Pennsylvania Rental Dealers Association Meet in Harrisburg
Students from the Nativity School Director Denise Hirn, Sh’Quesst Turner, Victor Patterson, and Joan C. Moralls.
The Pennsylvania Rental Dealers Association met for its annual association meeting at the Harrisburg Hilton on May 15 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Members and vendors convened to discuss business strategy, legislative interests, various vending options and many other topics important to the rent-to-own industry in Philadelphia.
PARD was reorganized and reactivated in 2006 and has hosted annual meetings ever since focusing on educating members on industry related topics as well as hearing various presentations from vendors. This year’s meeting featured speakers President of Countryside Rentals and President of the Ohio Rental Dealer’s Association Mike Tissot, CPA and APRO associate member Mike Helton, Rent-A-Center Store Manager Keith Brock and APRO Director of Government Relations Apurva Naik.
Members from the Nativity School discussed the school and expressed their appreciation for PARD contributing to their education.
PARD Lobbyist John O’Connell began the morning’s discussion with an update on the state’s legislative efforts involving the Rent-to-Own industry, “There is no legislation for or against the RTO industry currently under consideration, but that means this is certainly the time to meet with your representatives,” says O’Connell. “This is the time to educate them on the industry.”
Tissot presented his “RTO Triage,” an assessment tool rental dealers can use to determine the relative health of their business. By asking questions about their staff, sales, collections, business models and marketing efforts, dealers can identify areas within their businesses that need to be addressed accordingly.
Helton gave a presentation to PARD members on the new tax law and how it will affect the RTO industry. He outlined specific provisions that could impact RTO, such as limitations on business interest expense deductions, changes to entertainment expense deductions, differences on how pass-through entities would be taxed and much more.
This year’s meeting was also attended by students from the local Nativity School, a nonprofit Catholic school for inner-city students, that state association donates to each year. This year’s meeting vendors, D&H Distributing and FW Promo, donated 50 headphones and 40 monogrammed swimsuits to the school. Members from the Nativity School discussed the school and expressed their appreciation for PARD contributing to their education.
For more information about PARD, contact association President Sandi Frye at 814/949-2300, altoonapremier@gmail.com.
