APRO’s Director of Finance, Tulisha Wendele, tallies up three decades with the association, and works each day to make every moment count.
Tulisha Wendele, APRO’s Director of Finance, first got her foot in the door at the association via her clear competence and her unusual name.
“My prior position was as an office manager for a service company that was already in bankruptcy,” Wendele recalls. “But I took the job anyway. The woman I was replacing – her name was Wanda – spent a few days with me to train me; she was super-nice. I stayed there about nine months, then applied for a position at APRO through a newspaper classified ad.
“Well, I had no clue Wanda was filling in as APRO’s receptionist and had been charged with paring down the resumés for interview prospects. So when she saw my resumé, she was like, ‘I know this person!’ – because of my name, of course. Well, she had trained me, so she knew I was capable, and one of my letters of recommendation was from my current boss – her former boss – so she put me through for an interview, and I got the job.”
Wendele was hired at APRO in March 1991, originally as a receptionist. Despite her youth (she was practically an infant at the time!), Wendele brought some diverse work experience with her. She had begun her career straight out of high school as a typesetter at the Lampasas Dispatch Record, the bi-weekly newspaper of her small Central Texas hometown.
“All of my training is on-the-job training,” asserts Wendele. “I went through almost every position available at the paper: I did typesetting; I laid out classified and display ads; I worked with people in the darkroom; I proofread; I did some bookkeeping; and I worked in the mail room helping distribute the paper. The subscription system at the time was names and addresses typed onto index cards, and management asked if I wanted to be circulation manager and help computerize this whole manual index-cards process. So I did.”
Wendele spent five years at the Dispatch Record, then another five years working for an attorney as a legal secretary and bookkeeper, followed by nine months as office manager for the faltering service company. Then, APRO – where within nine months, she was promoted to Office Manager and Bookkeeper, handling accounts and financial statements for the organization and its political action committee.
Today, as APRO’s Director of Finance, Wendele also manages the general accounting, the annual audit, and RTO World finances, as well as the bookkeeping for 20 state association members. Additionally, she helps manage the database, proofreads publications, offers institutional knowledge, and serves as a friendly and familiar face at the registration desk during the APRO Legislative Conference and RTO World.
“I love going to events where I can see people I see every year and catch up with them,” Wendele effuses. “Rental dealers are very much connected with each other, willing to share with and help each other succeed. They care about each other. And I think it’s because they know the service they provide is valuable to customers. So they’re willing to band together through APRO and stand up and say, ‘I’ll help you be successful – because ultimately, when we’re all successful, then our customers are benefitting from it.’
“And I’m also proud of what we’ve done and continue to do at APRO,” she continues. “We do good work helping the rent-to-own industry stay viable, being there for customers who need it, and assisting businesspeople who want to be in and succeed in the RTO industry. APRO plays a key role in all of that.”
To celebrate and honor Wendele’s 30 years of service to the rent-to-own industry, the APRO team surprised her at her home – still in Lampasas – with a car parade, some giant yard signage, catchy t-shirts, silly accessories, and a socially distanced lunch at her local church.
“I think the secret to success in any job is to have the right attitude,” affirms Wendele. “First, you have to enjoy what you’re doing. Then, you need to greet every day with a smile and a can-do attitude – not a have-to attitude, ‘Well, this is my job; I have to do it.’ I’ve just never viewed it that way. I like what I do, I like our members, and I want to be as helpful as I can. Whatever people need help with, I try to figure it out.”
Everyone at APRO – staff and members alike – congratulate and thank Tulisha Wendele for her can-do attitude, all the figuring she does for the association, and 30 years of dedicated service – and counting! [Counting … see what we did there?]
