National Auto Auction Association president Laura Taylor said Mike Browning has played a strong role in many industry programs, and she said he has been “a quiet force behind the scenes in his leadership with NAAA's Executive Committee.”

In recognition of his various contributions to the industry and association, NAAA has named Browning a Warren Young Fellow.

Browning, who is general manager of Manheim San Antonio and past NAAA president, joins an exclusive group of 121 others who have earned the lifetime distinction of being named a Fellow.

He received a gold medallion and a framed commemorative certificate. Browning’s name will be engraved on a plaque of esteemed Fellows at NAAA headquarters.

NAAA bestowed the award with a $2,500 donation in Browning’s name to NAAA’s nonprofit Warren Young Scholastic Foundation. A Fellow is a donor at that level, or in whose honor or memory a contribution is made in that amount, to support the scholarship organization.

The Warren Young Scholastic Foundation was established in 2004 and named in honor of Warren Young Sr. NAAA described Young as “a pioneer of the auto auction industry,” who retired after 35 years of service to his profession and NAAA.

The foundation has helped 180 students pursue a higher education and raised more than $2.5 million. It awards $52,000 in merit scholarships each year for study at accredited institutions.

Taylor said Browning played a strong role in establishing NAAA's Disaster Relief Fund, which helps auction employees and their families recover from natural disasters.

She said he was also instrumental in creating the Auto Auction of the Year Awards for Excellence in Community Service “to show appreciation for the charitable acts auctions and staff volunteers perform, as well as encourage even greater public service."

NAAA said those initiatives came from personal experience. Browning, a native of Baton Rouge, La., was general manager of Manheim New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and in the aftermath of the storm, he witnessed firsthand the difference individuals can make by getting involved and giving back.

Since the disaster relief program began in 2016, NAAA has so far donated more than $150,000 to auction employees who have been victims of natural disasters.

Active in the association since 2007, Browning was secretary, vice president, president and board chairman of NAAA’s Southern Chapter before his term as president in 2016-2017.

He has also served on the NAAA board of directors and as its chairman. Currently, he is NAAA executive vice president, serving on various committees.

Browning started his automotive career in 1989 as a car salesman before working his way up the career ladder over the next eight years to become the general manager for Hopkins Toyota in Vicksburg, Miss.

He joined the auto remarketing industry in 2003, as the GM of Manheim’s New Orleans auction. In that post, he spearheaded the charge to rebuild a strong customer base.

That resulted in a 200% increase in revenue.

He became general manager of Manheim Mississippi, in Hattiesburg four years later and in 2014 became GM for Manheim San Antonio.

Browning’s professional memberships in addition to NAAA include the Mississippi Independent Auto Dealers Association, Louisiana Independent Auto Dealers Association and the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association. For that latter association, Browning earned the NIADA Eagle Award two years in a row.

He has raised a family of three with his wife, and his community involvement has included coaching Little League and volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, Catholic Charities and the Thames Elementary Annual Christmas Drive, and he served as a special deputy with the Forrest County Sheriff’s Office.