From the President’s Desk, by Jeff Hines

Hello everyone!
First, I hope everyone is having a wonderful beginning to the New Year. When we were halfway through January, I thought maybe we will have an easy winter. Then it was Groundhog’s Day and the groundhog saw his shadow, I was thinking it was going to be an early Spring. That’s when everything wreaked havoc, snow storm after snow storm, but thankfully now we finally are getting a little break. Hope everyone is doing well with little to no water damage.

So far this year it has been very busy with strategic planning held in Mauston on February 24th & 25th which was conducted by Gary Kirking from the University of Wisconsin.

Next, several people from the board went to Kansas City for the leadership training that is put on by the NAA. This is a great meeting to attend as the NAA has the best speakers and one-on-one connection with each other. Wisconsin is being well represented and we always come back with a lot of updated knowledge of our industry.

On Thursday, April 18th , 2019 the Day on Hill was being held in Madison. Next year, I encourage everyone to plan to attend for a few hours, call your legislators and meet with us, reviewing the talking points for discussion and have a little demonstration in the rotunda. This is a great experience. The first year I went, I was unsure what to expect. After leaving there I was very impressed with how our legislators took the time out of their day to talk with us and then having our time in the rotunda. This is a yearly event held in April, mark your calendars to spend the day with us and marketing with your fellow auctioneers.

In July the National Auctioneers Association Conference and Show is being held in New Orleans from July 9th through the 13th. I encourage everyone to attend if you have never been there before. This event hires the best of the best speakers, continuing education, degree courses and marketing that our industry has to offer.

Spring is quickly approaching and as we gear up for a busy season. We have a lot of things going on throughout the state such as Brewers Night, gatherings at auction events, working with the State Fair, staying connected with WAA members and much more. If anyone has an idea of what they want the Board to discuss or work on, please send an email to Natalie at the WAA at info@wisconsinauctioneers.org or contact myself at 715-307-1275. We will be glad to bring it up to the board to discuss and act on.

Like last year, it was the year for continuing education and 2020 will be the next year for continuing education. We have a committee set up to provide to you some of the best speakers from the national and state level. Not only do you get your CE, but you obtain a wealth of knowledge from these speakers. I encourage all of the auctioneers from Wisconsin and neighboring states to support your own organization by registering with the WAA to receive your CE courses for 2020 whether it’s Conference and Show or other elected areas throughout Wisconsin. These dates will be confirmed by the Conference and Show this February 2020 in Stevens Point. Sign up now!

After being on the board for a few years and now the current President, I see how hard the board and Natalie is working to add value to every member. I am excited to see what the new changes we have coming and people putting this together of where we will be in the next few years to come. The biggest challenge we face is the change of the auctioneer. Whether you are a live-only auctioneer or an online-only auction company, with the changes in the auction industry it makes auctioneers think differently about the value in being a WAA member. There will always be a need for auctioneers whether it’s live or online. We as a whole, are stronger as one. I encourage all members of the WAA to talk with your neighboring auctioneers to become a member and take advantage of what the WAA has to offer and stay connected.

I wish all my fellow auctioneers to have a wonderful summer and looking forward to seeing you all at Conference and Show!!

Sincerely,
Jeff Hines