The International Automotive Remarketers Alliance (IARA) has recognized Larry Brasher, president of Brasher’s Auto Auctions, and Jim Yates, remarketing director for Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., as the recipients of its first-ever Special Recognition Awards.

The IARA Special Recognition Award is designed to recognize industry leaders who transcend normal working duties to serve their communities in significant and meaningful ways.

Brasher has been an active member of the auction industry since the 1970s. He has held many leadership positions, including president of the National Auto Auction Association, and is a founding member of ServNet. Brasher was also instrumental in creating the Auto Auction Services Corp., and served as the company’s first president.

Brasher is the owner of the Sacramento Auto Auction, Northwest Auto Auction, Cascade Auto Auction, and a co-owner of the Reno Auto Auction. In March 2003, Brasher and his wife Anne left to serve a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After spending six months in Kiev, Ukraine, they are currently serving in Vladivostok, Russia. In the early 1970s, Brasher spent two-and-a-half years as a missionary for the LDS Church in Finland.

The other recipient of the IARA Special Recognition Award was Jim Yates, who, in addition to managing the vehicle remarketing activities for Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., in Torrance, Calif., has been actively involved with the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center of the University of Southern California.

The Andrus Gerontology Center is an organization dedicated to understanding aging and preparing professionals to work in an aging society. Last year, Yates chaired an event that raised more than $100,000 for the study of neurodegenerative diseases. His commitment to the Center has earned him a seat on the Center’s Board of Councilors. According to the dean of the Andrus Gerontology Center, “The faculty, staff, students, and myself, hold Jim in the highest regard for the ways in which he has benefited the organization.”