Those who live in Texas may know a fast talker or two. But it’s unlikely any of them would compare to Morgan Hopson. The Bonham native recently won first place at the 2019 Women’s International Auctioneer Championship.
Hopson is a first-generation auctioneer, and grew up with no connection to the industry. But she gravitated to it after graduating with degrees in marketing and music from Texas Christian University.
“I had a good family friend, who’s been a lifelong mentor for me, reach out and asked if I’d be interested in doing marketing for his company,” Hopson says. “I knew that he had a real estate auction company and I didn’t know anything about the auction industry, so I went to auction school.”
Hopson mostly auctions real estate.
“I typically sell a lot of farm and ranchland, hunting property, trophy homes, recreational property,” Hopson says.
Hopson says that her background in music helps her as an auctioneer.
“I have been in the music industry my entire life,” Hopson says. “I began playing the violin at 2 ½ [years old], and I think there’s so many similarities between the music business and the auction industry in that we get on stage and we’re performing.”
The key to her talent, she says, is practice, so that she gets comfortable with her her “chant.”
“We call what we do a ‘chant,’” Hopson says. “We are essentially stating what we have, we’re stating what we’re asking for, and then we’re actually asking for that dollar amount.”
The Women’s International Auctioneer Championship judges contestants on poise, professionalism and, of course, chant, she says.
Hopson isn’t bothered by the pressures of auctioneering or the championship. And to her, it’s all about camaraderie and relationships with fellow auctioneers.
“This contest for me was a huge opportunity to grow,” Hopson says. “We’re on stage with the best of the best in the world. To be able to create those friendships, create those relationships – that’s where it really pays off.”
Written by Antonio Cueto.
