Dan Limber of Defiance and Ben Higgins of Marion won the 1998 Ohio State Fair Bid Calling Contest today. Mr. Limber won the Level I contest for auctioneers with one to seven years experience and Mr. Higgins won the Level II contest for auctioneers with eight or more years experience.

Donna Owens, director of the Ohio Department of Commerce, and Ronald J. Rotaru, Superintendent of the Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing, presented an award certificate to the two winners. The Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing licenses more than 3,200 auctioneers in Ohio.

The contest, which was sponsored by the State Fair, the Ohio Auctioneers’ Association and the State Auctioneers’ Commission, tested the contestants' skills in the categories of salesmanship, speaking, and bid calling.

During the first round, each of the 44 contestants sold an item that they brought to the auction. Afterwards, five finalists for each level auctioned one additional item.

Today's contest raised $7,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

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The Department of Commerce’s display at the State Fair is located in the southwest corner of the MarketPlace Building. The Division of State Fire Marshal is offering children an opportunity to practice the combined "Crawl Under Smoke" and "Know Two Ways Out" fire safety program. The Division of Unclaimed Funds is giving Ohioans an opportunity to check their names for unclaimed funds. The Division of Industrial Compliance's Bedding and Upholstered Furniture Section is featuring beanie babies to illustrate how it protects the public’s safety by testing the filler material used in stuffed animals, bedding and upholstered furniture.