Members of the Florida Rental Dealers Association [FRDA] are showing up big this year. After having the highest number of attendees of any state show up to advocate on behalf of the rent-to-own industry at the 2019 APRO Legislative Conference, they also hit record attendance at the FRDA annual meeting last week in Tampa, Florida. The two-day event included a welcome reception, a pub crawl benefitting the FRDA Scholarship Foundation, a vendor mingle, and a business meeting featuring presentations from FRDA President Sharon Tomaszewski, FRDA board member Chris Kale, Jr., APRO Executive Director Jill McClure, and Rick Gallegos with Dale Carnegie Training.
The start of the two days was bright as the first night of the event brought everyone together in a relaxing social setting at the welcome reception and pub crawl. Members socialized, vendors mingled, and the pirate-themed pub crawl raised $2,000 for the association’s scholarship foundation.
Following the festivities on Tuesday, Wednesday morning made way for attendees to participate in a vendor mingle. This year the association was excited to welcome eight new vendors to the show. FRDA members visited with vendors to talk about their latest, top-notch product offerings before settling down for the afternoon lunch and business meeting portion of the event.
The annual meeting opened with FRDA President, Sharon Tomaszewski, reporting on the state of the Florida association. She shared that the group has remained strong, active and financially stable. Tomaszewski added that FRDA was nationally recognized for its achievements at RTO World 2019 by being selected as one of the recipients of this year’s APRO Presidents’ Circle Award. “This award belongs to all of us because it shows that we are doing the right things to represent our industry at the highest standard in our daily operations and in our official activities, and this is something we can all be proud of,” affirms Tomaszewski.
APRO Executive Director Jill McClure spoke about supporting state associations and their sustainability through APRO’s association management services. McClure commended FRDA for having the highest attendance at the APRO Legislative Conference earlier this year and invited attendees to join in its advocacy efforts again in April 2020. She thanked and recognized Florida-based APRO board members and recently announced Emerging Leaders Council members. She also debuted the 2019 RTO World recap video sparking excitement for what is to come at RTO World 2020 to be held in Tampa, Florida.
Popular FRDA speaker Rick Gallegos returned this year with a presentation on “How to Build a Great Team.” Gallegos identified different personalities and understanding how to work best with and motivate each personality type. The afternoon ended with mini-breakout sessions facilitated by FRDA board members who led group discussions on several hot topic items.
“It truly a great meeting,” shares Tomaszewski. “Engagement was at its highest in my experience as FRDA president. Everyone participated in both contributing ideas and taking away something new that made the afternoon, and all events, a big success.”
Pictures from this year’s event can be viewed and shared by clicking HERE.
