A new era for how the wholesale industry will gather annually for its largest event is just a year away from dawning.

The National Auto Auction Association is gathering for its annual convention this week in Orlando, Fla. But next year, the event will be a part of the National Remarketing Conference during Used Car Week at the Red Rock Casino & Resort in Las Vegas.

The team at Cherokee Media Group (which publishes Auto Remarketing) orchestrates Used Car Week, which includes not only the National Remarketing Conference, but also the CPO Forum, the SubPrime Forum and the Re3 Conference.

They will be on-site at the NAAA Convention this week in exhibit hall booths 205 and 207. Stop by to learn more about next year's event — and meet baseball legend Lou Piniella during the opening reception from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

“It’s amazing to consider that in a little more than 12 months from now all of the great elements of the NAAA’s annual convention will be combining with the NRC to form an event that’s aimed to benefit all players in the wholesale space,” Cherokee Media Group president and Used Car Week chairman Bill Zadeits said.

“The addition of NAAA’s convention to Used Car Week is a natural fit for everyone concerned and allows industry professionals to concentrate their networking,” Zadeits continued.

“Our team not only is doing a great job of organizing this year’s NRC coming up in November, but also looking ahead at how to plan for NRC/NAAA 2016 to make it not only meet but exceed the industry’s expectations,” he went on to say.

The meeting will be known as the National Remarketing Conference and National Auto Auction Association Convention and will be held each year during Used Car Week.

Getting both organizations to this point in the process has taken more than a year.

Dave Angelicchio, a past NAAA president who spearheaded the effort for a combined meeting, said when the combined conferences were announced last year: “I am extremely pleased that we have reached agreement to combine our conferences beginning in 2016.”

He went on to say that one of the many benefits to be realized will be when people can make one conference trip instead of two.

Another former NAAA president, Jack Neshe, also expressed support when the deal was announced in 2014, noting that the combination of the two meetings could not be accomplished until 2016 because of existing hotel contracts.

One registration fee will be used for the NRC/NAAA, said Frank Hackett, NAAA’s chief executive officer.

He said when the combined conferences were announced that some professionals who normally attend a NAAA convention but not the NRC will now be able to network with other industry professionals, and the same is true in reverse, as there are some people who traditionally attend NRC but not NAAA. “This will be a great value to everyone involved,” he said at the time.

Ron Smith, chairman emeritus of Cherokee Media Group, said the relationship with NAAA further enhances the value and importance of Used Car Week.

“The vision we’ve always had for UCW was that professionals from different segments of the industry can meet over a one week period to get to know each other better and find common areas where it is beneficial for them to work together,” Smith said.