Red Sox players, but appreciate working with them, and still recognize how lucky they are to have those types of opportunities, they said. ‘Controlled Chaos’ Getting the business off the ground was difficult at first, Janice said, especially with young children. “It was hard when we first got started,” she said. “This was [Tom’s] dream, and I enjoyed helping him out, and the kids were so young that we left them behind a lot of the weekends for the benefit auctions, so it was hard not seeing them. So as soon as they got old enough, they started coming with us; it just worked out really well, and now I can’t imagine not having them work with us.” “We live in controlled chaos,” Tom said. “We were initially concerned about the appearance of bringing minors to the auctions, and it turned out our clients really loved them. And if we didn’t bring them, they’d say ‘Where are the kids?’” Over the years, the Weitbrechts have compiled a lot of knowledge and advice they offer up to newcomers. Tom says the most important things are to always honor your commitments, have realistic expectations and take ownership in what you do. “It isn’t about the bid calling, it’s about solving the entire problem,” he said. Kate adds that newcomers should learn to improvise in case, and when, everything goes wrong. Tom suggests rolling with the punches, wearing a lot of different hats and always staying in control. It’s also very important to be professional, fair and honest, he added. They’ve also learned how to become really good at reading people’s body language, they said, because there’s a whole psychology behind it. They can pick up on borderline facial expressions or body gestures when someone is considering a bid – and they run with that. They make jokes and tempt them with phrases like, “Don’t sit on your hands,” “It’s only money, it’ll grow right back” and “Don’t look at her, look at me.” “You just become really good at reading people to a scary level,” Kate said. “We’ve become the masters of body language,” Tom added. Working with family doesn’t come without its challenges, however. Kate says for better or for worse, there’s no holding back. Juggling school and work can be strenuous, but Justin and Kate seem to have figured it out, according to Tom. “It’s hard to balance being in high school and having so many high-level classes that you have a lot of homework in and have to study a lot if you want to do well on the tests. It’s pretty hard sometimes when you have weekday auctions to make some time in the event to study,” Kate said. But Justin says all of the long travel and busy weekends has made them closer as a family. “I don’t think we could have envisioned what it’s become when [Tom] went away to auction school – it was a change of career for him,” Janice said. “We had no idea where it would go. [Kate] was an infant and [Justin] was a little one; so it’s like, ‘One day at a time, I guess.’ We’re lucky we’re here today.” ■
An auction visitor. Photos by Malea Ritz
From left: Justin, a staff member, Kate and Janice.
From left: Tom Weitbrecht, Father Chris Hickey, Bill Cass and Karen Cass at The Holy Mothers Collaborative auction at the Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston.
MALEA RITZ IS AN ASSOCIATE EDITOR AT THE WARREN GROUP, PUBLISHER OF FAMILY BUSINESS MAGAZINE.
Kate (left) and Janice. 7