MAIN STREET: FATHER, DAUGHTER - THEIR GENEROUS HEARTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE

  Back in the 1980s as new residents of Post Falls Bert and I met Randy and Annette Wells, who became our longtime good friends. Their family owned and operated Mr. Auction on W. Mullan Ave. That’s where we also met their young son, Josh and daughter, Johnna, who was in school with our daughter, Sarah. Two teenagers who helped out at the auction house and were mentored by Randy back then were Matt and Rose Backs, before they married and became beloved and renowned auctioneers themselves.

   Johnna graduated from Post Falls High School in 1996 and has gone on to become a nationally recognized auctioneer, named International Women’s Auctioneer Champion in 2005.

   A decade ago Randy and Annette moved to Stevenson, Washington to be closer to their granddaughter. Johnna’s family now make their home in Portland where she’s an in-demand charitable auction specialist.

   Fast forward to this month when Randy had to undergo heart by-pass surgery which would prevent him from coming up to do the honors at the annual Anna Schindler Golf Tournament and Auction in Post Falls, where he’s been the auctioneer for the past 15 years. Johnna stepped in to take his place.

   When I asked Johnna for a details of the event since I wasn’t able to attend, the words she wrote were so beautiful I decided not to paraphrase. As a wordsmith by trade I recognize the gift of story-telling, and her love letter to her father and their shared profession is my gift to this week’s readers. Note: Randy is recovering well from surgery.

   “Auctioneering is one of the great inheritances of my life. Before auctioneering became my profession, it was simply part of the soundtrack of my childhood. The numbers, the rhythm, the cadence - the instinct for reading a room – it’s a language all its own. And one that I learned from my dad. A language I learned by immersion. By listening. By repetition. By growing up surrounded by people who spoke it regularly. 

   But at its heart, auctioneering is about more than calling out numbers quickly to determine what something is worth. At its heart, auctioneering is about people. 

It’s about their stories, what they value, what they hope for, and what they are willing to stand behind.

   My dad taught me the language of auctioneering, but perhaps more importantly, he taught me how to use my voice in service to others. To use it to tell stories that deserve to be heard and use it to invite others to take part in something meaningful.

   There is a kind of stewardship that is inherent in this work. Every time someone places something in the hands of an auctioneer - whether it is an object with a history, a one-of-a-kind experience, or a charitable mission serving a community, we are being entrusted with something that matters deeply to someone else. Our job is to understand its value, to honor the story attached to it, and to steward it well.

   Though this profession has taken me all over the country, there’s nothing more meaningful than coming home and picking up a microphone in my dad’s stead, to use my voice to champion a cause like the Anna Schindler Foundation - a cause that has meant so much to my mom and dad throughout the years, and has provided a tremendous lifeline of hope and support to families navigating childhood cancer throughout the Inland Northwest.” Auctioneer Johnna Wells

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   Saturday the 2026 Coeur d’Alene High School All Class 50 Years+ Reunion is happening at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds from 2 – 6 p.m. If you graduated from CHS 50 or more years ago and haven’t yet registered you can still attend! $25 at the door for a priceless afternoon of renewing acquaintances with long ago classmates.

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   On September 11 Bert and I were sightseeing at Craters of the Moon National Park in southeast Idaho. At one of the viewpoints, I noticed a young couple holding hands. I asked if they’d like me to take a photo of them together. They were happy for the offer and the woman handed me her phone. After, she said that her husband had just returned from an 8-month deployment. I told him welcome home and asked where he’d been deployed. The middle east, he replied. At that moment I was struck by the fact that these two had not likely yet been born on September 11, 2001.

   As we all went on our way, I’ve never been so grateful to live in a country where young people still willingly serve to protect our freedom.

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Happy Main Street birthdays today to Bob Dietz, Jeff Thompson, Courtney Hurt, James Hoialman, Charollett Morehouse and Terrie Lynn Gonzales. Tomorrow Addie Cox, Steve Widmyer, Betsy Martin, Jeff Crandall, Harmony Conley, Connie Evans, Russ Giles, Mary Riffe and Lynda Wright celebrate their special day. On Friday Brad Peugh, Ellen Delavan, Jaimee Cox, Eric Benjamin, John Holm, Jennifer Schroeder and Debra Smart blow out the candles. On Saturday Rich Kempton, Kara Fredekind, Debbie Sala, Jeanne Wright, Brock Morrow, Marshall Baltzell and Karen Lindbergh do the birthday dance. Hank Martin, John Stevens, Craig Brosenne, Haley Walker, Joe Roope and George Balling celebrate on Sunday. Happy Autumn Equinox Eve birthdays on Monday to Katherine Ekhoff, Stacy Hudson, Dina Hourland, Cliff Slaney and Haley Walker. Happy first day of autumn birthdays on Tuesday to Dorinda Thurman, Jerry Lyon, Vic Slater, Amy Reagan, Scott Livingston, Rosalyn Martin, George Beebe and my baby sister, Ronna Rankin Park. On September 23 Laura King, Autumn Hanson, Craig Owens, Wendy Young, Patty Kilcup, Stacie McGrath, David Thompson, Sue Enright, Brian Harris, Denise Bechel and Madeline Singleton take another trip around the sun..

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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and a former publisher/editor with the Hagadone Newspaper division. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press. Kerri can be reached on Facebook or via email at [email protected].