Happy 12th Anniversary to Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction! Although it’s been twelve years since that sunny May day in 2002 when we ran 192 vehicles and sold 75 of them, it seems like it just happened. We still have some of our original employees and auctioneers/ringmen with us including; Patty Dwyer, Linda Castillo, Nora Bennett, Jack Armstrong, T. J. Williams, and Buddy Naquin. We also have several dealers who attended that first sale that are here with us almost every week to this day including; Boomtown Auto Sales, Central Auto Sales, Deal N Doug’s, Dixieland, Fontainebleau Auto Sales, Jim Wilkerson, Ledets Auto Sales, Northpark Nissan, and Ross Downing.
After our first sale we struggled through that first summer until we opened our new office building in October 2002. We had a great sale that day and have been growing ever since. We have had some rough times along the way, Katrina and the financial crash of 2008, but we’ve battled back and had our best year ever in 2010, followed by record years in 2011, 2012, and 2013. So far 2014 is on pace for our fifth consecutive record year.
When we opened back in 2002, our company goals were simple, create an atmosphere in which employees could enjoy going to work and get treated fairly, develop an auction that dealers could trust and feel comfortable and secure doing business with, and, hopefully, turn a profit so we could keep doing those things. Although we’re not perfect, we get it right most of the time.
Since 2002 we have developed a motto, “Outstanding Service Begins with Outstanding People”, a tagline for our company personality, “Lagniappe… That little something extra you get only at Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction.”, and a vision, mission, and values statement. These are things that we believe in and help us continue growing and serving our customers while maintaining a good place to work.
I hope you have enjoyed the last twelve years as much as I have and I look forward to seeing you throughout the year and celebrating many more anniversaries in the future!
“Care more than others think wise. Risk more than others think safe. Dream more than others think practical. Expect more than others think possible” – Howard Schultz, CEO Starbucks Coffee