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Coming Together in Columbus for the Midwest Expo

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ORDA President, Mike Tissot with Ohio’s State Treasurer, Josh Mandel
The Ohio Rental Dealers held their 2016 Annual Meeting, more commonly known as the Midwest Expo, this week in Columbus, Ohio. Rent-to-Own professionals from all across Ohio and surrounding areas came together on September 13th and 14th to meet with vendors on the tradeshow floor and discuss product features, try their luck at casino night and most importantly, get some of the best training from distinguished vendors in the industry. The Expo opened with a compelling welcoming from Ohio’s State Treasurer, Josh Mandel. He strives to create an environment where he is honored to raise his children, with the values that he knows America to be. He believes in the safety and support for all law enforcement, religious freedom and liberty and the notion that the government should serve the people.
Josh Mandel
Ohio’s State Treasurer, Josh Mandel
Mandel introduced his economic transparency initiative, Ohiocheckbook.com, that empowers taxpayers to follow their money and hold public officials accountable. It is a website that shares all of Ohio’s state spending with various capabilities such as search, social media and downloading along with full details for each expenditure that sets a new national transparency standard. Mandel says that no other state has this level of detail or accessibility. He also believes that everyone deserves a higher quality of life and with that in mind he created STABLE accounts. The nation’s first savings plan that allows individuals with disabilities the ability to save and invest. Mandel has taken the state of Ohio from an $8-billion-dollar debt to an $8-billion-dollar surplus. He wants the country to know that Ohio embraces free enterprise and it is open for business. He closed with passing out his business card along with announcing his personal cell phone number encouraging anyone to contact him directly with any questions or assistance in cutting through the red tape.
People show product features of a BBQ pit
Gidget Simmons and Jason Gray go over Vision Grills product features on the tradeshow floor.
Attendees then shuffled into the vendor filled expo where they found all of the latest products on display. Dealers took their time visiting and learning about products within each booth before grabbing a bite and heading to the Midwest Expo’s Casino Night.
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Majic RTO’s Dan Fisher and Rental Salesworks’ Eric Moore celebrate a win.
Dealers and vendors were greeted with a cup of poker chips and a room full of casino games such as Craps, Poker, BlackJack, Slots, Roulette and many more. People gathered around their favorite game and later turned in their winning chips for raffle tickets. Fifteen lucky players won $100 in cash at the end of the night. The last day of the 2016 Midwest Expo gave dealers one more opportunity to meet with vendors on the tradeshow floor. After lunch, dealers attended 4 of 5 sessions of their choice from presentation vendors including: O’Rourke Sales Company, Symbol Mattress, Ashley Furniture, D&H Distributing Company and the Whirlpool Corporation. The Ohio Rental Dealers would like to extend a huge thank you to all of their sponsors and vendor partners for their support as well as everyone who donated to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank drive. Click here to see more photos of the 2016 Midwest Expo.

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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.