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Wichita Woman Serves As Ambassador for Auctioneering Industry

Carla Eckels

When you go to an auction for anything from antiques to real estate – you will rarely hear a female auctioneer. A woman in Wichita has broken that image and has won international recognition. KMUW’s Carla Eckels has the story…

Wichita Female Auctioneer Megan McCurdy Niedens won the 2013 International Auctioneer Championship Competition- Women’s Division. 

For a year, which ended in July, Megan served as an ambassador for the industry traveling to several states to teach and train auctioneers.  Megan beat 27 other females in the tough rounds of competition.

It’s a pretty amazing feeling I mean it’s a room full of over a thousand auctioneers when it happens and so it’s one of the biggest highlights that you can achieve in the auction industry and it’s pretty exciting. I had my family there. It’s probably one of the best days of my life so far.  It rates right up there.

Megan’s family owns McCurdy Auction in Wichita. She’s grown up with the business “in her ears”. Megan keeps busy with real estate auctions in Wichita--her specialty-- and does about 50 events for charity annually.

Megan serves as the Kansas Auctioneer President, the first female and the youngest president at 31-years old.  She’s a member of the National Auctioneers Association which  about 10 percent female members.

I didn’t grow up thinking about being an auctioneer.  I don’t think that’s top of mind for most little girls to think about being an auctioneer but as you see more and more females in our industry it’s kind of fun to see more young girls express interest.

For the past six years, Megan has received the Master’s Club Award from the Wichita Association of Realtors with at least 5 million in real estate sales.

Whatever your passion is, go all in and really commit yourself to not just your personal business but to the industry as a whole and for me it’s worked and it’s worked well and it’s given me back many rewards.

Carla Eckels is Director of Organizational Culture at KMUW. She produces and hosts the R&B and gospel show Soulsations and brings stories of race and culture to The Range with the monthly segment In the Mix. Carla was inducted into The Kansas African American Museum's Trailblazers Hall of Fame in 2020 for her work in broadcast/journalism.