Presidents Letter
Hello MAA Friends,
April is upon us! I hope this newsletter finds you and your families doing well.
I want to start off by thanking each of you who attended our annual convention in Polson and for making it the great event that it was. Thank you Reed Tobol, Jason Clinkenbeard and your entire team for the hospitality and for planning a great event.
Two dates to add to your calendars this spring include MAA Day on The Hill, April 17th. If you are available, please join us in Helena during the Legislative Session to represent the auction industry, chat with legislators and sell two flags on the Senate floor. For additional information on this, contact Blaine Ophus, JK Kinsey or myself. Second, is National Auctioneers week, May 1-6. Plan to use this week as an opportunity to amplify your efforts in advocating for the auction industry and for your auction business.
Planning has started for the 2024 Wyoming / Montana (WyMont) joint convention, January 19-20. We have begun planning discussions with the WAA board. We have also started discussion within the MAA board as to how best to structure the conference, contests, speakers, and networking. Stay tuned for more on this as plans fall into place.
Thank you, once again, for being a MAA member. I trust that you value your membership and the great work we are able to do as auctioneers. Please reach out if there is anything the MAA can do for you.
Kind Regards,
Nick Bennett, MAA President
2023 Convention in Polson, MT
Article By Cole MorrisonÂ
Greetings auction friends! As your 2023 State Auctioneer Champion, I would like to thank everyone for their attendance and participation in Polson at our convention and contest this year. It was great to see everyone’s faces and spend time together once again. I would also like to give a shoutout to our amazing speakers and presenters this year: Stewart Kennedy, Scott Musser, and Morgan Hopson. Their shared insight and life experiences — from the NAA contest stage to the peanut butter factories of America — filled our minds with knowledge and our hearts with laughter. If you are wondering how peanut butter factories are related to the auction business, it’s probably not quite the the way you would imagine. But for those that know, I hope you all found your way home and are doing well!
As many of you know, this is will be my second year on our organization’s board. I want to thank you all for a great first year. I am looking forward to serving again this year on the Nominations Committee along with the help of Brian and Hannah. We will be reaching out to many of you over the course of this year and look forward to visiting with as many of you as we can.
Looking forward, we will be having our annual Day at the Capitol on April 17th. We look forward to meeting with out state legislators and hope that you can join us in Helena. There will be a Breakfast/Briefing at the Great Northern Hotel at 8:30 a.m. prior to meeting with our State representatives, Governor, and Lieutenant Governor. If you plan to attend, we ask that you please wear a navy sport coat, khaki pants, and a gold tie (tie to match MAA logo). For further questions, please reach out to JK, 877-243-6691 or Blaine, 406-390-5279.
Also, I am excited to announce that we will be meeting up with our friends from Wyoming and hosting them in Billings in 2024 for a Wy-Mont Convention and Contest. I foresee a great opportunity to connect with fellow auctioneers and industry professionals from just down the road. Be on the watch for more updates to come with regard to next year's meeting.
REMINDER: It is our duty and privilege as a board to serve our fellow members (if you are a member, this means you). Please let us know if there are specific ways we can be of assistance between now and our meeting next year.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you!
Congratulations to all the 2023 Montana Auctioneer Association Marketing Competition Winners!
