Industry memories rekindled in new RTOHQ: The Magazine
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Introduction by APRO Executive Director Bill Keese,
“History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future.”—Robert Penn Warren
Knowing and understanding the history of rent-to-own and the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations is crucial in the pursuit of excellence for ourselves, our companies and our industry. Therefore, it is most appropriate that we rekindle the memories of our past during this, the 30th anniversary of our national trade association.
Most rent-to-own professionals probably have scant, if any, recollections of the obstacles that have been overcome and the trailblazing personalities who have helped shape the industry into what we all enjoy today. I hope you will take time to read and reflect upon our legacy in this and the next five issues of RTOHQ: The Magazine. The content will help you better understand who you are professionally and give you insight to prosper in the future.
In this issue, we present some wisdom and insights from 15 of APRO’s 17 presidents as they reflect upon the obstacles and achievements of their time in office. Mac Hennigan, APRO’s fourth president, is deceased. Unfortunately, we could not locate Dick Grauel, APRO’s fifth president. We believe he lives in West Lafayette, Indiana, but all of our efforts to locate Dick were unsuccessful. I regret this, as he was the president who hired me and gave me my first lessons in rent-to-own.
I have had the privilege of knowing all APRO presidents. Fourteen of the 15 men interviewed are still involved in some way with the industry; although a couple of them claim to be retired, they still have either financial interests in rent-to-own or immediate family members running companies. Only Ted Wilson seems to be completely out of rent-to-own, but that will change in July—Ted has promised to attend APRO’s 30th anniversary celebration in Louisville.
To give full measure to the office of president, we also profile the man who currently holds that position. According to Chinese astrology, the Year of the Tiger begins in February 2010. Tiger John Cleek is making the most of it as he winds down his two-year term as APRO’s president. In our feature by Kristen Card, Tiger reflects on personal and industry-wide accomplishments and the love of family that sustains him.
From the rent-to-own industry’s beginning, vendors have played an astonishing role in the development of our business. Three giants who contributed significantly in the early days of rent-to-own are Joe Eason of Transamerica, Tom Kitchens of Whirlpool and Norm Smith of Zenith. All three are deceased, but their names and contributions live on.
Joe and Tom did more business with rental dealers on the golf course than anyone else and APRO’s annual golf tournament is named for them. Norm was the godfather of our Vendor Advisory Committee and a longtime advisor to the APRO board on vendor issues. APRO named the RTO Vendor of the Year award in Norm’s honor. We offer these three men as our vendor focus for this issue Enjoy the magazine—reflect on the history within.
As Robert Penn Warren said, “so that we can better face the future.”