Auctioneer Stories: Rob Dimmett wears a lot of hats.

Today we’re going to do something different. Today, we’re going to meet Rob Dimmett, an auctioneer from southern Indiana.

I met Rob about four years ago when he listed a barn find Farmall 1456 on Tractor Zoom. I remember calling him to find out a little more about the tractor, and it turned out that we had a few buddies in common. Since then, we’ve become really good friends, but we rarely ever get the chance to sit down and catch up. We’re both busy guys, and it seems like when we do see each other, it’s in passing. However, as luck would have it, I was in Mound City, MO for a tractor pull earlier this summer…and he was too!

It was steaming hot outside and we were hungry, so we decided to hit the local Mexican joint for lunch and catch up. A cold pitcher of margaritas and chips and salsa set the tone for great conversation. (Doesn’t it always?)

Who in the heck is Rob Dimmett, anyway?

They say that if you want something to get done, trust it to a busy person. Rob Dimmett is definitely that guy. He’s a man who wears many different hats (literally and figuratively) – and wears ’em well, too. An auctioneer by training, a cattle breeder who raises some gorgeous Red Angus, a mentor, and most recently – a Gangster with kind of a funny name.

Wait…what?

Yep, a Gangster with a capital G. (Some of you know where I’m going with that; for those of you who don’t, we’ll get into that later…)

Let’s get into it, hat by hat.

The Auctioneer : Dimmett Auction Service

Rob grew up as a farm kid in far southern Indiana around Boonville. Like most farm kids, he was exposed to auctions early in his life. If I remember right, he was only 7 when he bought a pig at auction for his brother to show for 4-H. It was that moment that something clicked inside him and from then on, he was infatuated with the auction method of sales and marketing. “I loved the excitement and showmanship of an auction. There was always something happening, and when the crowd got into it, it was a lot of fun,” he told me, “Heck, I still live for the showmanship aspect today!”

He knew that he wanted to become an auctioneer, but it wasn’t until after graduating high school and college that he took the next steps. In 1992, he attended the Missouri Auction School in Kansas City and began laying the groundwork for his business, Dimmett Auction Services. It wasn’t all sunshine and rose gardens, though.

He said, “My folks were against it from the start; they were pretty conservative people, and very risk-averse. They said, ‘You can’t do this; you need a steady paycheck and benefits!’ At the end of the day, I don’t think they understood what a powerful motivator the words ‘You can’t’ were to me – and I’ll always be grateful for that push-back. It fueled a fire inside me that keeps me going!”

Building the business…

Rob’s first official auction, a home estate sale in Boonville, IN, would come in November of 1994. “I remember that it was snowing that day and I was a nervous wreck worrying about the weather and what that would do to the attendance. In hindsight, that was probably a good thing, because I didn’t get inside my own head and get worked up about the job I was there to do!”

It must’ve gone relatively well, too, because 30 years later, he’s still friends with Bob and Marla Stone, the couple that hired him!

Since then it’s had its ups and downs as all businesses do, but man alive, Dimmett Auction Service is thriving now. I was on the phone with him this morning and he told me that between now and the middle of October, he’s got at least one auction closing per week!

There’s a clever phrase that some auctioneers will use as their tagline – We sell the Earth and everything on it – and that’s basically what Rob Dimmett does as well. Land, livestock, equipment, personal property – you name it!

The Breeder: DBOR Cattle Co.

For most of his 4H career, Rob showed cattle, and he was good at it. In the mid-90s, he got more involved with a few local herds. To a certain degree it was a side project. However, as time progressed, he started to dip his toe into the show cattle world as some of the local kids (including his nephew Dawson) got old enough to show on a national level. In 2013, he founded DBOR Cattle Co., and over the past decade, he’s become known for showing and breeding some of the strongest selling Red Angus at the National Western Livestock Show!

For those of you who raise livestock, you know that some days it’s a struggle. We’ve all seen that prayer that goes, “Lord, please forgive me for the things I said while working cattle…” but I’ve actually talked to Rob about that. He laughs it off and says, “That’s the way the Good Lord teaches us patience sometimes!”

Like most side projects, DBOR Cattle Co. has had its ebbs and flows. For the past few years, business has really picked up for the auction side of the house and that hasn’t left a lot of time for the cattle side. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if that picks up again. DBOR has its own dam and sire bloodlines now, and I suspect you’ll see Rob and his famous fedora at the National Western again soon!

The Mentor

Rob gives a lot of credit to 4-H for shaping who he is today. “4-H taught me about the value of discipline, hard work, and the power of a positive attitude and a good support system,” he said, “It was a great foundation for me and I’m still involved as a volunteer leader today!” He also handles the Warrick County 4-H fundraiser and livestock auctions every year. He’s been known to pull some pretty stout prices out of their annual Pork Chop Dinner!

It’s more than that, though. For Rob Dimmett, giving back to the community isn’t an annual thing – it’s a way of life. He’s passionate about making life better for the people of Warrick County. “This is my home, and these are my people,” he told me, “This is my family. It’s the right thing to do.”

I couldn’t agree more. It only takes about three minutes with Rob to see how important family and hometown is to him. For me, living in the greater Des Moines area, I don’t get to see that as much as I wish I did. Feeling that hometown passion is good for my soul, and I feel it whenever I talk to Rob. For those of you who know him personally, I’ll bet you’d say the same thing.

The Gangster: Masterson Farms Pulling Team

The Gangster thing, though…that’s a little different animal.

See, one of Rob’s best friends is Kevin Masterson. Kevin and his dad, Don, are a major part of the reason I’m involved in the sport of tractor pulling, and I’m thankful to call them my friends. The River Rat and the Tinker Toy are the most dominant Pro Stocks of all time, and they drew me in to the sport. And while we lost Don a little over a year ago, they both continue to cast a tall shadow in the sport.

Their team is officially known as the Masterson Farms Pulling Team, but over the past few years, they’ve unofficially become known as The Grandview Gangsters. Rob came aboard the team a few years ago. He has a number of responsibilities, but the main thing he handles is their social media account. He’s a perfect fit for it, too; he’s a fun-loving guy who really relates well to people!

Now…that having been said, if you’re ever at a tractor pull and stop at their pit to see the tractors, you’ll notice something. Nobody calls him Rob. Everybody calls him “Ralphie” and there’s a pretty hilarious story behind that nickname.

“Ralphie The Antique Guy”

The team was at the Schied Diesel Extravaganza, a great big Pro Pulling League event in Lyons, IN. They were relaxing after the pull in their pit area with some fellow competitors on Friday night when Jason Schultz from the Beer Money Pulling Team, came over to say hello. Kevin introduced him to the rest of the team (including Rob), and after a few drinks, things got pretty lively.

Now, for those of you who don’t know Jason as well as I do…his mind is always running about a hundred miles an hour. When you function like that, details can get lost in translation. (I speak from experience here – my mind acts like that too from time to time.) Furthermore, if you add a little whiskey to the mix, it amplifies things in the wrong direction. At any rate, Jason knew that Rob was an auctioneer, but for whatever reason he thought Rob’s name was Ralph. And since auctioneers often sell old stuff, he started referring to him as “Ralphie the Antique Guy.”

Initially, I don’t think Rob really loved the idea, but Kevin thought it was hilarious…and eventually the name stuck! And being a “go with the flow” kind of guy, Rob’s embraced it. I wasn’t there for that event, but I very distinctly remember getting SnapChats from Kevin, Rob, and Jason that night referencing “Ralphie the Antique Guy” and I remember laughing pretty hard about it! That’s his nickname in my phone, and I don’t intend to change that! It still makes me laugh today, too!

Y’know, come to think of it…this weekend (August 23, 2024) is the third anniversary of the weekend Ralphie got his nickname!

Wrapping up: “Everybody needs a Ralphie…”

Kevin Masterson and I were on a podcast together the first time I heard him say, “Everybody needs a Ralphie – dunno what I’d do without him!”

When he said it, everybody laughed – including Rob, who’d finally warmed up to the nickname.

However, I think there’s more to it.

Rob Dimmett is a dedicated guy who serves a lot of different communities, and he does them well. He’s a great hometown auctioneer, a nationally recognized cattle breeder, a mentor to the farm kids in Warrick County, a county councilman, and the PR guy for one of the most popular tractor pulling teams on the planet. That’s a lot of hats to wear, but he makes a big difference every time he puts one on!

He’s not the only one, either. There are thousands of men and women all over this country who wear a lot of hats and make a difference in their communities, and we need people like that. This applies across the board in my book, no matter how you define a community. Whether it’s farmers who need to sell a barn find 1456, 4-H kids who want to learn stockmanship, or tractor pulling fans who want to know how the Tinker Toy did this weekend, we rely on those people who are devoted to wearing those hats.

Kevin was right.

Everybody needs a Ralphie. 

By the way, I dug up one of Rob’s photos of that 1456.

Ralphie’s Dimmett Auction Service farm equipment listings on Tractor Zoom