Get to know Jake Josko

The poet Carl Sandburg memorably dubbed Chicago the “City of Big Shoulders.” Chicago has long cultivated its reputation of being a place where people tackle the big, tough jobs. So, it is no wonder Chicago boasts the largest number of member businesses of any Machinery Dealers National Association (MDNA) chapter. And Jake Josko could not be happier about that.
 
Josko has been part of the MDNA for more than 25 years and now chairs its Chicago Chapter. He grew up in the auction business — his grandfather and father sold high-end antiques up and down the East Coast — and he started his own auction house in Connecticut fresh out of the military. Before long, Jake’s family worked its way to Chicago and put down roots there, in part, because “you’re about three hours from everywhere in the country.”
 
Josko is the Windy City’s representative for New York-based Apex Auctions USA, which specializes in online and on-site auctions, appraisals, and liquidations of industrial equipment. He joined the MDNA leadership in the late 1990s when his late father, John, was the Chicago chapter chair. John was a strong proponent of the MDNA and the values it represents, and Jake took the cue.
 
“I’ve felt that our gift in life, our bequest from others, is listening’’ he says. “For a long time, I listened to others refer to the benefits of joining the MDNA. Now I am a cheerleader — at chapter & board meetings, conventions, & networking with members, the message remains the same, if you actively participate you will benefit more than just monetarily.”
 
He has plenty to do, given the chapter’s size and geographic scope. Most of its forty-six member businesses are in outlying communities. Josko’s office, for instance, is in Crystal Lake, in the city’s far northwest suburbs.
 
“The good thing is, we’re all colleagues,” he says. “The size of the chapter allows you to leverage hundreds of industry experts’ knowledge at any given moment. And as colleagues, we help each other become more knowledgeable about the distinct types of equipment we each individually have expertise in appraising or monetizing.”
 
Josko finds the willingness to share expertise as the most satisfying aspect of his MDNA association.
 
“The MDNA becomes sort of your second family,” he reflects. “There are always people coming into this industry, always a lot going on, and as an association we must maintain a profound foundation of knowledge in all industrial verticals available to assist members and prospective members. We have that here in the MDNA.”
 
Chicago Chapter meetings often attract 30 to 40 attendees, he adds, which often results in profitable conversations.
 
“Over the years, I’ve learned that if you can help other people make money, it helps you, too,” he says. “It always comes back around.”
 
 
 
 

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