DON SMOCK HOSTS 29TH ANNUAL SNOWBALL AUCTION IN INDIANA

While the unseasonably warm weather kept the snow away from Don Smock Auction Company’s 29th annual Snowball Auction, it seemed to have had an opposite effect on attendance. Held at the company’s auction facility in Pendleton, Ind., on Dec. 10, the auction attracted a sizable crowd of onsite bidders from Indiana and surrounding states while drawing active online bidding as well.

The auction featured a variety of excavators, dozers, backhoe loaders, paving and compaction equipment along with trucks and other construction support equipment and vehicles.

While most of the construction equipment moved across the auction ramp at the facility’s 80 ft. by 100 ft. all-weather auction theater, support equipment was simultaneously auctioned off in the equipment yard.  CEG (All photographs in this article are Copyright 2021 Construction Equipment Guide. All Rights Reserved.)

Jason Douglas (R) of Jason Douglas Excavating recruited his grandson, Laine Bronaugh, to review the machines in the equipment yard. Michael Pelsor of MPX Solutions tried out this Grove TMS300 truck crane.

Don Smock Auction Company auctioneer Kenny Jackson calls out the bids in the equipment yard. Rick Hohenbrink of Hohenbrink Excavating came in from Findlay, Ohio, in search of equipment bargains.

Earl Brumley (L) of Earl’s Tree Service was joined by David Hawk to review this Bobcat S570 skid steer loader. Don Smock Auction Company President Nic Smock was kept busy ensuring that everything ran smoothly at the auction.

Tad Agoglia photo

First Response Team uses donated and loaned machinery to assist victims that often lack the resources to pay for the service. The key to working in catastrophic situations is being experienced enough to match the proper equipment with the anticipated disaster scene — like this Peterbilt truck equipped with a Prentice-made grapple loader designed to hold 120-cu.-yds. of debris.

TORNADO from page 90

to use for picking up and loading.”

Rapport With Dealers Fuels

First Response Team

Agoglia described his company and Cat dealers as enjoying a “special relationship,” where, if his crew requires more equipment, the maker’s local distributors make sure they are lent what they need free of charge.

“It is as simple as sending a text message to one of my contacts at Cat, Chris Gustafson, a division manager who is my liaison between Cat corporate and its dealers,” said Agoglia, who has worked with Gustafson for several years. “By contacting Chris, I often will have tractor trailer loads of equipment begin to show up wherever we are working, and then they will tell me, ‘Hey, just let us know when you are finished, and we will come get them.’”

Gustafson also has helped Agoglia acquire other machinery, like the light towers and water pumps, by speaking to those manufacturers on his behalf.

“Here in Kentucky, I needed help from the local dealer, Boyd CAT, to find a place to park our equipment overnight, plus a loading dock to unload some machines from my tractor trailer,” he said, “so yesterday I texted Chris to ask if he could connect me with the nearest Boyd CAT branch. Luckily, they have dealerships across the state and were happy to help.”

In fact, from its base in Louisville, Boyd CAT maintains 19 locations, mostly in Kentucky, but also in southern Indiana, West Virginia and southeastern Ohio.

The Peterbilt trucks First Response Team has on hand is also due to its close bond with a dealer. John Arscott, the owner of The Pete Store in Baltimore, one of the largest Peterbilt distributorships on the East Coast, routinely helps Agoglia by making machine donations.

“He has become such a good friend,” Agoglia said. “I initially went to him to buy a truck and, instead, he just gave me one right on the spot. Since then, John has donated five or six trucks to us. That is why we can do a lot of this work for free.”

Scenes of Destruction Leave Agoglia Heartbroken

Much of First Response Team’s work was around Campbellsville, Ky., in Taylor County, about 85 mi. south of Louisville. One person died there, and more than 70 homes were destroyed during the storm.

Upon reaching the county, the initial three-man crew found many wreckagestrewn properties and desperate homeowners in dire need of the volunteer group’s assistance. He described the heartbreak they felt in witnessing exhausted residents frantically picking through the rubble of their homes looking for missing pets or prized possessions.

“It is almost always depressing because there is so much sadness and so much loss,” he said. “I really feel the role we play … we’re not here to fix anything; we’re not here to be heroes; and we cannot bring someone back to life, but what we can do is play a small role in encouraging someone. If they are digging through their home’s wreckage, and they believe a photo album is underneath their crushed car or a cat is trapped under a collapsed wall, those are things we can help with. It is simple, but it is what we can do as equipment operators and truck drivers.”

Although each disaster is different, Agoglia and his team always begin their recovery efforts by talking to people and asking them what they need. Some have the resources to hire a contractor to remove a roof from their flattened house, but often First Response Team comes across folks with no insurance who try to handle the heavy work themselves, sometimes without the right tools at their disposal.

“For example, I cannot tell you how many times I have seen someone using a small Sawzall to try and remove a 60ft. tree off their house,” he said.

“The point is that is what we look for. So, in these types of storms, time really is of the essence because people are trying hard to get to their belongings before the next rain falls and ruins what they have left,” Agoglia said. “They cannot lift walls to find clothes themselves, and as equipment operators, we sometimes lose sight of how unique our skills are to these people. To me, the equipment also plays a special role and without it, we would not be able to do this work.”  CEG

How Boyd CAT Is Involved With Western Kentucky Relief Efforts

•By early Saturday afternoon, all of Boyd CAT’s employees from Bowling Green, Hopkinsville and Paducah were accounted for. All employees and their families are physically safe, but some have experienced property damage and all are experiencing emotional repercussions. • An internal email inbox is set up to receive requests for immediate assistance from western Kentucky employees. • Similar to other past disasters in the area, Boyd CAT already sent generators, light plants and equipment to help support the relief efforts and are working with neighboring Caterpillar dealers and Caterpillar corporate to continue these support efforts. • Boyd CAT delivered equipment immediately to start helping clear roads for emergency vehicles and teams to respond to the disaster. • Boyd CAT delivered generators immediately to start providing stand-by power for the emergency relief efforts. • Several employees are volunteer responders that have been assisting and supporting. • As an essential business, its locations have remained open and employees have been able to come to work to ensure that customers and the community are taken care of with equipment, parts and services that they may need. • Boyd CAT has shared information on how employees can help with the relief efforts, including the American Red Cross or the Team Western Kentucky Relief Fund. Boyd CAT will match all donations made through the American Red Cross and the Team Western Kentucky Relief Fund sites and also will match any other Tornado Support donations made by employees.