like your mom or your mom's vehicle? My mom's vehicle. Oh, good. I was a little worried that you ran it into your mom. My dad's vehicle. I'm driving my dad's truck. She's driving my dad's car. And I had a head on collision with my mother in our back alley on a corner. Yeah, how'd that go? My mom is like, Ahhhh, Well you know, my dad, he just cracked up because he says, I have two women in the family, and they crash into each other. Wow. So that's a bit of a good segue. He was funny. I want to talk about your mom a little bit. Tell us about your mom. How old is your mom? Can you tell us? I can, I can. I mean, when you get to be that age, it doesn't matter anymore. My mom is the same age as Larry Powell. Do you know who Larry Powell is? No. Alaskan equipment. No. He's a legend. He's another legend. People will know who that is, but they're 92 years old. 92, same age as my mom. Yeah, 92. And your mom is still going strong? My mom is, you know, I mean, for that age, yes. I suppose it's relative, but absolutely. My mom still comes to Michener Allen in the afternoons. She'll come out. She has signing authority still. So she's the boss, right? She signs the checks. She comes out in the afternoons, and people love to see her there. It's gotten to be like over the years, you know. At one time, it's just you're going to work. Probably the hardest work, one of the hardest working people I've ever seen in my life is my mother. Amazing. First one there, last one to leave. But, you know, I mean, she's lightened up a bit. So she'll go out in the afternoon. She still drives, thankfully. And spend a couple hours and visit with people some and sign some checks. Oh, she brings the mail. And then she takes the mail out. So it's great. These are important jobs. That's great. That's awesome that your mom's involved. I mean, every day, looking after the mail, somebody has to do that every day. And she does. And I think it brings such great culture and values to the employees. To see her still be there every day like that. It does. You're absolutely right. Like, that's an incredible heritage. Well, again, you know, I'm out there. And I have that privilege to be out there and hear what people have to say and their experiences. And most of them are good. You get the odd one that didn't have a great experience. Something fell apart on the vehicle on the way home or whatever. But on the most part, and what they talk about is the people. And she's definitely one of them. Some of them remember my dad, but he's been gone a long time. My dad died in 1976. But so if they remember him there, you know. So tell us a little about that journey. Your father passes away. Oh, yeah, that was something. Your mom just, how did that all go? Your mom, did she think of selling the business when your dad passed away? Tell us how that kind of went. Okay, this is where I can testify. Because we're a family of faith. And trusting all the time, you know, for our future. And just trusting that, you know, there is that parameter where you're looked after. Let's just put it, it's just been, and after all these years, like you have the experience of it, so you know how real it is. So at the time, my dad had hired Bob Allen. And so the company, before Bob and my mom formed a partnership, it was called Michener McLaren. There's even people who still will say slip, very rarely nowadays, but they'll say, oh, Michener McLaren. Then you know, they're really been around a long time. But so my dad died suddenly on a Friday afternoon at home. In the backyard, they were pouring cement, and he had a heart attack. It was massive, and it was like touch and go. He was out. That was it. But he had hired Bob Allen, and they were also doing auctions in Saskatoon at the time. So Bob would spend the week in Saskatoon, and then he would come back here, and we would go back and forth, and that's where the miles went on that Super Cab. We would drive it to Saskatoon. We would also drive it to Calgary, but in the old days, we would drive it to Saskatoon and back for those sales. And so he had hired Bob, and my dad was forming a partnership with Bob Allen. And then in the midst of all that, before that deal was finalized, my dad passed, and my mom and Bob were able to put that deal together and continue on. Absolutely amazing that, you know, provision was there. My brothers were all young at the time, so they weren't ready to do anything. And then, not only was he there, but I mean, he had the foresight. He said, you have four sons. There's coming a day where there won't be room for me. So he put a time on his commitment, and he stuck with that. So 15 years later, my brothers were old enough to step up, and Bob retired, and we still see Bob. And Bob is also 92 years old. What a story. That's incredible. We still see him. So the whole family is still involved in the business? No, no. My oldest brother passed away in 2009. And then another brother, Vance, he went on his own, so he stepped away, and so that left Ian in Edmonton, and Wade in Calgary, and so they've been the two, and then they've been the two the owners for, gee, it's going to be 10 years at least, but something happened recently that changed the whole... It changed. Is this breaking news? This is, well, it's not really breaking, although a lot of people know. It kind of almost is, in a sense. Breaking news podcast. Sorry. That's all right. But Michener Allen, so my two brothers, they ran the company very successfully, I'd say, because we stuck together. We've got long-term employees. We've got people that do business with us for years and years and years. But there wasn't a successor in the family. There just isn't. And so what do you do? So they're always on the lookout to see kind of. But then they get approached by this auction company out of Ireland. It's the second biggest auction company in the world, and it's second to you know who. So most people know who. But the difference... No. The difference between Euro and Richie Brothers is... Richie Brothers is a public company. Euro Auction, second biggest company in the world, is still a private family owned and operated. Out of Ireland. Out of Ireland. Huge, huge auctions. Like they had a sale there, one of their sites is in Leeds in the UK. They had a sale where there was 27 or 2400 excavators on one auction. Like this is a massive, they do massive auctions. They do them in Australia. They do them in all over Europe, in the UK, in Germany, in Ireland, obviously. And then they also, they bought a company in the US. The company is Yoder and Frey. They still operate it as Yoder and Frey. It still goes under that name, but it actually belongs to the Euro Auction Group. So they did the same thing. They approached my brothers. They've been watching, they let them know, they've been watching Michener Allen since 2012 or something. And they approached them and they wanted to buy the company. And they wanted the boys to keep running it exactly the same and not change the name. And everybody does the same. That's what he said. Ian says, I've got to talk to you. We sold the company. Oh darn, what am I going to do? No, you're going to stay. You're going to stay and you're going to be busy. So they didn't like talk to you ahead of time? No, two weeks. Two weeks? He dropped it on me like two weeks before the actual... So then I had to keep quiet for two weeks. But that's hard to do. That's hard to do. Keep quiet. So you've sold it. You're still running it. You're still operating the company. Exactly the same way. Pretty much exactly. I mean, we don't have... The only thing that I've been told is I'm not allowed to mess with the logo anymore. I can't tilt it. I can't change the color. I can't make it, you know, for the collector. I can't make like some funky thing to go with the collector. No, it has to be green and gold. It has to be like this way. And okay, well, I can live with that. Because you're tempted to tweak it from time to time, eh? Yes, you just want to make it matte. But apparently it's all about the branding. And I can understand that. We did an equipment show in Toronto since they've been the owners. And there's a lot of... They want to expand the company across Canada. And so they'll be... Yeah, I suppose, you know. I can give that up. So this is kind of leading in to another segue about something we know about you. And that is, I understand you have a new... Tell us about your new, exciting endeavor, Jan. Well, you know, and it is. I mean, if I'm going to do anything, it's going to have to be a circuit thing, and it's going to have to be an event-based thing, because it's like what I've done all my life. It's almost like you have to go from here to here to here to here. So what can... I actually bought a food trailer. So I'm going to get in to the food trailer racket. Like a food truck only a trailer. A food truck only a... Yeah, I'll have to haul it around. And what are you going to serve? What, what? Well, I am going to stick with meat. Because, I am mainly meat. You're a good Alberta girl. Right? That's exactly it. And where I kind of want to be in... Let's say I happen to set up in Acheson or Winterburn or somewhere out here. Or somewhere out here. You know, people out here, they work hard, they get dirty, they get hungry. And so they need meat and pierogies. Pierogies? Come on. Are these the homemade variety? You know, we're talking about that. If somebody is home making them, I just got to let you know right now, it won't be me. It won't be me. I just don't have the patience for that. So if anybody is listening and pierogies are your expertise, reach out to Jan or contact the ABA. We'll put you in touch with Jan. You had pierogies last year at the golf tournament. They were amazing. Whoever did those, call me. Those were really, really nice. I'll put you in touch. Yeah. Connection of business. Yeah, it is. So when does your food trailer start? Or has it started? No, it hasn't, and it's close. We'll be ready for August this year, and then I'll be ready for next year. And what's your first event? Because you told me your first event, and I love this. Well, the one that I have booked, a friend of mine that I've met again in the circuit, her name is Cheryl Mackenzie, and Cheryl looks after the Rock'n August. She's the, she's like the, I don't know if she's operations. She'd have to correct me, but she got me into Rock'n August, and there's like 10, 20, 10, 15, I don't know, 10,000, 13,000 people go to this thing. And so. Do you have a name for your? I'm going to call my meat truck. I'm going to call it, no, it's going to be called Deb's Dogs. Now, sorry, Deb's Dogs. Deb's Dogs. There's going to be, you know, we're going to get into the gourmet hot dog thing, but we'll do sausage. We're going to also do chicken and ribs and some sides. So the reason it's called Deb's Dogs, I have a friend that lives in Mexico, and she's got this dog rescue thing going on. And she rescues dogs. So we will have on our menu a hot dog that's called a Mexican street dog. And then we'll take some proceeds from that Mexican street dog, and we'll give them to Deb. That is 100% totally awesome. That is incredible. And Jan, this is something that I know about you. You are a big animal lover. I love my dog. I love dog. I do. You have Abby. I have Abby. Who We were so excited to meet at the ABA Golf Tournament last year. Abby is fantastic. Jan, tell us a little bit about why you are so passionate about animal rescue and giving back to that, because I know you are a big supporter of just animals in general. It's, I mean, there is a lot of causes, and hopefully, you know, everyone needs to connect, I suppose, with where they are able to support. But when it comes to animal rescue, and particularly the ones from out of country, and I know that here in Canada, there's lots of dogs that are up for rescue and that sort of thing too, but you just, no, you got to have a heart for these little guys. If you've ever seen them, anyone that's been to Mexico has seen them on the street, you know, just those in particular. They're on the street there still, and they're not, they're not healthy, they don't have a home, they basically, like they're little Mexican street dogs, and they're little guys, a lot of them are little guys. You just, what, I think just seeing it, how can you not, how can you not? And then this friend of mine, she moved there, she lives there full time, and she just not, she just fell into it too, you know. So then they, when you know someone, then they're recruiting all the time. We went over, we did a little, we did a fundraiser auction for them at one point. But I think the best way to help them is just to be aware, be aware, and it's not just her. I mean, she's got one out of Bucerias in Mexico, and Yalisco there, but they're all over Mexico. And they're not just Mexico. There's other countries as well. I have another friend that does dog rescue out of the Ukraine. Yeah. And so, but yeah, once you see the suffering, and if you can help one, it's the old, you know, it's the starfish on the beach thing. You've done something. If you can help one, whether it's a person or a rescue an animal, or if you can help one, don't ever say, You have done something. I love that philosophy. Yeah. That's just fantastic. That's amazing. So that being said, obviously, there's no grass growing under your feet. You're moving and growing and shaking and making it happen. Tell me something. What? I'm curious about this because I find your story absolutely fascinating. I really do. Tell me, what keeps Jan going? What gets Jan out of bed in the morning? What is it that makes you just want to keep on trucking, Jan? Well, okay. So it has to be, you know, the purpose. We're all, okay, I'm, again, we're a fam. We're not only a family, but I personally have my faith walk. And so I found my purpose, actually, in connecting. My purpose is to have the most richest relationship I can with God, who's my Creator, and His Son, Jesus Christ. And then He also gave us another gift called the Holy Spirit. So there's a bit going on there, but to enter into that whole dynamic opens up... Let me just say, it explains everything. If you can connect with God and understand really who He is, who His Son is, and the resources that He has made available for us to actually be in this amazing relationship with Him, everything begins to fall in place. Now it all makes sense, and with all the things that goes on in the world, there's an explanation in that, there's an explanation, and there's an understanding, and there's also, you can see again, where as you develop that relationship, you can see, it becomes kind of natural, you just kind of move in the direction of, you want to be effective, and you want to see people free, like not just free, but living a life that they're not always questioning, they're not worried, they're not afraid, they kind of know, if your feet are on the ground, head might be in the cloud, but that's okay, that's where all the imagination is, but truly it is my, everything that drives me comes from who I am and what I'm created, who I'm created by. That's fantastic. Jan, what is your one, and I'm sure you have more than one, but throughout your life, what has been your one kind of key takeaway moving in the business world and in the auctioneering world? What piece of advice would you offer to people in business today? The thing that comes to me, Jennifer, kind of almost immediately when you bring that up is don't be afraid of relationship. And build relationship with people. And don't be afraid of getting to know and letting them get to know you. And getting to know what their purposes are and what interests them. And whenever you can, you know, help and support whatever you can for others as well. Like very important, I think. But probably for me, it's just, that's how it's evolved in its relationship. Would you say, because that's interesting, I think that's interesting, we've talked about that a fair bit. Would you say that's sort of how business is being done today, or do you think the relationship aspect is, like are we still on the road of developing good solid relationships, or is that taking a bit of a change and a turn? With the digital world, of course, you know, we see people tend to more, there is some disconnect, for sure. Definitely, it is, there's some disconnect, but it doesn't change that I think that deep within the heart of everybody, I really do believe this, you want to connect. You want to, and if there's people who know that, you have to live that so that others can see. So you can kind of model it for them, whether they're mostly young people it is, it's young people, or people that have just had experiences that has caused them to withdraw, and be aware of that. You've, I think for us, I'm looking over at Jennifer, you've hit it on the head, even the purpose of this podcast is connection and relationship. And that's what we want to establish, and I know we didn't give you any prompting on that, you're just telling us that, and that's why I'm kind of looking over at Jennifer a little wide-eyed, because that's the whole purpose of why we want to do this podcast, is go back to understanding connection, especially in business, and businesses, and people, connecting, not being silos. And like you say, in a digital age, where we tend to disconnect, to come back and connect, because that's really important. So, this has been amazing to me, actually. I don't think this one could have gone better. It has exceeded my expectations. And it has certainly exceeded mine. Although, you know, Cam, when I said we need to have Jan Michener on, I knew what I was doing. Absolutely. I knew she had a great story. Absolutely, Jan, you do have a great story. And we really appreciate you. And we appreciate your story. And we appreciate everything you do. Well, thank you. And we're glad that you're part of the ABA. We sure are. And we're glad that you're part of Acheson. Well, thank you. And we need that food truck out here. ASAP. I have to go. Okay. I had to call Ian yesterday. I said, I waited till yesterday. Oh, I talked to Andrew McEwen. He only told you two weeks before he sold the company. So it's all good, right? It's all good. It's need to know, need to know. So I said to Andrew McEwen, he's our GM. A lot of people know who he is. Oh, you have to call EURO. You have to let them know. You have to tell them about the podcast. I'm thinking, no, I don't. And then I call, I said, well, I'll see what Ian says. Ian says, no, you don't have to do that. But tell Cam, he was so impressed. He went to an event and you were there and you were helping raise funds. Was it Teen Challenge? Yes, Teen Challenge. He said you were pulling bids from the crowd and you had an auctioneer. And he thought, boy, if I could get them guys, you know, like to go out for us, we do a lot of that sort of thing. But he said he was very impressed that you did a fabulous job. Oh, thank you. Ben Kellogg, who was the auctioneer that night. And Ben's a good friend of mine. Ben was actually, just seeing we're talking about auctions, Ben was actually, I didn't know this, they have an Auctioneering Championships. And Ben was the Canadian champion one year. And so, yeah, so he brings me along to just, you know, help them out. So, well, that's great. Well, that's pretty awesome. No, he was there and he was very impressed. You probably shook some money out of the tree. Yeah, we did that night. It was for a great cause. And that's awesome that he was there to help support that. But this has been absolutely awesome. This is, I can't, again, I'm going to say it again, because I'm sitting here in awe, but I don't think this could have gone any better than what it has. And Jan, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.