Each year dealers from coast to coast, as well as some from across the globe, join together at the NADA Show. The NADA Show is the Auto Industry Event of the Year and offers dealers and their teams the opportunity to learn the latest changes in the auto retail industry and explore shifts in the business environment to maintain dealership success. As all dealers are learning to navigate our business operations during the disruption brought with the coronavirus pandemic, attending the upcoming 2021 NADA Show in New Orleans will be more critical than ever before.

This is truly an unprecedented time; never before have dealers faced business hardship concurrently with a health pandemic. We need to further educate ourselves on how to manage this disruption and learn best practices for business success in an ever-changing environment. And NADA Show 2021 in New Orleans is the place the do it!

We are still learning the true impact of the pandemic to the economy, to our industry and to our businesses. While I am optimistic for a quick recovery, I don’t foresee full recovery by the time NADA Show takes place in January. We will need to leverage the expertise of our NADA staff and third-party vendors to refine the changes to our businesses.

We have all been in the trenches during this pandemic adjusting our processes, business plans, balance sheets and inventories—gathering best practices along the way. These valuable insights from the trials and tribulations of operating during the last three months will be just one of the many pieces dealers can learn in the four days of NADA Show. I encourage you all to attend and share these takeaways with your fellow dealers.

Please know that safety is our priority for the Show, and NADA is working through a detailed action plan to address social distancing concerns for members, attendees, exhibitors and show partners. For example, NADA will provide face masks upon entry to any attendee or exhibitor who requests one; no-contact registration will be available; and more space will be available on the expo floor, as well as in the show’s educational sessions, general sessions and franchise meetings to allow for social distancing. We are very fortunate to be holding the 2021 Show at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, one of the largest facilities in the United States with more than a million square feet of space. The space will allow all dealers to attend safely while providing us the ultimate flexibility in adjusting everything from the expo floor to the meeting spaces as needed.

For our truck dealers, while the ATD Show will not be held this year, I invite all ATD members to attend the NADA Show and take full advantage of everything NADA has to offer including its educational workshop sessions, action-packed exhibit hall, and general sessions with inspiring keynote speakers.

I simply can’t stress the importance of the upcoming NADA Show more. Now is the time for us to learn from the experts at the Show and from each other. Mark your calendars for the most important NADA Show you will ever attend. Your attendance is vital. Attendee registration and housing will open July 20, 2020.