Dealer Association Conventions
I truly enjoy this time of year when the Equipment Dealer Associations hold their annual conventions. Of course, last year, due to the Covid Apocalypse they were all cancelled. For the last several years I have always attended the North Dakota EDA convention. I will never forget the first time I attended their convention. I was sitting alone at a table when the CEO Matthew Larsgaard came over and invited me to sit at their table. I am so grateful for the friendship I have with Matthew and the entire staff. They have all been so supportive and nice to me. I also enjoyed attending the Minnesota and South Dakota EDA convention. I know a lot of the C&B dealers from Minnesota and South Dakota from the years I worked for C&B. Matt Cronin was a great boss to work for and has been so supportive of me and my family. I am honored to call him a good friend. I will even go as far as to call him a “Deere” friend. Oh, stop groaning, that was funny! In 2019, the three states merged together to create the Pioneer EDA, so I have been able to spend time with all my old friends at one convention.
The first Far West EDA convention I attended was in Hawaii in 2015. Ryan had qualified for the Xterra Triathlon World Finals which were being held on Maui, so Justin and I went over to support him. I know, it was quite a generous act on my part to go to Hawaii to support him! Earlier in the year, I had entered into a business partnership with International Ag University. He told me the Far West EDA convention was going to be held in Maui on the Monday after Ryan’s race, so I sacrificed some more and stayed in Hawaii a little longer. Since then, I have attended their conventions every year and became their exclusive training partner in 2017. This year they hired me as their Dealer Development Consultant. I have been able to meet a lot of leaders of the industry and make some great friendships and connections.
I enjoy these conventions because it reminds me of the time I spent working in the industry and all the hard work and dedication the equipment dealers put in to helping their customers. I appreciate the opportunity these conventions allow me to have productive conversations with many dealers and sponsors. It has been very beneficial for my training company.
But this year was even that much more special to me. Kristi was able to go with me to the Pioneer EDA convention and it was so nice to have everyone meet her. It was great to go to the different events with her and enjoy our time together. As I was watching her interacting and talking with everyone, I realized just how wonderful she is and how fortunate I am to get to marry her. I am one very lucky man! Thanks for reading.
Next week: My trip to Arizona
P.S. To everyone who attended the Johnny Holm show and the karaoke night in Fargo, I let Megan sing instead of me. You’re welcome.