automotiveconnectıon
Cars and people are at the
heart of auto auction company
Barrett-Jackson
An American classic
member profile
By Eva Shaw
THE PAINT JOB IS flawless. The chrome
could blind. The audience crackles with anticipation. The hammer drops as a baritone voice
hollers, “Sold, sold, sold!” Lot 5008, a to-die-for 1948 metallic blue Tucker Torpedo, one of
just 51 ever produced, crosses the block.
Whether you’re in the audience at Barrett-Jackson’s auto auctions or watching them on
Speed TV, the thrills, automotive history and
human drama are dynamic.
“Basically we’re car people who grew up
admiring, restoring, racing, driving and collecting,” says Craig H. Jackson, Barrett-Jackson’s
chairman and CEO. Last year the company
sold about 2,700 automobiles at its auctions in
Scottsdale, Arizona; Palm Beach, Florida; the
Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa,
California; and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Barrett-Jackson auctions are famous for
classic cars—everything from project muscle
cars to restored model T’s. But there’s another
side of the company.
Two driving forces
“We’re family people with a family com-
pany that focuses our passion on cars,” Jackson
says. “My mother and co-founder of the com-
pany, Nellie Jackson, illustrated in words and
deeds how people must come first. Her mem-
ory continues to provide an ethical, benevolent
compass that steers the company.”
Since it was founded in 1967 by Tom
Barrett and Jackson’s parents, Russ and Nellie,
the company has raised more than $46 mil-
lion. The company’s first car show was held to
raise money for Scottsdale’s library system.
Forty-five years later, the company’s commit-
ment to philanthropy hasn’t wavered.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BARRETT-JACKSON
A rare Tucker Torpedo is being sold at
Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction.
At each of the four multi-day auctions,
some of the cars are sold to raise money for aid
organizations. In January 2011 the entire proceeds from 22 of the vehicles sold went to various charities. Barrett-Jackson waives all of its
fees, and those who purchase these cars know
that all of the money goes to help deserving
groups, including Paralyzed Veterans of
America, Casa Esperanza para Niños, Child-help® and the Armed Forces Foundation.
On any given day, the money raised at
Barrett-Jackson auctions may help an infant
with cancer receive cutting-edge treatment, a
severely disabled war vet get a high-tech prosthetic limb or a neglected teen finally end up at
a safe house for treatment.
“Giving is as much a part of Barrett-Jackson as motor oil and gasoline,” Jackson
says. “At our company, we don’t just talk
about doing the right thing or announce it
with a fancy corporate slogan. That wasn’t
Nellie’s way nor will it ever be the company’s.”
Racing toward a brighter future
In 2010, Barrett-Jackson established the
Russ and Brian Jackson Cancer Research Fund
at the Translational Genomics Research
Institute (TGen).
“The research fund is in honor of my
father and brother, whose lives were cut short
by colon cancer,” Jackson says. “This research
fund will enable TGen scientists and physicians to accelerate the development of new
diagnostic tests and therapies for patients
battling colon and prostate cancer.”
Company name: Barrett-Jackson
Auction Company LLC
Founders: Thomas Barrett III and Russ
and Nellie Jackson
Chairman and CEO: Craig Jackson
Number of employees: 55 full-time
Address: 7400 E. Monte Cristo Ave.
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Member at: Scottsdale, AZ
Contact: (480) 663-6255,
www.barrett-jackson.com
Comment about Costco: “A great
organization with talented and helpful
employees. We do much business with
them and will continue to do so.”
—Craig Jackson
Auto focus
“For sustainability in any business you
need new customers,” Jackson says. “Right
now, I’m seeing a bunch of people coming into
the hobby and buying cars, and we’ve found
that at least 50 percent of our bidders are first-
time buyers. At Barrett-Jackson, enthusiasts
can be confident that they’re bidding against a
real person, not the house. It’s the same deal
for everybody, including me. Yes, I sell my cars
at the auction.”
Everything automotive is Jackson’s hobby
and business. Yet, with giving at its heart,
there are good reasons why this family-run
business is known for presenting “The World’s
Greatest Collector Car Auctions.” C
APRIL 2012 ;e Costco Connection 39
Eva Shaw, www.evashaw.com, is an author,
ghostwriter and professor of writing.
