A Golden Anniversary And A Great Cause

The self-storage industry was still in its infancy in 1975 when the Self Storage Association (SSA) was formed. Now 50 years later, it’s hard to believe how far the industry has come in terms of growth, investor interest, and innovation. In celebration of this milestone, numerous events have been planned.

The annual SSA Trade Show & Conference will take place Sept. 2 to 5 at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, but this will be one like no other. As part of its 50^th anniversary, SSA will be holding a “50 on the 50 Celebration” on Sept. 3 at Allegiant Stadium, a multipurpose facility that hosts pro and college football teams as well as concerts and other special events.

 

One of the main attractions will be seeing award-winning musician Darius Rucker, the former front man of the band Hootie & the Blowfish, performing his hits exclusively for SSA attendees. “We couldn’t be more excited to have a musical icon like Darius Rucker headline our private reception in Las Vegas,” said SSA President and CEO Tim Dietz. “Darius is a legendary singer and songwriter who appeals to fans of all musical genres, and the SSA is thrilled that he chose to help us commemorate our golden anniversary.”

 

At the SSA’s 50^th celebration, Charity Storage and Kure It Cancer Research have also collaborated on an event on Sept. 2 to support their important causes. “Our teams have been working closely together and we have great things planned to celebrate SSA and the storage industry,” says Mario Macaluso, program manager for Charity Storage. “This includes custom commemorative SSA anniversary champagne bottles and auctioning off various vacation packages to destinations across the globe.”

 

Charity Storage was founded in 2011 by Lance Watkins, CEO of Tenant, Inc., and the late Barry Hoeven, founder of Westport Properties. It is a national self-storage industry nonprofit that is supported by many self-storage owners, operators, management companies, industry associations, organizations, and vendors. The organization uses existing storage facility operations to raise funds to support charities throughout the United States.

 

 

“Donated and abandoned items are placed into a vacant unit and the contents are auctioned off on site or online via StorageTreasures.com or other online auction platforms,” says Macaluso. “We provide 10 percent of the proceeds to the SSA Scholarship Fund, 20 percent to Kure It! Cancer Research, 10 percent to handle the administration for Charity Storage, and then the balance goes to the charity that the self-storage operator has chosen.”

 

Barry Hoeven was also the founder of Kure It Cancer Research. Celebrating 18 years as an Orange County, Calif.-based nonprofit, Kure It raises money for innovative cancer research for underfunded projects at comprehensive cancer centers across the U.S. Using a tenant-driven Round Up For Research program with storage partners, Kure It is leaving a significant mark on patient treatments, screening, and preventive programs.

 

“Kure It is deeply grateful to the storage industry for turning compassion into action. Your unwavering support fuels the research that brings hope and world-class treatment options to thousands of patients,” says Brooke Adams, director of strategy and development. “We encourage all self-storage operators and vendors to learn how they can support the good work we are doing with Charity Storage and Kure It’s Round Up For Research program. This program is designed to engage tenants to assist with raising funds for the SSA Scholarship Fund, Kure It, and Charity Storage.”

 

For more information, visit www.selfstorage.org, www.charitystorage.org, and www.kureit.org.