The National Auto Auction Association has cancelled its 2020 annual convention, NAAA president Laura Taylor said in a letter to association members Thursday.

The NAAA Executive Committee voted Wednesday to cancel the convention, which had been scheduled for October 6-8 in Dallas.

In the letter, Taylor called the decision “hard to make, but the right thing to do.”

“We thought long and hard about canceling our 72nd annual meeting. I thank and applaud the executive team for taking the responsibility to safeguard the health and well-being of our members and their families by making that tough call,” she said.

“Although a disappointment, I don't feel that this cancellation diminishes us as an association or shakes my conviction in our resiliency,” Taylor said. “This decision displays the strength of NAAA to do what is necessary to protect the industry and always act with the best interests of our members at heart.

“I'm inspired by that commitment to those values and by the dedication of all our members to reopen for business — even with all the extra work to see that precautions are in place to operate safely for all,” she said.

Taylor went on to express encouragement from the auction industry’s rebounding conversions, volume and pricing, calling it a “bright spot.”

She also described 2020 as “the Year of Change.”

“Yes, this Year of Change will be one we remember. But not for the differences from our old normal. It will have a place in our memory as the time we adjusted, adapted and went on with life,” Taylor said.

“Throughout the history of NAAA, the industry and our nation, we have always strived to improve, to succeed, to be better than before,” she said. “We haven't lost that momentum from the past.”

The full letter can be found here.