WESTCHESTER, Ill., June 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. (IAA) the leading live and live-online salvage auto auction company and wholly-owned subsidiary of KAR Auction Services, Inc. (NYSE: KAR), today announced its partnership with SkillsUSA®, a national nonprofit organization designed to ensure America has a skilled workforce through serving teachers and high school and college students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled-service occupations. To date, IAA, along with its sister company, ADESA, combined has donated $100,000 in support of the key leadership development programming and the organization's overall mission. The two companies are proud sponsors of the inaugural "TAG Tuesday" Delegate Training Program. The "TAG Tuesday" program will provide student delegates attending the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in Kansas City, Missouri this month with leadership and networking opportunities that will allow them to "Train, Act, and Grow" into better professionals.
Underscoring the company's support of the organization, John Kett, president and chief financial officer at IAA, was recently appointed a committee member of the Youth Development Foundation of SkillsUSA Inc. Together, John Kett and Donald Hermanek, IAA's chief client officer and senior vice president, will be speaking at the upcoming SkillsUSA Conference, addressing over 375 students from across the country.
"Working closely with an organization such as SkillsUSA is good news for the automotive industry's future labor force -- no matter which side of the car's life cycle you manage," said John Kett, president and chief financial officer at Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. "This strong partnership enables us to support an important industry group that focuses on developing our nation's young, future leaders, while enabling us to reach key talent though internship and mentoring opportunities. We're proud to play an active role by providing funding in addition to working directly with local chapters and state associations and providing student internships. The reality is these young people will have the opportunity to gain leadership skills and hands-on job experience."
The organization serves more than 300,000 students and instructors annually along with 17,000 classrooms in 52 state and territorial associations.
"We are grateful for IAA's generous contribution to assist our students and programs," said Timothy W. Lawrence, executive director, SkillsUSA. "Through this partnership, SkillsUSA will be able to positively impact more students' lives by providing access to valuable leadership training through our local chapters, as well as offering important employment opportunities. Together, all of these initiatives play a critical role in shaping the career paths of our students and help them achieve greater success in their professional lives."
About SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA helps students discover and grow their career passions. As a nationwide partnership of students, instructors and industry working together, SkillsUSA works to ensure America has a skilled workforce. It helps every student excel. The nationwide career and technical education student organization annually serves more than 320,000 high school, college and postsecondary students—and their instructors—enrolled in technical, skilled, and service occupation instructional programs. Career and technical education is learning that works for America. SkillsUSA has the active support of more than 1,100 corporations, trade associations, businesses, and labor unions at the national level. Over 11.2 million people have been annual members of SkillsUSA since its founding as the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America in 1965. SkillsUSA programs teach leadership, citizenship and character development to complement technical skill training. The organization emphasizes respect for the dignity of work, ethics, workmanship, scholarship and safety. For more information, go to http://www.skillsusa.org/.
About Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc.
Insurance Auto Auctions is the leading live and live-online salvage vehicle auction company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of KAR Auction Services, Inc. (NYSE: KAR). Headquartered in Westchester, Illinois, IAA has over 160 auction facilities throughout North America offering towing, financing and titling services. With the most auction facilities in North America, IAA provides registered buyers from around the globe with millions of opportunities to bid on and purchase donated and salvaged vehicles. Since 1982, IAA has sold millions of vehicles through its weekly auctions for insurance companies, fleet and rental companies, financing companies, charity organizations and the general public. IAA also leverages its business model to assist charitable organizations in the US through its One Car One Difference® campaign. To date IAA has provided millions of dollars in additional funding to charities by assisting in the processing of donated vehicles. Learn how we are making a difference by visiting www.1car1difference.com. With a talented team of over 2,000 employees, IAA is committed to providing customers with the highest level of services in the salvage auto industry. Go to www.IAA-Auctions.com to learn more, and follow IAA on Facebook and Twitter.
SOURCE Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc.