Association of Progressive Rental Organizations

PrimeTime “Blasts” into 2020

Nationwide RentDirect’s Member Meeting was held this week in the Lone Star State in conjunction with Nationwide Marketing Group’s PrimeTime. “This PrimeTime was amazing because of increased rental dealer engagement,” says Director of Nationwide RentDirect Keven Dalke, “I am more familiar with them and they with me. I see us growing even more so in the future”.

Nationwide RentDirect Director Keven Dalke opens the annual meeting with RentDirect members.

Day one began with PrimeTime’s signature Learning Academy sessions focusing on a range of topics from business optimization practices to an introduction to the services provided by Nationwide Marketing Group. Following the sessions, attendees ended the day with a welcome reception.

This year’s reception highlighted the No Child Hungry feeding program, a part of My Neighbor’s Children. This is Nationwide’s community outreach program, which has packed more than 200,000 meals for children all across the world just last year.

RentDirect members get involved in the RentDirect Hot Show.

The following day’s general assembly began with a keynote speaker, former NASA astronaut, Mike Massimino. Massimino spoke on his experiences as an astronaut, such as being the first person to tweet from space and being part of the team that holds the world record for most hours spacewalking in a single shuttle mission. He spoke of the adversity he had to overcome, like a medical disqualification and being rejected three times before getting into NASA.

Nationwide Marketing Group President Tom Hickman with APRO Executive Director Jill McClure.

The convention continued with several regional member meetings along with RentDirect’s annual meeting, kicked-off by Dalke. Dalke introduced APRO Executive Director Jill McClure. McClure emphasized the importance of the industry’s annual trek to Washington D.C. to educate lawmakers and protect the rent-to-own industry. Additionally, McClure outlined APRO member benefits and how both the industry and members are facing many obstacles aside from just those that are legislative, such as wage and hour changes and cybersecurity. APRO is offering call-in educational seminars to help dealers with these issues.

From left: Buddy’s CEO Michael Bennett alongside McClure and Alex Melvin, Nina Shively, and Philip Hamer from Buddy’s Home Furnishings.

Dalke then introduced Bo Bradford from Retailer Web Services, who showcased his company’s digital services offered to RentDirect members. The annual meeting concluded with RentDirect’s Hot Show, which showed an increase in vendor participation from previous years. “The selection was much better,” says Dalke, “It was a full room with strong attendance and participation from dealers.”

Throughout the day, PrimeTime held intense functions like Mattress University to discuss trends in the industry and ideas to transform marketing. PrimeTime Palooza Reception offered attendees quick deals from vendors for only 90 minutes.

The convention concluded with the PrimeTime Expo where APRO staff joined in the RentDirect booth, registering members for the APRO Legislative Conference and answering dealers’ industry questions. When asked what makes this PrimeTime unique, Dalke shared, “We highlighted several new marketing assets that were created for dealers to take advantage of.”

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Mike Lewis

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.