FREDERICK, MD — A new and improved conference and convention schedule is in the works for 2010, thanks to the National Auto Auction Association and Bobit Business Media, which have announced plans to combine next spring’s NAAA Business & Quad Zone Meeting and Bobit’s Conference of Auto Remarketing (CAR). The event is scheduled for March 3-5, 2010 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

NAAA and the Bobit group determined that a combined conference would best serve the auction and remarketing industries by providing expanded training and networking opportunities while conserving travel costs and time away from the office.

“It’s a new economic climate, and the timing is right for us to make changes that will make the best use of our time and resources while attending to the vital work of NAAA’s rapidly-evolving agenda,” said NAAA President Bob McConkey.

“NAAA’s partnership with CAR will enhance and expand upon what is already the Spring’s premiere remarketing event,” continues McConkey. “Much of the training and education is common across the industry. Providing a single gathering place will increase communication and enhance the sharing of information, and we anticipate that attendance from all sectors of the industry will increase substantially as both auction representatives and remarketing executives see this conference as a must-attend event.”

“Bob McConkey and I have talked at length about the strengths of our organizations and how we could help each other,” noted Ed Bobit, CEO of Bobit Business Media. “With his drive to promote strategic cooperation among various elements of our industry, Bob’s vision for a combined conference was a compelling one. CAR 2010 promises to deliver a significantly greater return on investment for both groups and all attendees.”

Bobit Business Media will continue its strategic partnership with the International Automotive Remarketers Alliance (IARA), which will continue to co-locate its Winter Roundtable Meeting with CAR.

NAAA Executive Director Frank Hackett notes that representatives from NAAA and Bobit Business Media will work together to plan next year’s conference, which will include joint training sessions, business meetings for individual groups, and social activities.

“Our intent is to start with a clean sheet as we plan next Spring’s Conference, so that we can develop an event that best meets the needs of the various entities that make up the auction and remarketing industries,” explains Hackett. “At the same time, our overriding vision for the conference is the understanding that the auction and remarketing industries are closely connected. NAAA auctions represent the vast majority of the remarketing activity in North America, so it makes sense for the auctions, for the remarketers, and for the sponsors to meet together in the same place at the same time, to share ideas, to strengthen relationships and to plan for the future. We believe this combined conference will be of enormous value to all NAAA members, auction customers, and vendors, and will become the standard by which industry meetings are measured.”