The 2026 Dealership Minds Summit, held at the President Abraham Lincoln DoubleTree Hotel in Springfield, Ill., on August 4-5 drew a crowd of over 220 attendees — including 134 first-timers — from 45 different dealership groups across the U.S. and Canada.
Centered on the theme of “Maximizing Operational ROI,” the program featured 2-days of dealer-to-dealer roundtables sessions, panel presentations, general sessions, breakout classrooms and intense networking opportunities — all designed to equip attendees with everything they need to magnify their best practices and drive operational excellence in an uncertain market.
Farm Equipment executive editor Kim Schmidt noted during opening remarks that attendees would head home with actionable ideas to share with the rest of their management team back at the dealership, and based on feedback she received from those in attendance, the Dealership Minds Summit delivered.
“Beyond just the informative sessions, one of the aspects of the Summit that always stands out for attendees are the roundtable discussions and networking opportunities. And from what I heard from dealers in attendance, this year was no different. In a year when we had the challenge of OEM and other vendor meetings being scheduled at the same time, it was great to see a large crowd join us in Springfield — especially with so many first time attendees,” says Schmidt. “This is always two of my favorite days of the year and I was very pleased to see, and be part of, many thought provoking and idea-sharing conversations over the last two days.”
Among the highlights of the 2026 Dealership Minds Summit were a first-ever Dealership Shark Tank that featured several cutting-edge dealers and the new products/services they’ve had a hand in developing; the "fan-favorite" Dealership of the Year Alumni panel that featured a candid conversation about the successes and lessons that have propelled these dealer groups to industry-best status; an energizing look at unlocking the power of critical thinking in equipment dealerships that has been dubbed the “Moneyball of human capital”; and a special awards ceremony that officially welcomed several members of the Farm Equipment Dealer Hall of Fame: Don Van Houweling (Van Wall Equipment), Ron Birkey (Birkey’s), Tim Brannon (B&G Equipment), Alex Swiderski (Swiderski Equipment) and Jack Stankievech (Trochu Motors)
From the single-location independent retailer to the multi-store farm equipment dealer, intense knowledge sharing and networking were in abundance throughout the 2026 Dealership Minds Summit.
The 2026 Dealership Minds Summit was made possible with the support of these title sponsors: AgDirect, AgGuard, Basic Software, Brilliant Harvest, DIS, Geringhoff, Lahzo, NAEDA, RIMSS, Summers Manufacturing, Titan International, TractorHouse, VitalEdge and Warranty Consulting Services.
It was also announced that the 13th Annual Dealership Minds Summit will be held in the Quad Cities (Iowa) on August 3-4, 2027, with Basic Software and Warranty Consulting Services already committed to return as a Title Sponsor and continue their support of this industry leading event.
For the additional updates, visit DealershipMindsSummit.com.
