As my year at the helm nears an end, I would like to take a moment and thank the members of the board or directors and our executive serviceʼs providers for their hard work. Last year we faced a time of transition as the National Auctioneers Association made a decision to discontinue their service to our association. I applaud the board for deciding to hire Darron and Hope Meares to replace the NAA. It has certainly been a pleasure to work with them. The auctioneers in the state of South Carolina are lucky to have talented individuals who will serve them in the realm of our association. The South Carolina Auctioneers Association exists to insure our state auctioneers are responsible to their sellers as well as their buyers, accepting the Golden Rule as the standard, the Auctioneer pledges to observe the Law of God and the Law of the Land in all dealings and to conduct business in accordance with the Code of Ethics adopted by the South Carolina Auctioneers Association. This may sound like a simple charge, but it is not, it sets the members of our fine association apart from other professionals.

I face many struggles in my business during these difficult economic times, I am blessed with work, and opportunity, but the results at the end of the day are often disappointing. It is easy to consider letting professional dues lapse and not worry about the others in my profession. Our association and the National Auctioneers Association are seeing declines in memberships, and less attendance at the conference and show. I would like to ask all the members to reconsider the decision to not participate and realize these times like no other should show us the importance of networking and referrals. The continuing education and discounts offered to our members are worth more than the cost of membership. Several years ago I decided to take advantage of the GPPA class and begin doing appraisals, this has brought another stream of income into my business, and I am very excited I made this choice. I have also attended the Certified Auctioneers Institute class held in Bloomington, Indiana, on the campus of Indiana University, I also had the chance to get my ATS designation while it was being offered in Charleston. The NAA and the SCAA have offered me opportunities to get top notch education. When the public looks for auctioneering or evaluation services in these uncertain times, they are looking for trained professionals. I would encourage all of you to not only keep your memberships current, but get very active. Plan to attend our upcoming convention. If youʼve ever considered becoming an appraiser, plan to attend the GPPA class being offered this January in Charleston. I would also encourage you to mark your calendars for the National Conference and Show coming this July to North Carolina. It is time to step up and set yourself above the rest, the South Carolina Auctioneers Association is the first step.

Linda Page
SCAA President

Dear SCAA Members,

I hope this letter finds all our members having a happy and productive year. As we approach the Holidays, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all my fellow SCAA members greetings for a wonderful holiday season, full of blessings and warm memories with family and friends.

As we begin to wind–down this year and think about the next, I encourage you to take this time to evaluate the unique opportunities that we have as an industry in 2009. Our country is in a financial crisis and with such a crisis comes new challenges for our businesses and for our clients. Fortunately, we are in the unique position of being able to assist our clients through these difficult times by offering professional auction services. We can help clients sell difficult-to-move real estate or sell other assets at auction to gain back liquidity. We can help a struggling non-profit raise needed funds at auction by providing professional benefit auction consulting services. We will certainly need to revise our business plans in 2009 to adapt to these challenging times, but we are fortunate that we are in an industry that has opportunities for growth, regardless of the state of the economy in general.

I want to extend a personal invitation to each of you to attend our state convention in Greenville in January 2009. If you have not visited Greenville lately, you are in for a treat as the downtown has become a very vibrant and fun place to visit with wonderful restaurants, great shopping, and interesting sites to visit. The state convention will be an informative event for our members with opportunities to increase our business knowledge and network with fellow auctioneers. The convention will offer continuing education and will host the bid calling championship and elections for next year’s officers. Many of our members have spent countless hours planning the convention and to them I extend a big “thank you.” So mark your calendars and plan to attend our convention in January. We need you there for the event to be a success.

Matthew Holiday, CAI, BAS
President, South Carolina Auctioneers Association

Remember, the success of an association correlates directly to the willingness of its members to serve and participate. Make this the time that you make a difference for your profession! Feel free to contact me at Matt@AuctionSC.com or 1-800-554-4306 if you have concerns or questions.