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Auction Floor Staff

Zaffarano Auctioneers charity auction floor staff is more than just Professional bid-spotters. They are highly trained and entertaining salespeople whose goal is to encourage the bidding not only during the live charity auction, but the silent auction as well. Most benefit auctions see dramatic increases in their revenues with professional floor staff to assist the charity auctioneer.

Before the live charity auction even begins, our floor staff is busy managing the silent auction items. They have the ability to promote items that are not receiving the attention and the bids that they deserve. The floor staff will ensure that the silent auction runs smoothly and closes correctly.

During the live charity auction, ZaffaranoAuctioneers professional floor staff increases the excitement and energizes the crowd. Their focus is on identifying bidders and encouraging them to increase their bids. They also show their gratitude to the winning bidders.

Some nonprofit organizations attempt to do these jobs themselves, forcing their staff and volunteers to be working during the charity auction. When our floor staff is on the job, the nonprofit’s staff and volunteers no longer have to work and usually start buying at the fundraising auction, increasing the number of bidders.

Professional Team Members:

Michael Espe (Professional Auctioneer):

  • Member of NAA, ISAA, and WAA
  • ISAA Auctioneer Champion - August 1992
  • WAA Auctioneer Champion - August 2000
  • IAC International Auctioneer Champion - July 2000, Finalist 1997-1998
  • WAAC World Automobile Auctioneer Championship - Finalist 2003
  • Guest Judge Auctioner Championship
    • IAC - July 2008
    • ISAA - August 1991
    • IAA - November 2008
    • WAA - August 2005
  • Missouri Auction School Graduate - May 1985

Ryan Jordan (Professional Auctioneer, Professional Bid Assistant):

  • Member of NAA, and ISAA
  • 2010 ISAA Auctioneer Champion
  • 2009 ISAA Novice of the Year Champion
  • 2008-2009 ISAA Finalist
  • ISAA Board of Governors, Present Governor of District 6
  • Missouri Auction School Graduate - February 2008

James Hennegan (Professional Auctioneer, Professional Bid Assistant):

  • Member of NAA, and ISAA
  • 2008 ISAA Auctioneer Champion
  • 2007 ISAA Reserve Champion
  • 2006 ISAA Finalist
  • 2009 WAAC World Automobile Auctioner Championship Finalist
  • 2008 IAC International Auctioneer Competition Top 16 Finalist
  • 2009 ISAA Competition Guest Judge
  • Missouri Auction School Graduate - 1987

Terry Wilkey (Professional Auctioneer, Professional Bid Assistant):

  • Member of NAA, and ISAA
  • 2009 Inducted into the Illinois State Auctioneers Association Hall of Fame
  • 2008 CAI Certified Auctioneer Insititute graduage
  • 2006 Appointed Delegate to NAA Long Range Planning/Think Thank Committee
  • 2005 IAC International Auctioner Competition Top 15 Finalist
  • 2004 Illinois State Fair Auctioneer Bid Calling Champion
  • Past President of ISAA
  • Past District 4 Governor of ISAA
  • Instructor of "Ethics" for ISAA Continuing Education
  • 2010 ISAA Competition Guest Judge

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Delighted Clients

  • "What a night, indeed!!! Thank you so much for all of your advice and auctioneering during the event. It was terrific. The Holiday Celebration was a HUGE success because of your efforts. I look forward to working with you again."

  • "Zaffarano Auctioneers exceeded our expectations.  They bring added value through their in-depth knowledge of philanthropic events.  Zaffarano provided strategic and targeted counsel throughout the entire Auction and Fundraising process; brought new and exciting fundraising tactics to us while working to tailor their style to our specific client needs. Vinnie Zaffarano has a unique ability to read a crowd  and work with his team to generate excitement while encouraging a sense o..."

  • "Vinnie, What a great night! This was our 21st auction, but you made it made it seem fresh. Your bid assistants were a great addition to the night and were encouraging, but not too aggressive. The Fund-A-Need was a great success and brought in more than twice what we expected. Many attendees said it was the best auction they'd been to and many more said you were the "BEST AUCTIONEER WE EVER HAd". Thank you for breathing new life into our auction. We look forward to working with you in the..."

  • "zaffarano auctioneers I’d like to personally thank you for the fantastic job you did on Friday! The feedback we have received about the event has been overwhelmingly positive and we are even hearing that this was the best event yet. I have personally been involved with the golf outing for the past 7 years and feel that we stepped up our game in a big way. We have always struggled with keeping everyone’s attention during the Live Auction and pushing to get the highest bids possible without ..."

  • ""Vinnie was accessible to us at all times leading up to the event, and gave us terrific and fun ideas of ways to spice up the auctions. He is professional, energetic, and works hard to make an event as successful as it can be." I would highly recommend him his services! Marcia Liss Development Director Roger Baldwin Foundation of the ACLU, Inc. New Client September 2010"

  • "Dear Vinnie, I thought you did a great Job. Having your two(2) professional bid assistants there and your efforts definitely saved the day. New client October 2010"

  • "Vinnie You are a true professional and we can’t thank you enough. Last night was extraordinary and we couldn’t have done it without you. With your expertise and the generosity of the donors, guests and Sullivan’s, we brought in much needed funds for Naperville CARES. Thank you again Vinnie. We look forward to working with you again in April on Cuisine for a Cause. Karen Garlough Fundraising Chair Naperville CARES PS Thanks for taking photographs of the e..."

  • "Cystic Fibrosis Foundation February, 2011 We just held the 14th Annual Grand Chefs Gala and after having the same auctioneer for many years, we decided to change it up and book Zaffarano Auctioneers. We have worked with Vinnie on many CF events and were excited to see what the response would be to someone new at this particular event. Well, the response was nothing but positive feedback. Vinnie was able to take control of the 750 guests, keep their attention and raise significan..."

  • "Dear Vinnie, I wanted to write and share a few words on behalf of our club in regards to your SERVICE and ASSISTANCE with our wine and chocaolate extravaganza. From the first moment we spoke, you displayed a great CONFIDENCE and PROFESSIONALISM; you were extremely knowledgeable, helpful and encouraging. Your spirit and energy was motivational to me and to the club. On the night of the event, your energy and excitement was palpable to all. Your knowledge and experienec helped to make for a fu..."

  • "Great job!  You certainly earned your fee and made believers out of all of us!  The addition of a professional auctioneer resulted in a significant increase in donations for our agency.  In addition, your participation in our planning process added to the quality of the event.  We look forward to having you back again next year."

  • "As our major annual fundraiser has grown over the past 9 years, so has our need for professional non-profit fundraising guidance.  We hired Vinnie Zaffarano Auctioneers to help us plan and execute our annual gala, Art & Soul, which is a 550 person event.  What a difference four months consulting with him made!  We wanted to shake things up this year to capitalize on our large attendance, and Vinnie provided the perfect mixture of professionalism, experience, energy and enthusi..."

  • "I RECENTLY RAN AN EVENT FOR A NON-PROFIT HERE IN CHICAGO. THE ORGANIZATION HAD NEVER DONE A PADDLE RAISE OR A LIVE AUCTION. VINNIE CAME IN TO HELP US AND IT WAS A HUGE SUCCES! HE IS KNOWLEDGABLE, PERSONABLE AND AN ULTIMATE PROFESSIONAL. AS A FUND RAISNING CONSULTANT, I HAVE USED OTHER AUCTIONEERS FOR VARIOUS EVENTS AND I WOULD BE HARD-PRESSED TO HIRE TO ANYONE BUT VINNIE IN THE FUTURE. NANCY PATEK AALIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES"

  • "VINNIE I can sum up your services and Performance in one word,"AWESOME"... I look forward to working with you in the future! Deborah Boyd New Client August 2010"

  • "Dear Vinne, Thanks for your help and amazing output. You helped us raise $53,000 from 5 items at the Three Cups of Tea fundraiser…unprecedented! The best thing about working with you is that you really took the time out to help plan, execute and implement an auction the way that we wanted. Above all you listened. The program was packed with celebrities speakers, yet everyone in the 1300 audience at our annual gala LOVED your auction segment. I think we would love to use your talents agai..."

  • "Hi Vinnie You did a fantastic job. I thought the results were very good, considering the times, and your performance was excellent. I hope that I will get to work with you again in the future and I will refer work to you if I have the chance. Thanks again. New Client March 2010!!! "

  • "VINNIE WE WERE THRILLED TO WORK WITH ZAFFARANO AUCTIONEERS. VINNIE SPENT TIME LEARNING ABOUT OUR EVENT AND OUR COMMUNITY. VINNIE HAD VERY GOOD THOUGHTS REARRANGING SOME TRADITIONAL PIECES OF OUR EVENT, AND BROUGHT SOME TERRIFIC INNOVATIONS, WHICH GARNERED IMPORTANT NEW GIFTS. VINNIE WAS ALSO QUITE NIMBLE IN MAKING ADJUSTMENTS ON THE EVENING OF THE EVENT. HIS EXPERIENCE SHOWS AND WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR HIS ENERGY. WE LOOK FORWARD WITH WORKING WITH VINNIE ON OUR 2011 GALA! NEW CLIENT- FEBRUARY 2..."

  • "Hi Vinnie, Thanks so much for participating last night- you were FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The gentleman who won the Radhika dinner cut a check for $20,000. That brought our total to $72,000.oo. There were roughly 700 people there , so you were correct that it came to $100 a person. At least 10 people told me that you were "THE BEST AUCTIONEER THEY HAD EVER SEEN". I think, especially for a first year, the auction was a success. As I get them, I will forward a few names of people who are inter..."

  • "VINNIE WE DID IT! YOU WERE AN ASSET TO OUR TEAM AD WE TRULY ENJOYED WORKING WITH YOU. A WONDERFUL EVENING WAS HAD BY ALL!!! I HAVE HEARD WONDERFUL COMMENTS ABOUT THE EVENT AND PARTICULARLY HOW SUPERB OF A JOB YOU DID. WE ARE THANKFUL FOR ALL YOUR EFFORTS AND LOOK FORWARD TO DOING IT ALL OVER AGAIN( WITH YOU) NEXT YEAR! NEW CLIENT-FEBRUARY 2010"

  • "Vinnie As always, we were very pleased with your performance. You are always professional and a joy to work with. We raised in total of $70k which is wonderful in this economy. Thanks for all your hard work. SUE LUBBEN FEBRUARY 2010 "

  • "Dear Vinnie, Thank you for helping us with our most successful fundraiser yet! Your involvement goes above and beyond the Live Auction. Your first hand involvement in the PLANNING, PROBLEM SOLVING and the STRATEGY that goes into a successful event is OUTSTANDING!! We not only consider you a part of our team, but a part of our FAMILY! We couldn't do it without you. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A CURE GALA DECEMBER 2008."

  • "Thank you Vinnie We didn’t think we’d be able to beat last year’s auction but because of you….we did! Your availability, knowledge and expertise really moved us to the next level. The additional services that you bring with you as part of the package were invaluable! It was a great experience working with you and your team. I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ON NEXT YEARS EVENT!! NEW CLIENT FEBRUARY 2009!!!!"

  • "We retained Zaffarano Auctioneers for our non-profit benefit auction for the very first time this year. We were delighted to find Vinnie an EXCELLENT choice from beginning to end. Months before our event, he was able to give us valuable advice during our planning process. The night of our event, he made the evening exiting and kept the entire audience engaged. I polled several attendees after the event and it was UNANIMOUS-Vinnie was Professional, Entertaining and really inspired others to giv..."

  • "Vinnie, " Thank You"we just tallied up our numbers and totaled around $96,000.00. This is considerably more than our last auction($68,000),which had many more items. Your suggestions, flexibilty and commentary helped greatly throughout the evening. We heard glowing comments regarding how much folks enjoyed you in particular. You contributed greatly to our event and we couldn't have done it without you. We certainly would recommend you to others needing an auctioneer!!!!! NEW CLIENT April 200..."

  • "Hi Vinnie, I just wanted to thank you for being our auctioneer at our annual auction this past weekend. You were amazing! You were able to pull the crowd in, keeping everyone’s attention throughout the entire live auction and during the Fund A Cause. We riased more money in the live auction than we did last year and this was the first year that we did the Fund a Cause, per your suggestion, and we made over $12,000 just in that portion of the event. You brought some really neat, new, fresh and ..."

  • "Dear Vinnie, After a loss of our original commitment for auctioneering, and only about only ten days to go before our 2nd Pie auction to benefit Senior Services Assoc. of Kane County, I began contacting every local auctioneer listed in the yellow pages. All were sympathetic but already commited to other jobs. It wasn't looking good. But then one of these kind contacts went the extra mile, and said they had an idea of a fellow who he thought might help us out. When you called me to say you would ..."

  • "Vinnie Thank you again for helping us with our annual Kane county dinner/auction in Elgin. By incorporating your innovative"Fund A Cause" into the live auction, we grossed over 10 times the amount from previous years. Thanks again Vinnie and we'll see you next year !"

  • "Dinner on the Town was the first major Gala that Naper Settlement has hosted in many years. We wanted the entire evening not only to be perfect, but fun. We have never hired a Professional Auctioneer and vinnie came highly recommended. After propossing our event to him, he graciously agreed tp participate. He took the time to learn about our organization and the auction items unique to our museum and hosted the live auction very professionally-helping us to meet our fundraising goal! WE WOULD RE..."

  • "Vinnie, "Thank You" for the outstanding job you did at our annual auction for what was a difficult year for our school. You were very entertaining and had the entire room engaged in the Live Auction. I would definatley consider your retention for next years event! New Client April 2008"

  • "Vinnie, On behalf of my co-chair Sylvia and the staff we are very pleased with the auction in is totality(entertainment value, cash results, ease of working relationships with staff). WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU BACK FOR NEXT YEARS EVENT!!! NEW CLIENT May 2008 "

  • "Vinnie, We were all exceptionally pleased with the time, experience and attention you provided for our annual auction. You were attentive to our pre-auction concerns as well as the actual event night. Thank you again for always be on-hand and approachable when a situation arised. I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU FOR ANY SCHOOLS ANNUAL AUCTION !!!!! NEW CLIENT FEBRUARY 2008"

  • "Dear Vinnie, On behalf of the Cystic Fibrosis foundation,"THANK YOU"from the botom of our hearts. You were fast, charming and funny. The crowd enjoyed watching you and you made our Live Auction a "HUGE SUCCESS". Your The Best -Thank you ! AMY PATTERSON New Client December 2007 "

  • "Vinnie, "Thank You" for all you did to make our event so successful. Everyone really enjoyed you and your team. I look forward to more chances to work with you and I hope you can return for next years event. I WILL RECOMMEND YOU TO ANYONE NEEDING AND AUCTIONEER ! "New client May 2008""

  • "Vinnie, I'd like to thank you for the excellent service you've provided at our auctions over the past several years. You and your team have been nothing but professional, and you've been able to make our events interactive and keep them fun. The feedback from our field has been overwhelmingly positive, and I look forward to working with you again in the future. Thanks for everything!"