CSB serves as official livestock auction clerk in tri-county region
By Jason Arndt
Editor
The Racine County Fair livestock auction exceeded $1 million in total sales last month with proceeds benefiting local youth exhibitors.
Community State Bank, which has branches in Racine, Walworth and Kenosha counties, played a key role in ensuring the auction ran smoothly by crunching the numbers for buyers and exhibitors.
The local banking institution has served as the Official Clerk for the livestock auctions at the Racine and Kenosha county fairs for several years and recently expanded its services to the Walworth County Fair.
CSB’s Chief Innovation Officer Gregory Wall said the bank offers the services free of charge to area fairs because of its commitment to the agricultural industry.
“A big part of our business at Community State Bank is the Ag business, and so this is a great way for us to get in front of a lot of agriculture customers, but also help out the Ag community,” Wall said.
Wall said unlike other commercial companies, the local bank does not assess fees to the county fair for their services, which are run by volunteers from CSB.
“There are commercial companies out there that strictly run auctions and things like that, and do the stuff that we do, but they cost tens of thousands of dollars,” Wall said. “Those are services that we are providing free of charge.”
Giving back
Brian Lois, Agricultural and Commercial Lender at CSB, has helped coordinate auctions at the three fairs alongside co-worker Caitlyn Eulgen.
Lois began his foray in the fair industry as an exhibitor at the Kenosha County Fair, representing Wheatland Willing Workers 4-H, before earning an agricultural business degree at Iowa State University.
During his exhibition career, Lois admitted he had limited knowledge of the work it took to hold an auction, but quickly learned once he began working with Eulgen and the volunteers.
“I couldn’t do it without the volunteers helping us out,” Lois said. “It is not just me that runs the show. Caitlyn is working side by side with me in working behind the scenes.”
He said Community State Bank’s volunteers contribute hundreds of hours of work to ensure the auctions run efficiently.
During the Racine County Fair Livestock Auction on July 27, Lois said a dozen people showed a willingness to contribute.
“We had 12 people volunteering,” he said. “That was the most we ever had. They see that we are making a difference in the community.”
Lois said he himself felt compelled to contribute because of his strong agriculture background and experiences at the Kenosha County Fair.
“I was raised in agriculture and I am still involved in agriculture and it is important for me in the banking industry to give back to the next generation of family farms,” Lois said. “For the Ag industry to prosper, we need to have younger people that are interested in it. That is why I went to school for agriculture. We want to see young kids take an interest.”
Multi-pronged operation
Lois estimates about $500,000 is raised at the Kenosha County Fair, while Racine and Walworth County fair typically surpass the $1 million mark annually.
He said each auction runs on the same principles with slight changes. However, the mission remains the same for Community State Bank.
“Every fair is run about the same. They might have small, little things that are different but in the grand scheme of things, at the end the day, the goal is to get that kid’s animal sold to a local business that wants to buy it,” Lois said.
Spectators typically see and hear an auctioneer shout out numbers while buyers solicit bids for animals. But the bank’s efforts are more than just calculating numbers, according to Lois.
Community State Bank, in addition to calculating figures, receiving payment from buyers, and distributing checks, also compiles booklets containing information on each animal, including the seller’s name, for distribution to prospective buyers before each auction.
“There is a lot of hands-on stuff that goes on before the actual sale and auction takes place,” Lois said.
Along with completing financial transactions and distributing information, the bank provides a list of meat processors, such as Lake Geneva Country Meats and Harry Hansen Meat Services for buyers to select from.
“Each fair sets up different processing places within the area and the state that buyers can send their animals to get processed,” said Lois. “Buyers will check the box saying they want it to go this processor, we load it into the system, and then we give the fair a list of where the animal needs to go.”
Community State Bank’s partnerships with area fairs and distributing information on meat processors through auctions serve as a testament to the institution’s dedication to the communities it serves.
“Our mission is to be involved in the communities that we serve,” Lois said. “It is one of our priorities to give back to the community.”
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