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Last Day of Fuse 2017: RTO Education Day

Fuse 2017 Opening Session with Jay Baer
Today was the last day of Fuse 2017 and the highly anticipated RTO Education Day. Attendees shuffled into the Galveston Island Convention Center early Thursday as they waited for this year’s opening session, Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers with Jay Baer. The one-hour session focused on the power of customer service and the how timely and empathetic response to complaints can help your business. Baer’s session was the perfect way to kick off the day leaving attendees with insightful marketing and customer service tactics. The remainder of APRO’s RTO Education Day consisted of three one-hour breakout sessions that gave attendees a vast variety of rent-to-own topics. Highlights included sessions from APRO’s opening session speaker, Jay Baer, Why Smart Marketing is About Help, Not Hype. Industry Insights’ Greg Manns held an informative session covering APRO’s statistical survey results that represents the most comprehensive and more importantly, up-to-date comparative financial performance of the RTO industry. APRO’s General Counsel, Ed Winn, provided his legendary legal update session, focusing on recent hot developments within the industry.
APRO’s Executive Director Bill Keese, Senior Director Member Services Shelley Martinek, Senior Director Sales & Marketing Cindy Ferguson with Fuse 2017 Closing Session speaker Matthew Dowd.
Fuse 2017: APRO’s National RTO Convention & Trade Show came to an end with the RTO Education Day’s closing session special guest, Matthew Dowd. Dowd gave a roadmap on how to navigate through uncertain times dealing with voters, consumers or employees. We had so much fun over the last three days of Fuse 2017: APRO’s National Rent-to-Own Convention. Thank you to everyone who joined us on Galveston Island and a special thank you to all of sponsors. See you next year! Don’t forget to complete the Fuse 2017 survey located within APRO App. You can win $100 by taking a few minutes to complete the survey for attendee or exhibitor.

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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.