OVERLAND PARK, KS — After serving one year as NAA vice president, John Nicholls, AARE, AMM, officially took office as National Auctioneers Association president on Thursday, July 21, during the NAA International Auctioneers Conference and Show in Grand Rapids, MI. Nicholls’ term is effective from now until the 2017 Conference and Show next July. He succeeds Spanky Assiter, CAI, AARE, who becomes past president. “Last year when you honored me and elected me as vice president, I talked about the simple, basic values that lie at the heart of the cowboy way,” Nicholls said to Conference and Show attendees. “I told you that while I am in the sales business, some things are not for sale: integrity, principles, honesty, fair dealings, equal treatment and the best interest of the auction industry and the NAA. Nicholls also is president of Nicholls Auction Marketing Group in Fredericksburg, VA. “I am thrilled to say that our great association is in excellent hands and it is on the right pathway to 2020 and beyond,” Nicholls said. “We are already starting to look at how this industry will change in the next 10 years, and what we, the NAA, can do to support us as auction professionals as well as provide support for our businesses.” As president of Nicholls Auction Marketing Group, Inc., Nicholls oversees all day to day operations of the company. He is a second generation auctioneer who is licensed in 11 states and the District of Columbia and conducts over 300 auctions a year. Nicholls becomes only the third auctioneer from Virginia to serve as a NAA line officer, joining Morris Fannon of Pennington Gap (1972-73) and Foster Sheets of Roanoke (1950-51). n