Ritchie Bros. - Communications Specialist Contract - 2007 to 2008
Going to a Ritchie Bros. auction is a spectacle to behold. Big machinery, fast talking, and big-time characters trying to outbid each other for a limited number of toys. The first Ritchie Bros. auction I went to was in Las Vegas Nevada, in conjunction with ConExpo, the largest construction event in the world (literally). Ritchie Bros. specializes in auctioning industrial equipment, but also sells just about anything - from yachts to dragline crawlers.
Blood, sweat and dust
That Las Vegas auction was a dusty, sweaty, fast-paced whale of a good time. It was one of the most interesting work days I have ever had. Equipment was being driven every which way, auctioneers were bellowing out their banter, and bid catchers were yelping at each new bid.
Time for a crash course in the construction business
I worked in the Communications department of Ritchie Bros. for most of 2008. I had been lured away by Ritchie Bros. with a great Communications Specialist job offer, only to be lured back by the Archdiocese of Vancouver at the end of the year with an even better offer. I had worked for the Archdiocese from 2004 to the end of 2007 for their newspaper - The B.C. Catholic.
My year working for Ritchie Bros. was a crash course in the auction business and the construction industry.
RitchieWiki - the Wikipedia of construction
The most noteworthy project I worked on was RitchieWiki.com – a one of a kind website that is essentially a Wikipedia for the construction industry. I helped train the writers, wrote some articles, and was even responsible for the PR rollout of the website at MinExpo.
Read about my entire experience with the Wiki here
Some painful, and not so painful projects
Another interesting, albeit painful, project was my work on the 50th anniversary materials for Ritchie Bros. I was given the unenviable task of finding a camera-ready photograph of a construction project from 1958 for ALL of the 39 auction sites the company has worldwide. This project required so much digging, hair-pulling, and gnashing of teeth, that I would never wish it on anybody. That said, the posters turned out fantastically – thanks in large part to the team of talented graphic designers.
My time at Ritchie Bros. also marked my first extensive foray into the world of internal communications – as I was responsible for editing and producing “The Nitty Gritty” a company newsletter distributed to the 1,100 employees that Ritchie Bros. has worldwide.
When I wasn’t involved in the Wiki, finding photos, or writing for TNG, I wrote media releases, some web copy, and even did a training video. On one occasion, I even wrote a speech for company CEO Peter Blake for the grand opening of the new Ritchie Bros. head office in Lincoln Nebraska.
Things come full circle
In October of 2008 I was offered an incredible position back with the Archdiocese as their Communications Coordinator, less than one year after leaving. I was given the chance to run my own Communications office, and jumped at the chance.
