Maxine O’Brien, CEO of ISAA since May 2001, received the surprise of her life on Sunday, February 14th when she was inducted as the only non-auctioneer to join the elite company of the 35 members of the ISAA Hall of Fame. Past Presidents and Hall of Fame Members Jim Folger and Nelson Aumann announced the honor as Maxine, with tear-filled eyes, came to the podium. ”How my husband John (Hibner), son Bart (O’Brien) and daughter Amy (Bruchs) could keep that a secret is amazing,” she said as she addressed the standing ovation and introduced her family.
Maxine will retire as ISAA’s CEO on June 30th. ”It has been my honor and I am humbled to have represented this great group of people for the past 15 years,” she said. ”I love you all so very much.” In addition to a framed resolution, she was presented with a week’s vacation in the Bahamas and round-trip airfare for herself and John. She concluded by saying, “I don’t plan to ‘rust away,’ I’m writing three books, a children’s book of the fairy tales that I wrote when Bart and Amy were toddlers, a book of poetry about all the wonderful people and experiences I have known, and a Bible study guide for my pastor. I also plan to take lessons on the Allan Jackson autographed guitar that I bought at an NAA auction for $1700, do a lot of travelling with John, and get back to riding Quarter horses.”