Convention Memories & More

2 weeks ago

Let's get excited for The Challenge of Change- Omaha 2019. Our annual convention will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton on Friday, May 17th, Saturday, May 18th and Sunday, May 19th. We are also pleased to announce that we'll have “Dueling Pianos by Fun Pianos!” for our Saturday night entertainment. Fun for all ages! Please mark this on your calendars.

Hotel arrangements can now be made by calling the DoubleTree by Hilton, group sales coordinator at 402-636-4906 Mon-Fri 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM. Room rate is $114 plus tax. ... See MoreSee Less

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Nebraska Auctioneer's Association

2 weeks ago

The Nebraska Auctioneers Association and Auxiliary would like to extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Lola A. (Dirks) Johnson, Bruning, NE. Lola was a past president of the NeAA Auxiliary and her husband, Don, was also president of the NeAA.

A Funeral Service for Lola was held on Monday, November 26, 2018, at 10:30 a.m., at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bruning, Nebraska, with Pastor Stuart Sell presiding.

Organist, Janice Fintel, accompanied the congregation as they sang, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord”, “Beautiful Savior” and “What A Fellowship, What A Joy Divine”.

Lola’s son-in-law, Sam Packard, played “Amazing Grace” on his Violin during the funeral service.

Pallbearers included David Swanson, Mark Wilkening, Taylor Dirks, Daniel Vinkenberg, Larry Garland and Allan Garland.

Honorary pallbearers were Lola’s grandchildren; Bethany Swafford, Halsey Gorecki, Mollie Packard, Oliver Packard and Evelyn Packard and her great-grandchildren; Mallory Bechtold, Tayvin Dirks, Lucas Dirks, Aiden Gorecki, Dirks Swafford and Adalynn Gorecki.

Graveside Services were conducted from the Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery in Bruning, Nebraska following the funeral service.

Memorials were directed to the family for a later designation in Lola's Memory.

Farmer & Son Funeral Home was in charge of funeral arrangements.

Lola Ann (Wilkening, Dirks) Johnson was born to Edward and Alma (Finke) Wilkening on June 27, 1939 in Alexandria, Nebraska. Lola died on November 20th, 2018, at Bryan West in Lincoln at the age of 79. She was surrounded by her family.

Lola was baptized in July of 1939 and confirmed in 1953 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Bruning. In 1956 she graduated from Bruning Public School. She then moved to Lincoln where she attended Lincoln School of Commerce and worked at Walgreens on O St.

She was drawn back to the Bruning area by her sweetheart Donald Dirks. Don and Lola married on May 3, 1957 at Grace Lutheran Church near Ohiowa. She was highly involved in the family auctioneering and real estate business, drove school bus, cooked at school and was a teachers’ aid.

Lola was an active member in Trinity Lutheran Church. She was a past President of the Nebraska Auctioneers Auxiliary and past President of Bruning General Federation of Women’s Club. She was a member of Circle 2 of Trinity Lutheran, Bruning Alumni Association, and Ladies Aid of Grace Lutheran. After the death of their oldest daughter, Deb, Don and Lola started Compassionate Friends group in Geneva, for parents experiencing the death of a child.

She taught confirmation classes, provided transportation for young and old, was a church organist in the area and wrote the local Bruning news for area papers for many years. Lola was a Homeless Connect volunteer for 9 years. She also volunteered in the fundraiser for the Nicaragua Mission Team in Hastings for several years. She was called upon to coordinate meals after the 1984 tornadoes struck the community.

Lola bravely fought cancer more than once. Due to failing health she moved to Lincoln and resided at The Legacy Terrace. The friendship and care she received prior to and during this time were a blessing. She had her motto: “Life’s not fair, but God is good,” to help remind herself and others during the tough times.

Lola’s greatest enjoyment was her grandchildren and great grandchildren. The annual family vacation to places such as Minnesota and South Dakota were treasured by her. As her family grew, the yearly family weekends at the cabooses, or a cabin, were thoroughly enjoyed.

She had a special gift in remembering others with cards and flowers on many occasions. Lola’s humor rarely lapsed and came out most frequently when around her close friends and family. Lola had many interests and talents in her life; a love for music of any form, enjoyed playing cards, games and doing puzzles. Socializing was very important, the coffees and visits throughout her whole life were memories she treasured. Her favorite teams were any that her kids or grandkids played on, the local high school sports teams, and Husker volleyball. Quilting, embroidery and writing calligraphy were often passed on as gifts.

Lola was married to Vernon Johnson of Bruning on December 24, 1988. They spent endless hours creating beautiful woodworking pieces, which can still be seen around Bruning. Together they took pleasure in sitting on the deck, playing cribbage, and frequenting Betty’s Place.

Preceding her in death were her parents, husbands, daughter, Deb, brothers, Dale and Roger, and sister, Kathy.

She is survived by son, Dean (Michelle) Dirks, Bruning; daughter, Deanna Dirks, Hastings; daughter, Denise (Sam) Packard, Lincoln; Stepson, Bill (Joni) Johnson, Omaha; Stepdaughters: Marjorie (Bob) Bedlan, Shickley; Colleen Wiedel, Lafayette, IN. Sister, Nancy (Bob) Swanson, Waconia, MN; Sister in laws, Linda (Wilkening) Anderson, Trish Wilkening, Verienne Hulse and Dolores Johnson; Grandchildren: Bethany (Jason) Swafford, Taylor (Brooke) Dirks, Halsey (Matt) Gorecki, Amalia Packard, Oliver Packard, and Evelyn Packard. Great Grandchildren: Mallory, Tayvin, Lucas, Aiden, Dirks, and Adalynn. Also surviving are some very dear nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. ... See MoreSee Less

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Nebraska Auctioneer's Association

2 months ago

A Message From Your President,
Mark Beacom

I am delighted, as well as challenged, to have advanced through the chairs to represent all of you for the Nebraska Auctioneer’s Association this year. We have some exciting things planned for the upcoming year that I will elaborate on later in this article, but first, there are some other things to discuss.
Thank you and huge congratulations to our immediate Past Presidents Miles and Brenda Marshall, as well as our newbie, Diane Duren, for a great year of leadership and a fantastic convention culminating with the auctioneer of all auctioneers, LeRoy Van Dyke. Miles, you are a tough act to follow, but thank you for all the hard work and sponsorship.
Our President-Elect Travis Augustine, deserves a huge round of applause and deep congratulations for arranging one of the most unique and successful auctioneer championship contests we have ever had in our association. Great Job Travis. Congratulations are also in order for our Auctioneer Champion, Neil Bouray, Reserve Auctioneer and Ringman Champion Scott Jarman, Runner Up Justin Banzaf and Rookie of the Year Heath Downing, as well as the top ten finalists and all of the contestants supporting our great industry and association.
As a result of our elections, I am proud to announce that Roy Montgomery was elected Vice President and Austin Creamer, Courtney Nitz and Lindy Elson were elected to three year terms on the board of directors. Please join me in congratulating them on their new positions.
Our new Executive Director, Diane Duren of Rising City, has been hard at work launching our new web site and updating content. The new site has a clean and fresh look and is responsive to mobile. As the work to this site is completed you will find an easy log in and upload for your upcoming auctions as well as news and information that we hope will be more timely.
This year, we added a couple of events to the association schedule. First, on August 15 in York, NE, the board of directors met at 6 PM. Immediately following, we invited any auctioneers that were members, or auctioneers that are non-members to join us to learn more about our association and network with other auctioneers. One of the largest benefits of the Nebraska Association is the networking and friendships that develop. We were happy to see some of you at the meeting to be able to get an update on association happenings.
I have always thought, and many times said, that our association does not gather together enough. Some years we have had only the winter conference and convention. This year I would like to announce that for the first time we had a Nebraska Auctioneer’s Association tailgate party in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the tailgate for DurenNation, with our executive director, Diane Duren and her family as the hosts. The event was fun and we had many members who stopped by.
AuctionTime, Ruhter Auction & Realty, Moravec Auctions, Jack Nitz and Associates and Auction Solutions, Inc. sponsored the event. This event was held on Saturday September 8 for the Cornhuskers vs. the Buffalos at Memorial Stadium.
2019 Convention for the NeAA will be May 17-19, 2019, beginning with the opening night party and fun auction at the Riverfront Landing. This is a beautiful outdoor facility in North Downtown Omaha on the Missouri River bank. We will start the evening with a riverboat cruise and then open for the fun auction and dinner. The rest of the convention will be held at the Double Tree Hotel on 16th and Dodge. We are planning to have some highly qualified speakers including Mike Brandly, one of my favorite speakers, discussing the subject of auction law. Check the NeAA web site and Facebook often as details are made public.
Many of us traveled to Jacksonville FL, for the National Auctioneer’s Association Convention and Nebraska was well represented in the IAC
championship this year as always. Congratulations to our neighbor Emily Wears-Kroul for winning the ladies division and to Barrett Bray with an amazing performance in the men’s division as a first time contestant.
I always enjoy the NAA convention and feel like I am at a family reunion every time I attend. Our industry is full of individuals that are willing to share ideas and information as well as partner on jobs and just enjoy telling stories. The NAA is an organization that will truly help you advance your career in this industry. If you are not a member, you should give it some thought.
We as an industry are at a crossroads again, because of technology. The most serious issue facing us is the Supreme Court decision on Wayfair vs. South Dakota. Already 25 of the 50 states have passed sales tax legislation that will affect all of us that are selling anything across state lines. The NAA is working to understand the impact, as we all should be. At this point, I think we all must know these sales tax laws are rapidly changing from state to state. We need to begin gathering advice from our accountants and attorneys as to how we are going to have to deal with this issue going forward.
Another industry disruption affecting our profession is the power and impact of social media marketing. I completed a three-day course that dealt with this in detail. I highly recommend that anyone interested in the newest wave in marketing should attend this class put on by NAA. Currently, I am working with our executive director to bring that class to Nebraska in the spring.
I hope you all are having tremendous success and I look forward to seeing you all soon.
Mark Beacom, CAI, GPPA
President, Nebraska Auctioneer’s Association
Auction Solutions, Inc.
Omaha NE. ... See MoreSee Less

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Nebraska Auctioneer's Association

2 months ago

For those of you that like receiving our NeAA newsletter, please let me know if you have some news that I need to be aware of. I don't know all the happenings, and if you send it to me I can determine if we have room in the next newsletter. I'm going to be working on the January newsletter in a couple months, so send info my way. Thanks Diane Duren ... See MoreSee Less

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Nebraska Auctioneers Association

Convention Memories & More

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