Hometown SUPPORT!

WOW! That is all I have to say about the turnout that we had at the 2012 Round Top Carmine Round Up! Just to give you an idea we had OVER 160 registered bidders!! We had OVER 160 items in the LIVE Auction, OVER 65 in the SILENT auction & raised OVER $23,000 in the LIVE AUCTION alone! UMMM...I'd say SUCCESS!!! They sold 800 MEAL tickets!! There's only like 103 people in CARMINE...maybe 98 in ROUND TOP so....WAY TO BE PEOPLE!!

For the 1st year....the EVENT was OUTSTANDING. A MILLION Thanks to all the BIDDERS, DONORS, & VOLUNTEERS that made this happen. Another HUGE THANKS to the Board of Directors, School, & Faculty! There are definitely areas for GROWTH & CHANGE, but all in all the EVENT was AWESOME!!

I know that some people are not quite sure what it was all about. This is going to HELP keep our wonderful little 1A SCHOOL open!! The funds will help create new programs like BAND & ART that are NEW to our school - in turn GENERATING INTEREST from parents to send their kiddos here. 100% of the $$ raised goes RIGHT BACK to the SCHOOL.

Jason Aldean's song: "Tattoos on this Town." says it BEST! If you haven't heard it....you should listen. Like every person @ every school....There were times that were kind of tough & maybe a little trying, BUT it shaped & molded us into WHO WE ARE. BELIEVE ME....there was WAY more GOOD than bad! I wish I could have taken pictures of the CROWD. I'm tellin' you.... if you could bottle & sell the PRIDE, LOVE, SUPPORT, TENACITY & STRENGTH of my little HOMETOWN area, we'd all make a FORTUNE.

I want to give a SHOUT OUT to DAN KEEN HORSEMANSHIP! They had a FANTASTIC turn-out & the KIDS LOVED the EXHIBIT! Be sure to CHECK OUT THE LINK!

Thanks Cindy Matthijetz Photography for the picture!

I'd also like to say CONGRATS to the 2012 HOMECOMING Basketball Beau - Mr. Weyand & QUEEN - Ms. Shelby. Another CONGRATS to the ALUMNI Boys & Current Varsity Girls Basketball TEAM!! ALL teams played HARD & sure made it EXCITING to watch.

My Sugar Britches (KYLE) still had it in'm. Here he's on the court with Chris Simpson & Reese Goebel. Thanks Cody Schley for the pics :). 

Thanks ALSO for helping watch Little Miss Kylee while I was  callin'  bids Saturday!  Her and those puppies...

On another note. I want to PERSONALLY THANK EVERYONE for the amount of SUPPORT you guys  CONTINUE to give me in this AUCTIONEER JOURNEY! It has SERIOUSLY turned into SO MUCH MORE than what I EVER expected & feel VERY BLESSED to be able to SHARE it with people....& make some $$$ along the way! I wouldn't even be doing this if it wasn't for UNCLE MELE (MELVIN) so cut him a little slack. I know ya'll are just pickin' on him, but he has SO MUCH EXPERIENCE...I've got a long way to go to catch up. I'm so PROUD to think of how much $$ he has helped NUMEROUS ORGANIZATIONS raise throughout his LIFETIME & how HARD he WORKS to get his CUSTOMERS TOP DOLLAR for their LIVESTOCK. I think we make a heck of a TEAM :)!

Even when times are a little tough it makes me feel....just so BLESSED to be where I am, have the FRIENDS I have, KNOW who I know, & have the OPPORTUNITIES that I've been given.

GOD BLESS you all & way to BUCK UP BABY!! I'm PROUD to be a CUBETTE!

I´m a Rockin´ Rural Woman!!!

Hey Everyone! I have been featured on the RURAL WOMEN ROCK page and am MORE than honored. Please be sure to check out the post below (which is also on their site) and be sure to check out the otherAWESOME feature stories!!

For all of you new readers...If you want to watch a video of me auctioning something off - you can check out several of my blogs. I´ve put links to them below:

A Little Constructive Critiscism

Kinda Sorta Hittin´ My Stride

Auction School Day 2: Bid Calling

Auction School Day 7: Quizzes and More Bid Calling

Buck Up Baby: Heather Kaspar

Sales Account Executive/Auctioneer. I love how Heather is mixing it up- chasing her dreams, and doing what she loves. Rural women are doing some amazing things! Quoting Calamity Jane:"I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one."
 Heather says, “I want to make a difference and I want a STRONG legacy when I leave this world”. Knocking your socks off  from: http://buckupbaby.blogspot.com/

Meet Heather Kaspar!

Hi there!! I´m Heather and I am really all kinds of things, but what moved me into the blogging world (besides my good friend Kacie over at Pistols and Cupcakes) was my decision to become an Auctioneer. I just got back this week from Auction School. To become licensed you have to take an 80 hour course (amongst other things) to get your license. Now I´m in the process of filling out all the needed paperwork and working on scheduling a date to take my state exam (another requirement). I´m SO excited!! Some of my other titles include: Christian, Mother of a 2 year old little girl, wife to my high school sweetheart, Cable TV Ad Sales Account Executive, Mentor, Texas State University - San Marcos Graduate, and...MOVIN´ AND SHAKIN´ RURAL WOMAN!
I grew up in a teeny tiny community (in the GREAT State of Texas), where I graduated with 20 other people. I was brought up around cattle auctions and started showing cutting horses at around age 12. I was also pretty active in 4-H and FFA where I showed market lambs and commercial heifers. I´ve also (within the last 10 years) taken´ a likin´ to hunting and fishing (husband´s influence).

I sell TV Advertising (on a local level) in a little coastal community close to Corpus (Rockport). We have GREAT fishing! Anyways…I started out in sales in College Station, TX (Home of the Fightin´ Texas Aggies). When I started I hadn´t even finished my college degree, but I paid for most of my way through school (besides a few scholarships and a little help with books every so often) and I´LL BE DARNED if I wasn’t going to have a “good job” when I graduated. Well…to make a LONG story short…I was good at it….still am. This job has given me the ability to learn about ALL KINDS of different businesses and help create marketing strategies that help them grow their client base. The main thing my career has done is show me that I have GRIT. You don´t really realize it REALLY until you look back and you remember where you started (no actual billing client list), notice the number of people that have walked into your life for a short while, and moved onto another profession, and realize the number of people you have helped. It´s always nice when people in a certain type of business ask: “Have you ever worked with a frame shop?...church?...outdoor shop?...mattress store?...jeweler?...restaurant? cattle genetics operation? (you better believe it)....etc.” AND I CAN SAY YES!! Of course it took close to 5 years, but I have learned A LOT about A LOT of things – through this job.
You can really get to know LOTS more about me by checking out my blog  I wear A LOT of different hats and I sit and ponder on how I manage it all and why I am the way I am. When it comes to business I feel like I´m pretty buttoned down…but not stuffy. I enjoy the company of people…ALL KINDS of people! I cherish my family and friends and am SO grateful for all the blessings the GOOD LORD has bestowed upon me. I AM BLESSED! I like to have fun and I REALLY have a hard time tolerating DISRESPECT. There is a right and wrong way to go about any given situation and I think it is important for people to take a step back and look at the entire situation before talkin´ ugly about somethin´.

I have decided that the reason I am the way I am is because of ALL of the different people that have influenced me in my life, like: The people I admire (some have no idea and most people wouldn´t guess that I´d admire), the people that make me realize what I DON´T want to be like, all the people that have taught me some sort of life lesson - whether it be nicely done OR brutally honest. Then...not letting the negativity DEFEAT me, but fight like hell to rise above it. All that started in the rough and tough years of becoming a teenager and not understanding stuff. Ultimately I had a "Comin´ to Jesus Meeting" with just me, Jesus, and God and worked it all out. I figured out who I wanted to be, thought about the people I admired, thought about the people I didn´t, and figured out what steps I was going to take to BECOME the person I wanted to be. God is there, and he guides us all. You just have to be willing to listen and DO! If we all would just DO something the Lord will light our path.

I do want to share (what I think is) the best quality of all rural people. WE ARE REAL!! I have friends and acquaintances of all kinds of different backgrounds and upbringings and I just really appreciate the people that aren´t all about TOOTIN´ THEIR OWN HORN! You know the best way to get to know someone is ask them questions about themselves….NOT tell´m all about how wonderful you are. Rural people are DOERS!! You don´t have to talk about it….JUST DO IT (like Nike says). Actions have a lot more merit (in my eyes) than words and I really think that is what sets RURAL people apart from the rest. Be a Doer….not a Tooter.
I´m sure that some you gals readin´ have had the thought: "I am bigger than what I´m doing." Well I had that thought, light bulb went off, and I made the decision to follow in my Uncle´s (cattle auctioneer) footsteps and become an AUCTIONEER! I was SO nervous at that first fundraising auction, but I opened my big mouth, said I wanted to do it and there was NO TURNING BACK. Luckily...I was pretty good at it. SHOCKED the heck out of me. I was thinking that maybe I´ll just help Uncle Mele and do this on the side. Then 6 fundraising auctions later...I have people telling me to "Keep it up....Don´t quit!" I thought to myself....no one is holding these people at gunpoint...they must really mean what they´re sayin´. I don´t really know where I´m goin´ with all this yet, but I´m gonna keep goin´ somewhere! Let me just say that going to auction school solidified it for me EVEN MORE. I have been given a NATURAL GIFT and I better do something with it. This is ANOTHER way that I can really help people and I am just tickled to pieces about it. Hence…..where Buck Up Baby! began. I was SO overwhelmed with everything that went along with me auctioneering….I needed a place to unload it all and well…The title is literally something I had to tell myself on the ride over to Plum (first auction).

Folks....it really is AMAZING how the GOOD LORD works through all of us - if we let him. Do you know how many of MY FRIENDS looked at me confused and crazy - when I told them I was going to be an auctioneer? You just don´t hear very many people talking about it…much less a young woman. All I know is I decided it was time to BUCK UP BABY! You can´t be scared...well maybe a little scared, but you still have to DO it!!

I found a quote on an AWESOME GROUP OF WOMEN´S website (The Junk Gypsies) . This is what it is:

"I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one."-Calamity Jane

Now...I don´t have a clue what kind of legend I may be one day BUT I KNOW I want to make a difference and I want a STRONG legacy when I leave this world. . I ENCOURAGE every one of you to let every person you meet, every book/article you read, and every situation you encounter leave a mark on you. We learn from each other and we can ALWAYS continue to educate ourselves. The way you handle any given situation builds CHARACTER!! I want to make people PROUD of me and HELP OTHERS. That is really what it is all about!

Ladies! Don’t be scared. Buck Up Baby and let´s show the world how much RURAL WOMEN ROCK!!! I really do look forward to getting to know you ladies and lettin´ you inspire me!!