WLAC Winner Named, 2023 Event to be Held in Florida

Dan Cattle, Livestock, Marketing

WLAC
Will Epperly and Family
Image supplied by, and permission to use given by, Will Epperly.

Will Epperly, from Dunlap, Iowa, was named the 2022 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion (WLAC) at the 58th annual competition held at Shipshewana Auction & Trading Place, Shipshewana, Ind. This past Saturday’s event was presented by the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA).

“It was such a powerful moment,” Epperly said. “I thought to myself, ‘this can’t be real,’ and the emotions that came over me were a flood. It was joy, excitement and nervousness for the year to come, but I hope to represent everyone and the Livestock Marketing Association very well.”

This was Epperly’s 12th year competing at a WLAC-affiliated event. He earned his spot to compete in this year’s competition by winning Runner-Up honors at LMA’s 2022 Midwestern Qualifying event. Thirty other contestants also qualified through three regional qualifying events.

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Justin Dodson of Welch, Okla., earned Reserve Champion honors, and Jacob Massey from Petersburg, Tenn., was named Runner-Up Champion.

Other top ten finalists were Eric Drees, Caldwell, Idaho; Dean Edge, Rimbey, Alberta; Steve Goedert, Dillon, Mont.; Wade Leist, Boyne City, Mich.; Sixto Paiz, Portales, N.M.; Jake Parnell, Sacramento, Calif. (High Score Interview); and Barrett Simon, Rosalia, Kan. (Rookie of the Year).

Other semi-finalists from the Southeast include Philip Gilstrap, Pendleton, S.C.; Marcus Kent, Dunnellon, Fla.; Chris Pinard, Swainsboro, Ga.; Jeff Showalter, Broadway, Va.; and Tim Yoder, Montezuma, Ga.

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As the new champion, Epperly will spend the next year traveling the country, sharing his auctioneering skills with other livestock auction markets and acting as a spokesperson on behalf of the livestock marketing industry and LMA.

A one-hour highlight show from the 2022 competition will air on RFD-TV June 30, with starting times based on local listings.

WLAC fans are encouraged to mark their calendars for the 2023 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship. It will be held June 7-10, 2023, at Arcadia Stockyard, in Arcadia, Fla.