This introductory letter – the first thing you see in every issue of RTOHQ: The Magazine – is actually the last item to go into it each time. By the time I’m writing this note to you, production on the publication is already well underway, so saving it for the final piece means I sometimes get to share very timely news with you – and such is happily the case today.
I’m proud to announce that Rent-A-Center, America’s largest rent-to-own company, is rejoining APRO as an active member following a three-year hiatus. RAC has a long history of success and leadership within the RTO industry and with the association, and we’re happy to welcome them back, ready to put our stronger collective resources to the essential work of safeguarding our industry through effective education and successful advocacy about rent-to-own and why it’s important.
And speaking of working for the greater good of RTO, I want to extend a huge thank you to our APRO Board of Directors. The industry leaders who belong to this impressive team demonstrate their dedication and commitment to rent-to-own as a whole by continually showing up and doing hard work – as they recently did for our spring board meeting [via Zoom still]. This gathering was specifically a work session to build the foundation – our Strategic Plan – for APRO’s next three years [see “APRO StratPlan 2.0,” page 52].
Our initial three-year plan, launched in 2018, was strategically and successfully completed, with all five of our SMART goals either met or exceeded by this year – so it was time to establish our next-level goals in order to keep APRO and its members moving forward.
Of course, we can’t forecast the future [2020 sure taught us that lesson!], but we’re much more likely to achieve our objectives operating from a well-thought-through, proactive plan than we are by simply reacting haphazardly to what happens around us.
I also want to give a giant shoutout to our small-but-mighty APRO staff. This diligent team of professionals puts in a staggering amount of time, energy, and effort daily working with and for rent-to-own, constantly measuring our accomplishments according to the industry’s success. APRO staff also recently got together to craft the road for implementing the SMART goals determined by the board of directors – complete with metrics, so we can continuously monitor how we’re doing as we strive to make your APRO membership an invaluable resource and asset. [For some fun staff news, see “Tulisha Turns 30 (Again!),” page 16.]
I hope you enjoy this summertime issue of RTOHQ: The Magazine, though I think it’s a little too data-rich to be called a beach read. We’ve got tons of information and insights from two of our spring events: our Virtual Legislative Conference [see “Heads Up, RTO,” page 44] and our Employment Guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor webinar [see “A Fair (Labor Standards Act) Share,” page 30], as well as a don’t-miss rundown of legal and legislative news from the always informative and entertaining APRO General Counsel Ed Winn III [see “RTO Roundup,” page 34].
Our APROfile spotlight in this issue shines on the industrious and inspiring Randy Rivers – Director of Operations for Fairway Leasing LLC, dba Aaron’s– and his journey from island-home devastation to American Dream [and RTO] success story [see “Rivers of Dreams,” page 22]. And you can save all your beach reading for late August, when rent-to-own’s biggest event of the year – RTO World – happens in Tampa and in-person! We can’t wait to see all your missed mugs along the Florida waterfront August 23-25, 2021.
Meanwhile, I’m wishing us all a continuously improving rest of 2021 – including great health, safe loved ones, and plenty of prosperous business.
