3/5/2026 | Hurley News
Leading Through Education
When you hire a company to sell your farm or land, you want to know you’re working with leaders in the industry—not followers.
Over the past year, several members of the Hurley Real Estate & Auctions team were recognized nationally and invited to teach fellow auction professionals at major educational events hosted by the National Auction Association.
These invitations reflect not only our team’s experience in the farm and land auction industry, but also our ongoing commitment to learning, innovation, and excellence.
Teaching at the Industry’s Premier Conference
In July, Kaleb Hurley traveled to Chicago, Illinois to present a training session at the National Auction Association’s Annual Conference & Show, an international event that draws auction professionals from across the world.
Kaleb’s session focused on strategies for selling real estate at auction and was highly attended by professionals looking to improve their approach to marketing and selling property through the auction method.
At that same conference, Trista Hurst, Creative Director at Hurley Real Estate & Auctions, led a session focused on modern marketing strategies for real estate and land auctions.
Her presentation explored how auction companies can:
- Reach more qualified buyers
- Maximize marketing exposure
- Create stronger competition among bidders
- Ultimately drive higher sale prices for sellers
These are the same strategies our clients experience firsthand when they choose Hurley Real Estate & Auctions.
Sharing Branding Strategies with Top Real Estate Auctioneers
In October, Kaleb was again selected to teach—this time at the National Auction Association’s Real Estate Summit in Colorado.
This event brings together some of the top real estate auction professionals in the country. Kaleb’s session focused on how auction companies can strengthen their branding to support long-term growth, credibility, and success in competitive markets.
A Prestigious Industry Honor for Matt Hurley
In December, Matt Hurley received one of the highest professional honors in the auction industry: being selected to teach the National Auction Association’s prestigious Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate (AARE) designation course.
The AARE designation is the top credential available for real estate auctioneers nationwide.
Matt originally completed this course more than 20 years ago and never imagined he would one day return as an instructor. This year, he traveled to Las Vegas to lead the intensive three-day training program for auction professionals from across the United States—and even as far away as Africa.
Continuing to Educate Auctioneers Across the Country
The invitations to teach continued into the new year.
In January, Matt and Kaleb Hurley were invited to speak at the Pennsylvania Auctioneers Association Convention in Harrisburg, where they conducted two educational sessions for fellow auction professionals.
More recently, Trista Hurst traveled to Kansas City to teach at the National Auction Association’s Digital Marketing Summit. The event sold out, bringing together auction marketing professionals from across the country to learn advanced strategies for reaching today’s buyers.
And the teaching continues.
Trista is currently preparing for another National Auction Association program: a virtual seminar titled “AMM Mastermind: Rethinking Auction Marketing Myths.” This facilitator-led session will bring auction marketing professionals together online to discuss and challenge common misconceptions surrounding auction marketing.
Why Education Matters to Our Clients
It has been a busy season filled with teaching, travel, and collaboration—but education has always been at the heart of what we do.
At Hurley Real Estate & Auctions, we believe the best investment we can make for our clients is to continually:
- Improve our strategies
- Innovate our marketing
- Stay ahead of industry trends
- Share knowledge with other professionals
When you choose Hurley Real Estate & Auctions to sell your farm or land, you’re choosing a team that not only practices the industry’s best methods—we help teach them.
