Rice inducted into Ohio Auctioneer’s Association Hall of Fame
Greg Rice (pictured in the tan jacket) was inducted into the Ohio Auctioneers Association Hall of Fame. He is pictured here surrounded by family. (Submitted)
Greg Rice had quite a surprise on Jan. 7. He had been asked to serve as judge for the state auctioneer championship and instead was honored by being chosen as the 2021 Ohio Auctioneer’s Association Hall of Fame Inductee.
“My wife knew for a year and half and kept it a secret. My family all knew. I don’t know how they kept it a secret for so long,” said Rice. “This just means so much to me. I’ve won lots of awards, but this one – it means more to me because I was chosen by my peers. It was given to me by them. And Herb (Peddicord) nominated me before he passed. When they read his nomination, it tore me up. It still tears me up thinking about it.”
“It was planned that I would get it in August, but then I got COVID. I hoped that it might be me but wasn’t sure. When they were reading the nomination, it took me a few minutes to realize it was me they were talking about. Then, when I got up on stage, I looked at the back of the room and my whole family – my kids, grandkids, sisters and their husbands, everyone – was there, too. It’s one of the few times in my life I’ve been at a loss for words.”
Rice said his wife, Jan, coordinated everything with the family to keep them hidden from him. “My kids were sitting in their cars at the hotel, waiting for me to stop talking to people and go to my room so they could check in. Jan kept telling me I needed to go to the room for a nap, since I’d been up since 4. I found out later that my son walked into the lobby to check in while I was there, and someone saw him and moved me so I wouldn’t see him.”
His family was hidden in a room near the banquet hall until they started reading the nomination so they could be part of his big night.
Rice has been an auctioneer for 42 years. “I wanted to do this since I was a kid. I traveled to a lot of livestock auctions with my dad and liked listening to the auctioneer. My dad tried to discourage me by saying it wasn’t a steady job and I wouldn’t make much money. But I followed my dream and it’s been very rewarding to me.”
He said he has no plans to retire any time soon. “I still enjoy it and am still having fun. Maybe I’ll slow down in a few years, but, right now, I’m having fun and I’m still excited I get to do it.”
Category: Business
