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Yvonne Tucker, a co-founder and president of
the Antiques & Collectibles Associations began her career in the insurance
business. Those years included experience in the retail insurance agencies, the
wholesale insurance marketplace, underwriting and managing an office for the
largest individually owned insurance wholesale brokerage company in the country. During her stint as manager of a wholesale brokerage company and placing business with Lloyds of London, domestic syndicates and surplus lines companies she became experienced in putting together insurance programs for associations and groups, both large and small. It was this experience along with her love of antiques that led to her involvement in the antique association business. Having been both a collector and dealer for many years and searching for insurance for her antiques business and coming to the realization that there was not a reasonable insurance product nor an association to represent the majority of antiques dealers in the country, Yvonne and her husband, Jim founded the Antiques & Collectibles Dealers Association (ACDA). Yvonne put together the first insurance program in the nation designed solely for antiques dealers. The benefits provided by ACDA include merchant services (credit card processing), supply discounts, travel discounts, seminars, educational symposiums, insurance products and a quarterly newsletter among others. Because of the demand for these benefits, the National Association of Antique Malls (NAAM) and the Antique & Collectible Show Promoter Association (ACSPA) were formed by request. All three associations continue to grow and expand their scope of benefits including projects including health and long term care insurance. Yvonne continues her involvement with the antiques industry through consulting with and for many of the on-line antiques sites as well as traveling throughout the country doing seminars and working with dealers and malls in the pursuit of educating and providing professional assistance to dealers and mall owners. The Antiques & Collectibles Associations provide a mentoring program for new antique dealers and mall owners as well as guidance through a system of district representatives across the country. Yvonne and Jim work to keep a constant stream of articles appearing in magazines and papers across the country regarding the positive issues pertaining to the antiques trade. Yvonne edits the association newsletters which are aimed at supplying educational and professional articles geared to the antiques and collectibles industry. |