2026 Colorado Auctioneers Foundation Summit

About this event

Auction Industry Education • Featured Instructor

Brad Stoecker to Teach Photography & Artificial Intelligence at the Colorado Auctioneers Foundation Summit

Two practical workshops exploring professional auction photography, artificial intelligence, and the future of auction business operations.

November 15 & 16, 2026

Monarch Casino Resort Spa • Black Hawk, Colorado

View Official Summit Information & Registration →

This November, auction professionals from across the region will gather at Monarch Casino Resort Spa in Black Hawk, Colorado for the 2026 Colorado Auctioneers Foundation Summit, a day and a half of hands on continuing education built around the tools that shape how auction companies present, market, and run their businesses today. The summit is hosted and organized by the Colorado Auctioneers Foundation, and its program centers on three core areas: photography, short form video, and artificial intelligence.

Brad Stoecker, owner and principal auctioneer of Epic Auctions & Estate Sales, has been invited to teach two of those modules as a featured instructor. Each workshop runs approximately three hours and is built on what Brad actually does inside a working auction company: photographing thousands of lots a year without a studio budget, and developing AI powered cataloging, invoicing, and business intelligence systems from the ground up. Attendees will leave with practical methods they can put to work the following Monday, not theory.

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Featured Workshops

1

Beyond Point & Shoot: Professional Auction Photography Without Professional Budgets

Approximately 3 hours • Interactive workshop with demonstrations

In today’s online auction environment, photographs are often the first, and sometimes the only, chance an auctioneer has to present an item to a bidder. This hands on workshop shows how to create professional quality auction photographs with affordable equipment and practical techniques that work for auction companies of any size.

Brad will demonstrate how lighting direction, diffusion, shadows, reflections, backgrounds, and camera position change the way merchandise reads on screen, using challenging subjects like glass, silver, jewelry, artwork, and reflective objects. The session also covers a step most companies overlook: protecting image quality all the way from the original shot through cropping, editing, resizing, compression, and upload. Throughout, the focus stays on balancing photo quality against the real labor costs of a working auction company.

Key Learning Topics

✦ Affordable photography equipment and lighting setups

✦ Lighting direction, shadows, diffusion, and reflections

✦ Photographing glass, silver, jewelry, and other challenging materials

✦ Smartphone photography and traditional camera equipment

✦ Composition, backgrounds, camera angles, and detail photographs

✦ Resolution, aspect ratios, cropping, and compression

✦ Preserving image quality through the cataloging and upload process

✦ Building consistent, efficient photography workflows

Attendee Takeaway: Practical techniques for better auction photographs, stronger online merchandise presentation, and consistent image quality without unnecessary equipment expense.

2

Beyond ChatGPT: Building an AI Powered Auction Business

From Experimentation to Real World Applications

Approximately 3 hours • Interactive workshop with real world demonstrations

Artificial intelligence is changing the auction industry fast, but knowing what AI can actually accomplish is worth far more than memorizing the names of dozens of apps. Over the past year, Brad has experimented with, built, tested, and put AI systems to work inside Epic Auctions & Estate Sales. What started as an effort to improve cataloging grew into administrative automation, invoicing, historical auction data analysis, marketing intelligence, and better business decisions.

This workshop takes attendees behind the scenes of that process: building a custom AI powered cataloging application, evaluating different AI models and APIs, developing automated workflows, and measuring the tradeoffs between cost, speed, and accuracy. Participants will see how the information an auction company already has, including buyer records, auction results, and marketing data, can reveal patterns that support smarter decisions. The session also tackles AI limitations, hallucinations, verification, data privacy, and why human expertise and professional judgment still matter. No programming experience required.

Key Learning Topics

✦ Understanding AI models, prompts, context, and APIs

✦ Identifying practical opportunities for AI within an auction company

✦ Developing and refining an AI powered auction cataloging system

✦ Product identification, research, and description generation

✦ AI accuracy, hallucinations, and human verification

✦ Comparing AI models, processing speeds, and operating costs

✦ Administrative automation and invoicing workflows

✦ Analyzing historical auction results and bidder purchasing patterns

✦ AI assisted marketing segmentation and business intelligence

✦ Data privacy, security, and responsible implementation

Attendee Takeaway: A practical understanding of how AI can be implemented in an auction business, what goes into building AI powered workflows, how to evaluate cost and accuracy, and how to spot meaningful opportunities for automation.

The summit program also includes short form video instruction as part of its three core modules of education.

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About the Instructor

Bradley A. Stoecker

MBA, CAI, AARE, AMM, CES, CMA, PVS

Brad Stoecker is the owner and principal auctioneer of Epic Auctions & Estate Sales, LLC in Leslie, Michigan, and a part owner of Two Alpha Auctions, a specialty auction company focused on mid to high end firearms, taxidermy, and historical militaria. Through Epic, Brad provides professional auction and appraisal services specializing in estate liquidation, fine art and antiques, personal property, real estate, and specialty collections.

With nearly 30 years in the auction industry, Brad has worked in virtually every part of auction operations, including bid calling, setup, cataloging, photography, simulcast technology, marketing, and business management. In 2018, after a 20 year career in wholesale energy trading and business management, he purchased Epic Auctions & Estate Sales and expanded its operations with an emphasis on online auctions, technology, and professional estate services.

Brad holds an MBA from Michigan State University and is a licensed Michigan real estate broker. His credentials include Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI), Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate (AARE), Auction Marketing Management (AMM), Certified Estate Specialist (CES), Certified Michigan Auctioneer (CMA), and Personal Property Valuation Specialist (PVS), and he performs USPAP compliant personal property appraisals. A past president of the Michigan Auctioneers Association, Brad was named the 2025 Michigan Ringman Champion and serves as a trustee of the National Auction Association Education Institute Cornerstone.

He has taught at auction schools, state auctioneer associations, and industry education programs. Most recently, his focus has been developing and implementing artificial intelligence within his own company, including custom AI powered cataloging, invoicing, and business intelligence applications. His teaching centers on practical experience, operational efficiency, technology, and the business realities of professional auctioneering.

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Event Details

Event: 2026 Colorado Auctioneers Foundation Summit

Schedule: Sunday, November 15 at 1:00 pm through Monday, November 16 at 4:30 pm (Mountain Time)

Venue: Monarch Casino Resort Spa, 488 Main St, Black Hawk, CO 80422

Host: Colorado Auctioneers Foundation

Brad’s Sessions: Two workshops, each anticipated to run approximately three hours. Individual session times will be published by the Colorado Auctioneers Foundation.

Event Fee: Free for Colorado Auctioneers Association members and their staff. $199 for non members, with CAA membership applications available at the event.

Hotel: Discounted summit rate of $128 per night at Monarch, subject to availability. Book the summit rate →

Registration: Handled directly by the Colorado Auctioneers Foundation. Official summit page →

Summit Questions: CAF Executive Secretary Cissy Tabor, (970) 985‑8228 , coloradoauctioneersfoundation@gmail.com

View Official Summit Information & Registration →

Epic Auctions & Estate Sales, LLC

Brad Stoecker, Auctioneer

Official Summit Flyer