The National Auction Association (NAA), founded in 1949, is an advocacy group representing auctioneers, auction businesses and related companies that seeks to promote the auction method of marketing and the practice of auctioneering in the United States. Its headquarters is located at 8880 Ballentine, Overland Park, Kansas, 66214, USA. Prior to July 2023, this non-profit was known as the National Auctioneers Association. A change was made to represent the vast auction network of professionals.
10-584: In 1952, Emma Bailey became the first woman auctioneer admitted to the Association. The NAA states that membership is at or around 4000 members from the United States, Canada, Australia, China, Czech Slovak, Great Britain, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the Virgin Islands South, and West Africa. Membership is open to anyone worldwide who is involved in marketing through competitive bidding or
20-569: A book about her experiences, titled Sold to the Lady in the Green Hat (1962). She continued her auction sales for almost 20 years before retiring "at the peak of her career" in the late 1960s. During her time as auctioneer, Bailey encountered opposition based on her gender: her first auction was postponed for several weeks after a male competitor accused her of breaking a zoning law. Her early sales were sometimes disrupted by men who "gathered in front of
30-467: A plate to an estate, signed: Emma Bailey, Brattleboro's Woman Auctioneer. On May 12, 1950, Bailey sold her first item, a 50-year-old rocking chair, for a price of $ 2.50. Her Saturday auctions soon became a regular local event, and her family helped out: Bailey's husband organized the sale items, and her daughters did the record-keeping and sold concessions. Bailey sold a wide range of items, including antiques, farm tools, books and household furniture, and
40-548: A substitute teacher at the local high school. Since their new home was an old house in need of repair, and the family was having difficulty paying bills, Bailey decided to start an auction business to supplement her husband's income. In April 1950, Bailey placed the following advertisement in the local newspaper: The Bailey Auction Barn on Black Mountain Road is prepared to handle auction sales. Courteous and efficient handling of all consignments, large or small. We will sell anything—from
50-778: A way to supplement her family's income. In 1952 she became the first woman admitted to the National Auctioneers Association . She continued auctioneering for nearly 20 years and wrote a book about her experiences, entitled Sold to the Lady in the Green Hat (1962), before retiring in the late 1960s. Emma Parascandola was born March 6, 1910, in New York City . She had two brothers and two sisters, and completed her schooling in Newark, New Jersey . She married Eli J. Bailey in 1932. In 1945, Emma Bailey moved to Brattleboro, Vermont , with her husband and two children. Eli worked as
60-548: The Certified Auctioneer Institute (CAI) the most revered professional designation an Auctioneer can acquire. The NAA offers these designation classes to its members and non-members alike at designation academies, and at its annual Conference and Show. The NAA also conducts seminars, and summits to educate its members. The NAA conducts various contests at the Conference and Show including a marketing competition, and
70-548: The International Auctioneer Championship (IAC). The NAA makes speakers available to state associations to educate their members on auction topics. Emma Bailey Emma Bailey ( née Parascandola ; March 6, 1910 – September 3, 1999) was an American auctioneer and author, credited with being the first American woman auctioneer. She held her first auction in Brattleboro, Vermont , on May 12, 1950, as
80-621: The auction method of marketing. Members pay dues and follow the NAA Code of Ethics. The NAA is primarily an educational group. Members of NAA Educational Trustees work with NAA staff, Board of Directors, and Executive Committee to produce educational opportunities for the membership. NAA classes and designations include Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate (AARE), Graduate Personal Property Appraiser (GPPA), Master Personal Property Appraiser (MPPA), Certified Estate Specialist (CES), Auction Technology Specialist (ATS), Benefit Auctioneer Specialist (BAS), and
90-504: The podium and heckled." Later, when Bailey and a rival male auctioneer both expressed interest in the same sale, the man proposed that he should get the sale because "he had a family to support", whereas Bailey already had a working husband. Bailey lost the sale. Despite her induction to the National Auctioneer's Association, Bailey was not always well supported by her peers: in 1960, when a reporter inquired about women auctioneers,
100-406: Was known for her "poetic" promotional descriptions of wares. She developed a reputation for fairness and "scrupulous honesty," once putting police onto a group of antiques thieves who had approached Bailey under false pretenses for help selling their goods. In 1952, after applying to the National Auctioneers Association , Bailey was accepted as the first female member of the Association. She wrote
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