Does an auctioneer ever really go on vacation. Jason Duke, the owner and operator of Duke Auction Services in Pittsfield recently had a a chance to conduct an auction in a nightclub owned by the famous county music artist, Jelly Roll. (Submitted photo)
By BETH ZUMWALT
Jason Duke, a Pittsfield based auctioneer, his wife, Stacy and some friends headed to Nashville two weeks ago for CMA week.
The group ended up at a nightclub owned by Jelly Roll, a country music artist, whose songs frequently hit the top 10.
“We were setting there and one of Jelly Roll’s managers came over to us and said there would be an on-line auction starting soon.” Duke said. “She said proceeds from the auction would go to Aerial Recovery, one of Jelly Rolls favorite charities.
Aerial Recovery trains and deploys Humanitarian Special Operator to effectively respond to natural and man-made disasters as well as combating sex trafficking. Make up of veterans and first responders, from the Heal The Heros Initiative, Aerial Recovery tackle some of the most difficult reduce and response missions across the globe.
Duke told the woman he was an auctioneer and suggested they do a live auction in the club.
“She left the table and pretty soon came back with a man and had me tell him, what I had told her,’ Duke said. “That was about 8:30 p.m. They asked if we would stay until Jelly Roll arrived, probably an hour.”
Duke said the celebrity got to the club about 12:30 a.m. and was instantly enthused by the idea of a live auction.
“He got a guitar and signed it and I auctioned it off,” Duke said. “It brought $2,250. It was probably a $300 guitar, but, with it being for good cause and he had autographed it, it brought a lot more.”
Duke said he and his family vacation in Nashville a couple of times of year,but, this is the first time they have one during CMA week.”
“It was crazy,” he said. “They estimated there was 350,000 visitors to Nashville that week. We just went from one concert to another. We saw a lot of famous bands and artists.”
