ADESA’s auction at the NADA Convention and Expo raised $94,423 for the NADA Foundation and the Canine Companions for Independence. From left to right: Jeff Carlson, 2016 NADA Chairman, Annette Sykora, NADA Foundation chair, Joe Verde, president of Joe Verde Group, Robert Bassam and Joel Bassam from Easterns Automotive Group; Peter Welch, NADA president, and Stéphane St-Hilarie, ADESA president and CEO.
It’s an annual event that gets lots of attention and generates buzz on the show floor at the NADA Convention & Expo, and raises lots of money for a worthwhile charity. The ADESA auction this year raised $94,423 for the NADA Foundation, that supports a group called Canine Companions for Independence, which provides highly trained assistance dogs to people with disabilities.
Retired Army Sgt. Steve Blackman and his service dog, Gottlieb, attended the auction today to represent Canine Companions, according to an NADA news release.
“My life has completely changed. No longer do I wake every morning wondering what the day is going to bring and if I can make it through it because I have [Gottlieb],” said Blackman, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in service.
“I know my family doesn’t have to worry about me anymore. I can go out and do things and leave the house because I have him. Canine Companions has made this possible for veterans and so many other people with disabilities. It gives us our independence back.”
As per previous years, the original winning bidder donates the vehicle back, so it can be re-auctioned. This happened again several times, with the eventual winner being Joel Bassam, director of marketing for Easterns Automotive Group, who placed the final winning bid of $28,000.
His father Robert had made the original winning bid of $39,000 and Joe Verde, president of Joe Verde Group (and a longtime supporter of the charity) was the second winner at $26,000. They also collected $1,424 in cash from those gathered around to watch the auction, bringing the total to $94,423.
“We asked dealers and attendees to bid high in honour of the 100th anniversary of NADA. They responded by generously opening their hearts and wallets to help support two amazing organizations,” said Stéphane St-Hilaire, ADESA president and CEO. “The NADA Foundation and Canine Companions work to change the lives of veterans and children with disabilities every day.”
