Thank You for Supporting the Foundation in 2020

At the start of 2020, the year was shaping up to be just another year. Boy, were we wrong on that assumption on most levels. In March, everything changed with COVID-19. Lockdown, auctions cancelled or postponed, lack of cleaning supplies and toilet paper. My last live benefit auction was on March 13th where I sold a roll of toilet paper for $1,750. No, things were far from normal in 2020. 

Even with the crazy times of 2020, many of you pivoted with the NAA as we attended virtual classes, such as Conference and Show, Benefit Auction Summit and Designation Academy. The Foundation pivoted too by providing scholarships for these classes. 

The one thing that didn’t change in 2020 was the generosity of you, our donors. In the middle of a pandemic, YOU stepped up. YOU were the reason others were able to participate in life-altering educational classes. YOU were the one who gave over $102,000 during our virtual Pass It Forward. Did you know that amount is close to the same amount that we raised at Conference & Show in Jacksonville, Florida, 3 years ago! WOW, Thank you! 

In 2020, we had 404 donors give to the Foundation, 148 gave during Pass It Forward, eight gave in memory of a member. We like to honor those who have achieved giving levels. Three are two Double Diamond level donors, 21 are Diamond level, 21 are Sapphire level, 28 are Gold level, 46 are Silver level, and 354 Bronze level.

We had 33 new donors obtain the next level as follows: 

Sapphire
Scott Steffes, CAI, CES

Gold
Harold Musser, CAI, AARE, AMM
Randy and Barb Ruhter

Silver
Merle Booker, CAI, GPPA
Philip Gableman, CAI, AMM, GPPA 
Ruth Lind, CAI, AARE, BAS, GPPA

Bronze
Travis Augustin, GPPA
Nick Bennett, CAI, BAS
Daniel Billig, CAI
Trisha Brauer, CAI, BAS
Kent Corbett, GPPA 
Donald Cotton, CAI, CES
Shawn Dostie, CAI
William “Lloyd” Ferguson, CAI
John John Genovese, CAI, AMM, BAS
Randy Gordon, BAS
Jeffrey Henderson
Andrew Imholte, AMM, BAS
Jack Nitz & Associates
Jackson Family Foundation/Barrett Jackson
Joseph Joyner, CAI, AARE, BAS, CES, GPPA 
Rusty Lane, CAI
Misty Marquam, BAS
McCurdy Family
Andy O’Hanlon, CAI
Lori Rogge 
Sara Rose Bytnar, CAI, AARE, AMM, BAS
Isaac Schultz
Wayne Thorn
Connie Waddell, BAS
Shellie Weeks, CAI, AMM
Charles Whitley, CES
Tony Wisely, CAI, BAS 

Thank you for supporting the Foundation. We look forward to a more normal 2021 and hope to see you at the next gathering. 

—Christie King, CAI, AMM, BAS, Foundation President 2020-2021

The Foundation Helps the NAA in Times of Need

The National Auctioneers Foundation was born in the 1980’s to provide NAA members the opportunity to support NAA educational programs through tax-deductible donations. As the Foundation has evolved through the years, it has become more than a 501(c)3. The Foundation is a professional support entity capable of assisting NAA with sizable investment dollars to underwrite auction education.  

I vividly remember serving as President of the National Auctioneers Association in 2006-2007. I went to the Foundation and asked if they could help support the association to manage the debt reduction on the headquarters renovation, to retire the mortgage in a more timely fashion. The leadership of the Foundation was more than willing to give NAA that support. Thanks to the Foundation, NAA retired the headquarters renovation mortgage in half the time of the note payoff schedule.  

In recent years the “Pass It Forward” exercise has become very popular, to not only give members the opportunity to make Foundation donations, but to be recognized for it.  Through the generous donations of NAA members and a very prosperous, robust economy, we now have a significant investment portfolio, that gives the Foundation the opportunity to support speakers at Conference and Show. Also, the Foundation now has the financial capability to make sizable capital investments to aid the NAA in navigating through the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Foundation leadership is made up of NAA leaders and some of the most successful auctioneers in the auction industry.

In summary, I thank the many donors to the National Auctioneers Foundation. Your support and enthusiasm have been invaluable during this last year.

—William L. Sheridan, CAI, AARE, GPPA, Foundation Treasurer 2020-2021

Foundation Supports Youth in the Auction Industry

In discussing the future of the auction industry the NAA Board determined that our greatest resource is the youth of our country. The Board realizes that our future buyers, sellers and auctioneers are young today and many need to be introduced to the auction industry. At the same time, the American Farm Bureau created My American Farm, a series of learning modules for students throughout the United States, in classrooms and at state and county fairs.  My American Farm teaches lessons in real life situations. 

Different associations from across the country will be invited to participate and a game, “Auction Adventures” helps children learn how to calculate commission and do basic math problems using the auction industry as a backdrop. This is a learning module disguised as a game (most 5th – 8th grade students are not excited about clicking on a learning module). 

In addition to the game, the American Farm Bureau asked us to develop teacher resources to be used in conjunction with the digital resources. So we needed a few auction-related lesson plans and activities. Despite having several major agriculture companies footing the bill, it still required the auction industry to have skin in the game for the development. 

During this same time period, we explored how we could get in front of students in middle school and high schools.  We talked with several different student organizations including National 4-H and Boys & Girls Clubs. We were presented an opportunity to work with the National FFA to develop an Auction Industry Foundational SAE (Student Agricultural Experience).  By doing so, the National FFA would help get another curriculum out to students in 8,630 chapters throughout all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. All materials are branded with the NAA logo and the “Find an NAA auctioneer” link on NAA’s website is also be promoted. 

A student can sign up for the program and learn the business side of our industry. They attend auctions and interview auctioneers to understand our industry. If they are interested in a career as an auctioneer, they are advised to attend auction school. We developed NextGen (NAA Student membership) to allow these students to begin feeling like they are an important part of our industry, which they are.

After careful deliberation and many discussions, The Foundation understood that this was much more than an auction video game: it is important for the growth of the NAA, and will be a project to educate consumers to support our existing membership. All material has been completed and can be found under the student section on www.auctioneers.org. 
The Auction Adventures module is promoted on www.myamericanfarm.org and is currently being used in schools across the nation. The National FFA has been instrumental in promoting the Auction Industry SAE. Thanks to the funding from the National Auctioneers Foundation students are learning about the auction industry and without a doubt, we are training future auctioneers, auction buyers, and auction sellers.

-Scott Shuman, CAI, past NAA president