William Milliken, GPPA, BAS, AMM

William Milliken, benefit auctioneer and principal in WJM Auctioneers, grew up in Augusta, Maine. Following a four-year enlistment in the US Army, Bill received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Southern Maine and a law degree from the University of Maine School of Law. After stints as a criminal defense trial lawyer, labor lawyer and general practitioner, Bill embarked on a career in business, opening and selling several beverage/liquor stores and a coffee shop. Bill has also been a legislative drafter for the Maine Legislature since 1998. Bill became involved in auctions in the early-mid 1990s, working for the then Barridoff Galleries, a fine art auction house in Portland, Maine. In 2017, Bill and a number of partners purchased the auction house and Bill obtained his Maine auction license, selling the now-named Barridoff Auctions in 2025 and opened his own auctioneering practice WJM Auctioneers. Bill is a graduate of the Western College of Auctioneering and current President of the Maine Auctioneers Association. He has received his Benefit Auction Specialist (BAS), Auction Marketing Management (AMM), and Graduate Personal Property Appraiser (GPPA) designations from the National Auction Association and is a third-year candidate in the NAA’s three-year Certified Auctioneer Institute (CAI) designation course. Bill authored “Maine Auction Law,” a comprehensive research and study guide for the licensing and practice of auctioneering in the State of Maine. Bill is also a licensed auctioneer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.