 by Jay Schneider
LIFE/Enterprise Managing EditorELYSIAN - For years he has been the voice of
auctions throughout the Lake Region Area. Long-time Elysian resident, Herb Weber, has a
voice which has become synonymous with auctioneering and volunteering to announce many different civic events.
His dedication and strong leadership within the auction industry have been acknowledged, much to the
surprise of Weber. Weber was inducted into the Minnesota State Auctioneers Association Hall
of Fame during the annual MSAA conference held Jan. 24-26 at the Minneapolis Airport Marriott in Bloomington.
Weber said he was completely surprised when they announced his name and his entire family came out to
congratulate him last week. He said he was very honored to be selected by his peers into this elite Hall of Fame. There
are only 51 members over the course of the 21 years of its existence. The Hall of Fame was
created in 1987 to honor individuals who have demonstrated honesty, high ethical standards, a willingness to share with
others, and high standing in his or her community and the Minnesota State Auctioneers and made significant contributions
to the auction profession. Weber, and long-time auctioneer Frank Imholte of St. Cloud were
selected by current Hall of Fame members.
Herb's brother Duane made the induction speech and friends Eugene Edwards (ringman for Weber) and Steve Fausch of
Fairmont (auctioneer) nominated him. Weber has been a member of the MSAA for 25 years and is
a past director and seminar provider during their annual conferences. He graduated from Iowa
College of Auctioneering in Mason City in 1982 and has been licensed ever since. "He has
promoted the auction profession through seminars in schools, nursing homes, civic organizations, as well as doing
fundraisers for churches, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Waterfowl, Turkey, and Elk Federations, Le Sueur County
Trails as well as charitable organizations throughout southern Minnesota," Duane said during the induction ceremony. "He
has given unselfishly to his community, from city councilman in the 1970s to lector, usher and trustee at St. Andrew's
Catholic Church." Weber has also been a Legionaire for 34 years, is a retired fireman with
20 years of service, was a Little League baseball coach for more than a decade and works closely with all Elysian Legion
functions. In his nomination form, Eugene Edwards had some nice words for the inductee.
"I have helped Herb with auctions for over 10 years," Edwards said. "His organizational skills are to
be admired and he adapts to whatever the situation. Herb is a good person to work for. He will not ask anyone to do
anything that he wouldn't do himself." "Mr. Weber has always served the best interests of
his clients and his customers at all times," Steve Fausch said in his nomation form. "Important fundraisers, school or
church functions and benefit auctions, you could always count on Herb Weber to donate his services to help."
"If you worked with set-up of auctions, hauling, clean-up, sorting, displaying of items or any other
capacity, you were treated in a professional manner with respect and honesty," Fausch said. "Nancy, Herb's wife, was
also a great asset to the firm in the clerking and cashiering of auctions. She complimented the teamwork in a very
important way." For more than 40 years, Weber has been an Independent Insurance Agent,
owning his own agency until 2003. Herb is now semi-retired, but still manages to do a few
auctions every year. Executive Vice President Emeritus of the MSAA, Lowell Gilbertson added
this note: "Herb is a great asset to the Minnesota State Auctioneers Association," he said.
"We are proud to have him in the Hall of Fame." |
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