Association of Progressive Rental Organizations

Announcing the 2021 APRO Charitable Foundation Scholars

The APRO Charitable Foundation provides scholarships annually to RTO professionals and their families. Since its inception, APRO members have contributed generously to the APRO Scholarship Fund – awarding 418 scholarships totaling $940,750 to date – to help RTO-connected students pursue their college and trade school degrees.

The Process

Since 2015, the APRO Charitable Foundation has used a third-party, independent panel of educators to review and score our annual scholarship applications. The judges are unaffiliated with any directors of the foundation board, APRO staff or scholarship applicants.

Applications are sent to the judges who then read, review and score each applicant’s submitted materials based on the criteria outlined by the Foundation’s board of directors and as reflected on the application. APRO staff and the Charitable Foundation Board of Directors do not influence or determine who receives scholarships.

2021 Scholarship Recipients

Congratulations to our 2021 APRO Charitable Foundation Scholarship Recipients! Notifications have been sent to recipients via email.

Arkansas Rental Dealers Association

  • Jackson Lindsey
  • Nicholas Palacios

Florida Rental Dealers Association

  • Alexis Flores
  • Brian Kelly
  • Marissa Shutt

Tennessee Rental Dealers Association

  • Benjamin Estep
  • Ethan Garrison
  • Cayli Lambert
  • Connor Morel

APRO

  • David Baker
  • Zoe Bass
  • Anna Bennett
  • Kaitlyn Black
  • Craig Caspari
  • Mary Cleek
  • Jalynn Felan
  • Alexis Flores
  • Jaliya Ford
  • Jarred Ford
  • Matthew Gilley
  • Brian Kelly
  • Anthony Kestler
  • Kennedie Marks
  • Taylor Miracle
  • Makenna Peters
  • Connor Peterson
  • Juliana Peterson
  • Cody Perkins
  • Gunnar Pirtle
  • Sophia Poteet
  • Marissa Shutt
  • Rylee Smith
  • Victoria Stutzke
  • Angela Troisi

Thank You to Our Donors

Our scholarship program would not be possible without the generous support of donors throughout the year. The ongoing, consistent support of our Society for Tomorrow donors is the only way a program like this can be sustained. Thank you for supporting others in pursuing their dreams by furthering their education. Thank you also to our state associations who participated: Arkansas Rental Dealers Association, Florida Rental Dealers Association, Missouri Rental Dealers Association, and Tennessee Rental Dealers Association.

Upcoming Events




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.