Auction Academy Ready to Host Class 8

Auction Academy has finished enrollment for its newest class group – Class 8 – which means its 30 students now start on a two-year leadership training program for vehicle remarketing industry professionals.

Now in its 12th year, Auction Academy will start Class 8 with a three-day meeting, Aug. 17-19, in its home base of Nashville, Tennessee.

The curriculum includes quarterly meetings, alternating with digital/zoom sessions, said Penny Wanna, Academy President, in a news release.  Both formats include training led by experts in the remarketing field from all over the country.

Class 8’s schedule in August leads off with a tour of the Nissan manufacturing plant, followed by the group’s opening session at Manheim’s Nashville Auto Auction. The group will participate in training sessions led by Charlie Vogelheim of Auction Academy, Eric Stevens of Littler Labor & Employment Law Solutions, Jeff Thomas and Rich Hardin of OVE, Dave Blake of DAA Seattle, and Lisa Franz of Big Valley Auto Auction.  

“Long-time Manheim Nashville general manager Sam Chapel will host the group and lead them on a tour of a very impressive facility as he introduces them to this auction’s top-notch team,” said Academy co-founder and CEO Pierre Pons.

Auction Academy marks a first with the enrollment of a commercial consignor in Class Group 8: Reshard Taylor, who has been in the auto finance servicing industry since 2007. He started with PAR North America, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he held various roles within repo and remarketing operations. Before joining Exeter Finance in 2019 as a regional auction manager, Taylor held a similar role with Santander Consumer USA/Chrysler Capital.

Brent Huisman, senior vice president for Exeter Finance, an auto finance company based in Irving, Texas, has been a key contributor to the Academy, presenting details of his remarketing program and processes to each Class Group, Pons said. He has now enrolled a key member of his remarketing staff.

“It has been my pleasure to work with Pierre, Penny and the Academy team over many years as the various Class Groups have met for training in Dallas,” Huisman said. “Getting an opportunity, now, to enroll one of our key managers will add a new dimension of understanding to industry processes and culture.  It’s a show of our commitment to the auto auction process and the industry at large.”