Tulsa, Oklahoma, was once again the host city for the Oklahoma Rental Dealers Association [ORDA] 2019 Route 66 Meeting & Tradeshow at the Hard Rock Casino Hotel. This year’s event took place on September 10 and 11 and dealt plenty of good hands. Highlights of the event included a welcome reception followed by a poker tournament, a hot show that hit $80k more in sales than last year totaling $330k, and a trade show that sold $500k for the entire show. Also on the agenda were industry presentations from Keven Dalke, Nationwide RentDirect Director; Dennis Willich, Nationwide Southwest CEO; Moriah Eberhart, APRO Membership Manager; and Todd Homberger, Buddy’s Home Furnishings Franchisee Owner.
Special guest speaker Homberger presented a training on “Achieving Organic Growth” that provided insights on how to grow your business at the store-level without having to tap into marketing dollars. Longtime ORDA supporters and event sponsors, Willich and Dalke, spent some time discussing the benefits of Nationwide membership and meeting those who had not yet met with RentDirect’s new Director, Dalke. First-time attendee, Eberhart, spoke on behalf of APRO, presenting how the association safeguard’s the industry as well as the benefits it offers its members including state association services.
The business meeting closed with an Oklahoma state industry report from the Department of Consumer Credit. They informed the group that out of the 151 rent-to-own stores in the state, there have been zero consumer complaints and only a 10% margin of operational audit errors.
The winners of this year’s poker tournament, sponsored by Leopard Mobility, were Tim Workman, Rent 1st, first place; Mike Hale, Buddy’s Home Furnishings, second place; and Aaron Peloquin, Buddy’s Home Furnishings, third place. Prizes included Samsung Note 8, an iPhone 8, an iPad, and cash.
“Every year we come together for the same objective – to gather the troops and allow them to share ideas,” shares Clifford “Chip” Guy, ORDA President. “All of our members walked away from the annual meeting with gratitude for the exchange of knowledge and many continued side-discussions once the meeting wrapped up.”
The ORDA newly elected and re-elected directors for the 2019-2020 term are Clifford “Chip” Guy, President; JD Epley, Vice President; and Andy Sanders, Secretary.
Click here to see more photos of this year’s Route 66 Meeting & Tradeshow.