Don Kelly Stewart recently joined the staff of JM Wood Auction, based in Montgomery, Ala., as southwest regional manager. Stewart will be based in Tupelo, Miss., and will serve JM Wood customers in Mississippi, Arkansas and northern Louisiana. Seasoned auction representative Tim Irvin, JM Wood's previous manager of the area, retired in 2022 and left a void in a very active market.

Stewart had spent 16 years in the industry as a fleet manager for one of Mississippi's premier site contractors and coincidentally, a big JM Wood customer. Stewart left his company to go in a different direction in June. However, he ultimately decided to join JM Wood when the opportunity presented itself.

Representatives of JM Wood Auction said that Stewart will be a great asset to the auctioning business. As a previous fleet manager, he understands the complete life cycle of a machine and can share his knowledge with other contractors for determining when to sell — and when to buy. Stewart's first call was to his previous employer to continue helping their fleet department through the life cycle process.

JM Wood found Stewart's background and equipment pedigree very refreshing.

"Don has been busy working with equipment and at job sites for the last 16 years and when he meets with a customer or a prospect, it's strictly a conversation of core equipment knowledge and recommendations and ‘old school nuts and bolts.'" said JM Wood's Russ Wood.

JM Wood's Bryant Wood added, "Excited is an understatement about having Don join the JM Wood team. Don oversaw every aspect of one of the Southeast's largest construction fleets valued at over $50,000,000. We were excited when the opportunity presented itself for Don to bring his extensive working knowledge of machinery and trucks to our buyers and sellers." CEG