SIDNEY -- Dickey & Associates has moved from south of Sidney to on the western edge of Sidney.

Dickey & Associates Auctioneers traces its roots a little more than four decades ago, and further yet to when owner Dave Dickey was a high school student.

A high school student at Otis High School, he was at an FFA event when suddenly the scheduled auctioneer could not make the event. Dickey says his teacher asked if he wanted to do it.

"We just had the FFA Labor Auction last Saturday, just a few days ago, and that was actually the first auction I ever did, in 1975. The auctioneer couldn't show up. I was a junior in high school. Of course I kind of lived at the sale barns in Brush, and Wray and Yuma, and so the advisor said 'Hey, can you be, you know, do you want to be the auctioneer? Because the auctioneer can't be here.' So I stepped up," Dickey said Tuesday at the grand opening of the Dickey & Associates new location.

He joked about if time has made him better at his craft.

"I don't know if after 40-some years if I'm any better than I was when I was 13 or not. But, since then, we've had a great time auctioneering. We've auctioneered  nearly everything on the planet. I've worked for some of the premiere auction companies everywhere," he said.

He said there is an increasing use of online auctioning although he prefers a live auction. He said he has worked for some of the premier auction companies.

The new location allows for more on-site auctions as well as storage. Following the ribbon cutting Tuesday, Dickey conducted a live auction at his new facility.

Dickey & Associate Auctioneers are now at 912 Fairgrounds Road just west of Sidney.