Association of Progressive Rental Organizations | America’s Champion for Rent-to-Own

APRO Announces New Executive Director

Executive Director Jill McClure, CAE
The Association of Progressive Rental Organizations (APRO), the international voice for the rental purchase industry since 1980, has announced the selection of Jill McClure, CAE, as its new executive director. Jill is replacing Bill Keese, the former APRO executive director, who will retire on June 30th. The national search firm, Sterling Martin Associates, and the APRO Search Committee consisting of Mark Connelly, David Kraemer, Larry D. Carrico, Charles Smithgall IV and Ed Winn III, selected Jill after reviewing several candidates. Bill Keese was also involved in the selection process. “Jill was always the number one candidate throughout the whole process,” shared APRO past president Mark Connelly. “From reviewing her resume and then all the interview rounds, she was unanimously the number one candidate for everyone on the committee.” McClure’s resume includes deep expertise in advertising, trade shows, and association management. She holds a master’s degree in advertising from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree in communications and broadcasting. She served as chief operating officer with the Colorado Oil & Gas Association for seven years and has most recently worked for the Texas Association of School Boards in Austin. Jill is also a former adjunct professor in marketing and convention & trade show management at Austin Community College. She has experience as an ad agency director and corporate communications consultant serving Fortune 500 clients such as Dell, Motorola and Freescale. Jill is a Certified Association Executive (CAE). She holds current memberships in the Texas Society of Association Executives (TSAE), and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) in which she was named a 2013 Innovator. Jill is also a former member of the Colorado Society of Association Executives (CSAE). She has been recognized as a 40 Under 40 business professional by both the Denver Business Journal and the Mississippi Business Journal. “I thoroughly enjoyed my initial introduction to the APRO members at the  2017 Fuse Convention,” remarks Jill. “I will spend the coming months on a listening tour – traveling to our members to hear about their goals, needs and challenges. We will take that information and begin forming a plan of work, and will use some of the preliminary data to begin discussions for our strategic plan. I look forward to getting to know everyone, and to digging in to the work.” APRO is a nonprofit trade association advocating and representing the rental purchase industry before the U.S. Congress, Internal Revenue Service, state legislatures, the courts, media and the public.

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