Lee new ISAA Hall of Fame member

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Lyle and Patti Lee were at their table during the Illinois State Auctioneers Association’s Hall of Fame dinner while, unbeknownst to Lyle, his family members gathered outside.

When the announcement was made that Lyle was the newest member of ISAA’s Hall of Fame, in walked his children, their spouses and oldest granddaughter from Arizona, Wisconsin and Illinois.

“It’s one of them things you can’t describe. I get a little choked up talking about it now — when your peers recognize you and give you the honor and then when you turn around and see your family coming in,” said Lyle, who along with wife, Patti, owns and operates Lee Auction Service in Belvidere in northern Illinois.

Patti knew about the announcement two weeks earlier so she could make plans with their family.

“I managed to keep it a secret from him. It’s a lifelong dream, a goal that every auctioneer has. I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of him,” she said.

“It’s just one of them feelings that’s beyond belief to me. What an honor to be recognized with other people that’s been recognized in the past. That’s an honor that you just can’t describe. There’s a feeling you can’t describe. It’s just overwhelming. I couldn’t even finish eating my supper last night,” Lyle said.

“This was one of the best-kept secrets my wife ever kept from me. It just makes you feel great.”

The Lees were married in 1995, and “the business just exploded. We have a great partnership. I probably wouldn’t have received this honor without my wife. It’s a team thing. It’s a passion. It’s something we love. We love people,” he said.

“I do all the advertising and the cashiering at the auctions. Sometimes I help set out stuff, but not so much anymore. It’s getting too hard on my body, but sometimes I do still,” she added.

“She does the important part. She collects the money. She gets all the buyers’ registration done, and she’s a good communicator with the buyers. She knows the buyers inside and out. I know them by a number, and she knows them by a name — how many kids they got, what health problems they have,” Lyle noted.

“The share everything with me,” Patti said.

“You’ve got to have that relationship with people and she is definitely a people person,” he added.

“We have a lot of great followers that just continue to come to every auction we have, and we’re very appreciative of them,” she said.

Early Career

Lyle’s inspiration to become an auctioneer goes back to when when his grandmother gave him the record, “The Auctioneer,” a 1956 hit by Leroy Van Dyke, a country music and honky-tonk singer and guitarist.

Van Dyke, a native of Mora in west-central Missouri, wrote the song about the life of his cousin, National Auctioneers Association Hall of Famer Ray Sims.

“That was an inspiration back when I was a kid. I grew up a farm boy and we attended a lot of auctions. We went to auctions just about every week, especially during the winter months, and it was just a burning desire I’ve always had,” he said.

“I’ve been in auctions since 1979, and I really enjoy it. I jockeyed auctions for a long time before I became an auctioneer.”

He enrolled in the Missouri Auction School and auctioneered in Arkansas for two years before returning to Illinois where he finally got his big break.

“When I came back in 1980, it was kind of tough because there was a lot of dominant auctioneers at the time,” he said.

“Then an auctioneer in my area who did my taxes from the time I was 16 years old, double-booked an auction one day. He knew I auctioned in Arkansas and asked if I could help him out and do one. I worked with him for a while.”

Family Business

Lee Auction Service is a full-service company for residential and commercial real estate, consignments, estates, liquidations and collections. He has auction licenses in Illinois and Wisconsin.

“We’re a small business, but at the same time we do everything from real estate to coins to guns, collectibles and whatever. You name it, and we can take care of all your needs from auctioning everything from your house down to the final clean-out if you need that. We’re a full-service auction company,” he said.

“I enjoyed people. I’m going to be 77 on Feb. 23 and a lot of people ask when I’m going to retire, and I say it’s not in my vocabulary. It’s something that I enjoy. It’s something different every day. It might be pots and pans, it might be vehicles, it might be coins, guns, whatever, and just to see the variety, be able to understand people, find solutions and take care of their needs.”

Valuable Association

After completing his work at the Missouri Auction School, Lyle joined the National Auctioneer Association and soon joined the ISAA.

“Since I joined the state association, I only missed one annual conference and that was last year when I broke my leg and I couldn’t make it down here,” he said.

The longtime auctioneer continues to learn and sees a multitude of benefits for ISAA members, particularly at the annual convention and trade show.

“The continuing education is important, and also the camaraderie. You can see what’s working in different areas of your state,” he said.

“Somebody may be a little stronger than you are in one area. Don’t hesitate to call them and ask for their help because that’s what it’s all about. We help one another. I don’t look at any auctioneer as competition.

“I figure, if you want me, you can call me, if you want somebody else, you can call somebody else. We have some nice auctioneers in our area. I’ve helped some of them get started up there and one of them is here at the convention.

“I learn something every time I come to the convention. As long as I’ve been an auctioneer, you can still pick up pointers that you can use in your business.

“You’ve got to be willing to change with society, and we know society’s changing today. So, we’ve got to be able to change with it and keep going.

“I served on the ISAA State Board for six years as a director, and the young man I helped get started took my place as on the board. The organization’s very important.”

Ever-Changing

When he started in the business in 1979, there were no personal computers and auction methods continue to evolve.

“I’ve seen a lot of changes. We didn’t have a license in Illinois until about 2000. An auction was done on a handshake. We didn’t have contracts, and now we have contracts and everything has changed a lot,” he said.

“I’m still a live auctioneer at my age. We still get over 200 people at our auctions on a pretty regular basis. We haven’t went to doing it online. We advertised online and all that kind of stuff, but I’m still a live auctioneer.

“I know a lot of changes have been made and people do the live and online, and online has kind of taken over, but I still like to deal with the people who like to kick the tires and see what they’re buying.

“We’ve had all 50 states and eight different countries represented in-person at our auctions.”