APRO member Countryside Rentals, dba Rent-2-Own recently held its annual meeting, celebrating how the company and its employees have improved during the past year, and preparing the Rent-2-Own team for an even better 2021.
Rent-2-Own turned its big event into a weeklong virtual celebration, sending each of its 38 Ohio- and Kentucky-based stores an advance goodie box full of sweets and a logoed shirt and beanie for every team member.
“Our company’s 2020 theme was ‘Better,’ and our employees definitely rose to the challenge,” said Rent-2-Own President Mike Tissot. “During a year of unprecedented uncertainties, our folks managed to become better renters, better buyers, better collectors, better marketers, better communicators, and a better team overall. Together, they set record numbers in growth and revenue – and in a year when it was least likely to happen.”
A large part of this year’s annual event was the celebration of the company’s top performers – finalists and winners in many categories, chosen for their hard work, remarkable numbers, and outstanding performance. Each day, a few winners were announced via Facebook Live, and Tissot – along with a small group of regional managers – personally visited every winner, surprising them with confetti, streamers, balloons, and whistles. The home-office staff created fun videos for prize giveaways, and all the festivities were shared through videos and photos posted on Facebook.
The 2020 Rent-2-Own winners included:
- Employee of the Year: Billy Fox, Warehouse Manager
- Home Office Employee of the Year: Tyler Yoakum, Senior Buyer
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Mike Highfield, Rent-2-Own employee for more than 20 years and Store Manager at Maysville, Kentucky
- Store of the Year: Grayson, Kentucky, with a 50% growth year
- Regional Manager of the Year: Dustin Coffey
- Manager of the Year: Mark McCown from Waverly, Ohio
- Assistant, Sales, or Collections Manager: Justin Hupp from Washington Courthouse, Ohio
- Account Manager: Greg Wilson from Ironton, Ohio
- Customer Sales Representative: Jay Haas from Ironton, Ohio
- Delivery Specialists: Tyler Thomas and Anthony Wilcox from Washington Courthouse, Ohio
- Rookies of the Year: Cliff Conner from Florence, Kentucky, and Randy Potts from Newark, Ohio
All finalists received a plaque, an additional logoed shirt, and an entry to win a new red Ford Fiesta. Ten names were drawn randomly, then put under hats for Tissot’s dog, Tucker, to choose one – Clint Turner from Waverly, Ohio was the lucky dog who won the car.
“Even though we couldn’t all be together during this year’s meeting, our team still shared plenty of laughs and created some lasting memories,” Tissot concluded. “Rent-2-Own is planning for another successful year in 2021; this year’s company theme is ‘Level Up.’ Our team members must take the skills they gained last year and use them to improve further, be even more creative, and just keep growing. This is the year for Rent-2-Own to level up!”
