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Habitat for Humanity Project Keeps Building and Building

While others are going crazy preparing for the millennium, APRO members are rolling into it with growing momentum toward the fight against homelessness. APRO’s recent affiliation with Habitat For Humanity International has reached a grand total of $90,000. The $90,000 figure represents in kind and cash donations from dealers throughout the nation beginning with the jimmy Carter build in Houston, TX, in June 1998. APRO members are donating everything from stoves, refrigerators, washers, dryers, cash and even a roof.

Team members carefully move a large boxed component into the building as part of the Texas build.
Team members hammer and secure wooden framing as part of a community home build.
The Texas Build

The Texas Association of Rental Agencies fulfilled its 12 stove and refrigerator donation during Austin’s Habitat build in November and December. TARA representatives Clyde DeLoach, Kelly Sayre and Lynn Clark attended the groundbreaking ceremonies, met some of the families and posed for pictures. Texas’ donation leads the nation’s state rental dealers association contributions thus far, proving once again that everything is big in Texas.

Courtney and J.J. Engeran from National Home Furnishings in Slidell, LA, participated in the ceremonies of their neighboring Habitat affiliate in Covington, LA. The Engerans presented certificates to each of the six families awarding the choice of a stove, refrigerator or washer/dryer.

Missouri’s Show Me Rent to Own owner Gary Romine raised the roof for the St. Francois County’s first Habitat For Humanity house by donating $500 for the roof. Former APRO President Kevin Quinn and his Quality Rentals partners took care of the Seattle Habitat build by donating four stoves, refrigerators, washers and dryers. The Ohio Rental Dealers Association and APRO members Gary Ferriman and Bill Wendell donated three refrigerators and stoves to the Canton, OH, build.

“The Canton Habitat affiliate is very active, so when they asked for additional appliances, we were just following up on the call from APRO and the donation from ORDA,” says Ferriman. “We felt it was a good way to support the charity and the APRO initiative. It was a fun event and a good project for our employees, especially watching the smiles on the faces of the families when we delivered the appliances”

A volunteer installs a donated kitchen appliance as part of Habitat for Humanity efforts, supporting families with essential home equipment.
Volunteers deliver and move donated appliances into a newly built Habitat for Humanity home, contributing to the fight against homelessness.
The Charlotte Build

RentWay CEO Bill Morgenstern continued his commitment and charity with a $10,000 cash donation to Habitat For Humanity during the holidays. Morgenstern and RentWay lead the industry in charitable contributions and Habitat For Humanity participation. Along with the cash donation, RentWay also gave away 20 stoves to the Charlotte, NC, Habitat build, a contribution worth more than $5,000. Over the years, RentWay has donated literally thousands of dollars to fight homelessness Since June 1998, RentWay’s donations just to Habitat For Humanity have exceeded $35,000.

USA Rental Purchase donated a refrigerator and stove to the first Habitat For Humanity house in Pell City, AL. The donation is nothing new to USA’s owner John Abbott IV, who not only serves as a city councilman for Pell City, but also his rent-to-own store was nominated recently as the city’s small business of the year by the local chamber of commerce.

Abbott believes that this nomination reflects his business. USA Rental-Purchase donates money and / or products to everything from the local fourth of July fireworks show to the elementary school and can be seen throughout the community and the newspapers by virtue of Abbott’s philosophy of public relations.

“If a store can give one inventory item just once a year, it would greatly improve the image of the store and the industry. Our donations show the community how successful our business is and makes our customers feel good about doing business with us. It really opens people’s eyes, especially those of local community leaders.”

Abbott counts 10 different occasions just in the past year where his store, his name and / or his employees were featured in the local newspapers, including the latest donation to Habitat For Humanity.

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Mike Lewis

Central Properties dba Premier Rental-Purchase

Mike Lewis is a Premier Rental Purchase franchisee with multiple stores and currently serves as Vice President of Operations. With 33 years of experience in the rent-to-own industry, he has spent the past 20 years working closely with franchisee owners and previously spent 12 years in Corporate RTO, gaining a strong foundation in the business.

For the past five years, Mike has been sharing his knowledge by teaching managers and franchisees at the company’s Training Center.

Outside of work, he enjoys time with his family, kids, and grandkids, and appreciates the simple things in life – especially riding his Harley Davidson with the sun on his face. If you know, you know!

Lauren Talicska

Arona Corporation dba Arona Home Essentials

Lauren Talicska is an experienced multi-channel marketing specialist and the Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Arona Home Essentials. She has found her home in the RTO community, supporting stores in branding, growth, and increasing traffic.

You may recognize Lauren as a former RTO vendor, including her time as a partner for Nationwide RentDirect, or her previous participation in the APRO Vendor Advisory Committee. Lauren calls Columbus, Ohio, home and spends her workday crafting and executing marketing promotions from inception to realization, all while supporting the branding and social media needs of all the Arona stores in 12 states (plus Puerto Rico!).

Charles Smitherman

APRO

Charles Smitherman, JD, PhD, CAE, became CEO of APRO in 2023, bringing years of legal and executive experience in the rent-to-own industry. 

Prior to joining the association, Charles served as COO, General Counsel, and Vice President of PTS Financial Services, where he played an active role in the rent-to-own industry by representing his company through PTS’s club program offering with APRO member dealers. Charles is an attorney with two decades of experience across a wide variety of areas, including RTO, consumer financial services, antitrust, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, litigation, franchise law, and privacy law. Following law school at the University of Georgia, Charles earned a Master of Legal Studies and PhD in Law from the University of Oxford in England.

Charles is credentialed as a Certified Association Executive (CAE) with the American Society of Association Executives, a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) with the International Franchise Association, and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) and Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) through the International Association of Privacy Professionals. As APRO’s sixth CEO in its 45-year history, he brings a collaborative, member-focused approach to association leadership, emphasizing transparency, advocacy, and value creation. Outside of work, Charles is an active ultra runner and open water swimmer.

Mike Kays

Ashley Furniture Industries

As VP of Rental Sales for Ashley Furniture Industries, Mike thrives on building relationships with our RTO industry veterans, and helping businesses grow through new product, new marketing, and new supply chain options.

Mike works to leverage a wide breadth of relationships and influence, intimate knowledge of market trends, and unique knowledge of what RTO dealers need from a supplier to be successful.

The saying goes that a high tide raises all boats, and our goal is to leverage the world’s largest furniture manufacturer to drive the continued growth of the RTO industry and all the suppliers.

Mike Tissot

Countryside Rentals Inc., dba Rent-2-Own

Mike grew up in the rent-to-own industry under the guidance of his father, former APRO President and RTO legend Darrell Tissot. For nearly 25 years, Mike’s innovative leadership has helped expand the family business to more than 40 stores across Ohio and Kentucky while also shaping the industry as a whole.

He has served as President of the Ohio Rental Dealers Association, an APRO board member and Treasurer, and President and Treasurer of the TRIB Group. His contributions have earned him the APRO President’s Award of Excellence and the title of APRO Rental Dealer of the Year.

Outside of RTO, Mike enjoys time at the lake house or in Orange Beach, Alabama, with his girlfriend, Angela Strong McCool. A passionate Cincinnati Reds fan, he rarely misses a game, whether watching or listening alongside his parents. He also takes every opportunity to visit Arizona, where his daughter is currently attending Arizona State University.