RTO World 2023 kicked off in San Antonio with the APRO Awards Luncheon, our annual opportunity to welcome the best in RTO into ‘La Sala de Honor’
RTO World 2023 – the sixth year of rent-to-own’s premier event – was a three-day fiesta de San Antonio, complete with all the heat (and humidity!) a record-breaking Texas summer could bring to bear.
And about 750 RTO pros didn’t just bear the heat – they brought their own, by way of impassioned education sessions, a sizzling tradeshow, and one of the hottest Hot Shows ever! But it all began at the APRO Awards Luncheon, where a lucky 13 individuals (and 13 state associations) were welcomed into the APRO Hall of Honor for being, well, quite the coolest in rent-to-own.
Individual APRO Awards
Each year, APRO leadership hand-selects an elite group of rent-to-own leaders to honor for everything they put into their businesses and the industry – working above and beyond for the success of us all.
This year, the group was extended with two new awards, the APRO Legacy Award and the RTO Pioneer Award, presented to a pair of rent-to-own titans who have devoted their professional lives to building RTO into the strong, successful industry it is today.
APRO CHUCK SIMS RENTAL DEALER OF THE YEAR
for activity to improve the RTO industry over the past year, as well as involvement in state or regional associations
TROOPER EARLE
The Premier Companies
Native Virginian Trooper Earle is a career rent-to-own man who has found his success in contributing to the success of others. Earle began in furniture at ColorTyme, then partnered with two others to run five ColorTyme stores, then bought out his partners – and within eight months, had grown the business to become ColorTyme’s third-largest rental dealer nationwide.
In 1996, Earle bought Premier Rental-Purchase and began building what has become one of RTO’s largest franchisors. The intent behind this new company was to help longtime industry managers become successful store owners, by helping them launch their own businesses and supporting their growth with services that are available but not required.
Today, The Premier Companies includes Premier Rental-Purchase and Premier Home Furnishings, and operates 42 locations in 15 states. Five of those stores, acquired just last year, are located in San Antonio, Texas. Earle, who has been an active and supportive APRO member for more than 20 years, knows the value of a strong trade association and requires all Premier rental dealers to be APRO members as well.
APRO RTO TIGER AWARD
for exceptional work at the state level, championing rent-toown legislative efforts at the grassroots level and strengthening state-level industry outreach
LARRY CARRICO
SKC Enterprises, Inc. dba Rent One
Native Missourian Larry Carrico began in rent-to-own in 1981 as a $4-an-hour manager-in-training for Crista Rentals. Just four years later, Carrico got the opportunity to launch his own business; today, Rent One is one of America’s largest independently owned RTO companies, and Carrico also leads the extremely successful RNR Tires Midwest.
Carrico has been involved in APRO since 1990, served as a board member for 14 years – including two terms as APRO President – and has been awarded APRO’s President’s Award, Rental Dealer of the Year Award, and Lifetime Achievement Award. But it was initially his involvement in the Illinois Rental Dealers Association that led Carrico to APRO.
An IRDA member since the late 1980s, Carrico has served for many years as the group’s President or Treasurer. He has played an especially key role in cultivating relationships between rental dealers and elected officials, spearheading many IRDA Legislative Days in the state capital of Springfield and ensuring IRDA member participation at the APRO Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. In fact, just this year, Carrico was instrumental in organizing the first IRDA Legislative Day and participating in the first APRO Legislative Conference in the past four years.
Larry and his wife, Sharon, recently wrote a memoir – Own Your Life – of their four-plus decades together, building a strong family and a successful family business. When they’re not authoring, the couple loves spending time with their grown children Steven, Nicki, and Kelly – who currently serves as IRDA President – and particularly their five grandchildren.
APRO ERNIE TALLEY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
for active participation in the association for several years, with high visibility and respect among many in the rent-to-own industry
ROBERT BRILEY
Briley Investments, Inc. dba Aaron’s
Native Texan Robert Briley began his career in rent-to-own more than 40 years ago when he and a buddy bought a Curtis Mathes franchise. In 1990, Briley bought out his partner and opened up Rent City, which he grew to 16 stores across his home state. Briley chose to convert his stores to Aaron’s in 2006, and has won both Aaron’s Franchise of the Year and Store of the Year awards.
Briley has been a career-long member of APRO, serving on the APRO Board of Directors for 11 years and leading the association for two terms as President. The same way he has given back to the RTO industry, Briley gives back to his community; he served on the Abilene, Texas City Council for six years, as well as on the boards of United Way of Abilene, St. John’s Episcopal School, and Fairway Oaks Country Club.
Briley and his wife of 47 years, Lou, enjoy time with their Dallas-based son Parker and his family, and daily with their eldest son Zach, who was born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, has undergone dozens of surgeries over the years, is paralyzed from the waist down, and requires continual medical attention. Robert and Lou have also been active members of Abilene’s First Baptist Church for more than four decades.
Briley has referred to his rent-to-own company as “a family business in the business of helping families” – we couldn’t describe what we all do any better.
LYN LEACH
Ace Furniture & TV Inc. dba Ace Rent-To-Own
Native Nebraskan Lyn Leach began his career in rent-to-own in 1982 when he and his new bride, Natalie, launched Ace Rent-ToOwn in Lincoln – with a plan to grow the business slowly and steadily, using capital only. Today, Ace has 23 stores across Nebraska and Iowa, working to achieve Leach’s number-one goal with every customer, every day: Ownership.
Ace’s innovative Good News Exchange Program is a testament to that objective; it offers a 100-percent lifetime exchange guarantee, letting customers who change their minds about a product transfer the payments they’ve already made to another product at any time. The program not only helps Ace retain customers, but also prevents them from leaving RTO permanently with bitter feelings.
Leach is a 40-year member of APRO, serving on the APRO Board of Directors for six years and leading the association as President for two. He has received both APRO’s President’s Award and Rental Dealer of the Year. And he has served as a board member for both the Nebraska Rental Dealers Association and the Iowa-Nebraska Rental Dealers Association.
Leach and Natalie – who is also Vice President of Ace – enjoy spending time with their grown kids – Mindy and Ben – and their spouses, as well as first grandchild Eli. The couple also rides about ten-thousand miles a year together on motorcycle trips, often helping raise funds for families in need.
In recent years, Leach has discovered his inner musical actor as well, playing lead roles in various community theatre productions. And of course, his rent-to-own colleagues know his performance talents well, as he serves as auctioneer each year at the RTO World Hot Show.
SUSAN MATTHEWS
Benefit Marketing Solutions
Susan Matthews began her lifelong career in membership programs in 1987, joining Foresight, Inc. to sell add-on products that extend benefits to customers for an additional fee. A dozen years later, Matthews joined Benefit Marketing Solutions (BMS), a startup provider of membership programs specially designed for the rent-to-own industry.
Over the next quarter-century-plus, Matthews helped shape BMS into a leading provider of RTO membership programs, offering valuable benefits like insurance protection on merchandise during its rental and warranty protection once customers gain ownership. Today, BMS is part of Aon Corporation, and with Matthews as President, became the largest provider of customized programs for the rent-to-own industry.
Matthews is a longtime APRO Associate Member, expressing an intrinsic understanding of the symbiotic nature of the rental dealer-vendor relationship. She has received both the APRO Heritage Award and Vendor of the Year, and has been actively involved in rent-to-own legislative grassroots efforts – attending and sponsoring many APRO Legislative Conferences. Additionally, Matthews has been a dependable source of financial support for industry initiatives, giving generously from her personal funds to help fortify programs under the APRO Charitable Foundation and the APRO PAC Fund.
Matthews and her husband of 26 years, Dan, actually connected at an APRO convention in New Orleans in 1996 and wed the following year. Dan, a veteran rental dealer, retired from the industry several years ago, and has been patiently waiting for his wife to join him. Happily for Dan, but sadly for rent-to-own, Matthews retired late last year.
APRO’S ERNIE TALLEY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD GOES TO OUR MOST ACTIVE, VISIBLE, AND RESPECTED MEMBERS.
HONORING JIM BROWN, RTO PIONEER
Jim Brown, Owner of ABC Discount Superstore-Lease Purchase and Sales, is no stranger to the APRO Hall of Honor. In 2004, Brown received the APRO President’s Award of Excellence and in 2019, he was presented with the Ernie Talley Lifetime Achievement Award. So it seemed only fitting that as a 58-year veteran and the last of APRO’s founding fathers in the rent-to-own industry, Brown achieve an award trifecta with a never-before-bestowed prize: the APRO RTO Pioneer Award, an expression of gratitude for someone with impressive foresight and staying power.
Jim Brown began his rent-to-own career in 1965 in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas, under the tutelage of RTO legend Ernie Talley at Mr. T’s Rental – an incubator for many industry forefathers, including Tom Devlin, Bud Holladay, and Chuck Sims. But for Brown, it was just a part-time job doing sales, delivery, and collections while studying at Wichita State University.
Yet a few years later, Brown took the skills he gained with Talley to ABC Rentals, working for brothers George and John Parsons. They were the first company to begin renting color televisions, which seemed crazy at the time, because color sets were so expensive that a profit seemed impossible. But the Parsons and Brown succeeded – so much so that the rest of the industry soon followed suit, and color TVs quickly became the most profitable sales items in the business.
In 1969, John Parsons left the company and Brown joined. Together, Jim Brown and George Parsons turned their business into a Wichita institution by building long-lasting customer relationships, and expanding products and services for their community.
In 1980, Brown was one of the original 40 rental dealers who voted to form a national rent-to-own trade association – the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations, or APRO. He spent the next four decades fighting negative legislation and helping transform RTO from an unstable business into the multi-billion-dollar industry it is today.
Using his deep love of his home state, Brown – along with his wife, Debbie – built and maintained strong relationships with public officials at every level of government, both in Kansas and in Washington, D.C. They participated in almost every APRO Legislative Conference since its inception and, for many years, Brown also served as government affairs representative for the Kansas Rental Dealers Association.
As Jim Brown finally retires from the industry he actively helped create and sustain, we offer our lasting gratitude and heartfelt esteem to him and to Debbie, and wish them the happiest of trails ahead.
“The story of APRO and the rent-to-own industry is really also the story of Jim Brown, because he has been involved in and contributed to every major milestone since the beginning,” notes Ed Winn, APRO General Counsel and the only other APRO founding member. “His presence will be missed.”
APRO PRESIDENT’S AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
for special efforts performed by an individual on behalf of everyone involved in the RTO industry
CHRISTINE HESSE
formerly with Progressive Holdings Inc.
Christine Hesse is relatively new to the rentto-own industry, but a deeply experienced attorney, lobbyist, and financial-services policy expert. With an undergraduate degree from Ohio’s Miami University and her law degree from Capital University Law School, Hesse launched her professional career as an aide in the Connecticut General Assembly. She moved on to become the Government Affairs Director for the Cleveland Area Board of Realtors, representing the organization before the Ohio General Assembly and the state Attorney General’s office.
Next, Hesse served as Legislative Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, working on a broad spectrum of financial-services issues – including RTO – before joining the national law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, & Feld, LLP. For the past couple of years, she led the Government Affairs department at APRO member Progressive Leasing, a virtual rent-to-own company that works through some of America’s biggest retail stores.
Hesse made the most of those two years in terms of getting involved in the RTO industry. She joined the APRO Board just last year, and promptly became one of the board’s most active members, serving on the Legislative Committee, the CEO Search Committee, and the Board Nominations Committee. She also worked closely with APRO President Michael Bennett to help manage the association’s business during the transition to a new CEO.
BRYAN PECHERSKY
Upbound Group
Bryan Pechersky came into rent-to-own only three years ago, but in a big way – as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary for Upbound Group, which includes operating brands Rent-A-Center and Acima.
With undergraduate and law degrees from The University of Texas at Austin, Pechersky began his professional career as a commercial litigation, corporate finance, and mergers & acquisitions attorney for global law firm Vinson & Elkins, LLP. He moved on to become Corporate Secretary and Deputy General Counsel for Unocal global oil and gas company, then Senior Vice President, Secretary, and Senior Corporate Counsel for Blockbuster.
Next, Pechersky became Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary for Harte Hanks, a global marketing services and targeted advertising firm, then spent a decade as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary for Cloud Peak Energy, a Denver, Colorado-based mining company. Pechersky also completed his MBA at the University of Michigan in 2020.
Pechersky has served as an APRO Board member for the past two years, chairing the Legislative Committee and spearheading this year’s Legislative Conference, the first in four years. He also worked with APRO President Michael Bennett to help manage the association’s business during the transition to a new CEO.
APRO STEVE KRUSE AWARD OF HONOR
for extraordinary lifelong service and commitment to the RTO industry
TERESA HILL
Buddy’s Newco, LLC dba Buddy’s Home Furnishings
Teresa Hill is a career rent-to-own woman, spending two decades as Director of Operational Support for Aaron’s, and the last ten years as Vice President of Operational Support for Buddy’s Home Furnishings. Overseeing four departments, Hill is the company’s epicenter for all things training, franchise support, and customer service.
Hill is renowned for her seemingly bottomless well of giving back. At the office, she has spearheaded a fundraiser for breast cancer research and treatment, and created a companywide program to ensure all corporate associates receive recognition for their tenure. But Hill’s generosity of spirit extends much further than Buddy’s.
Once a “foster kid” herself, Hill serves as a guardian ad litem, helping children and families navigate the foster care system, acting in the children’s best interests in court, and going above and beyond by visiting weekly, delivering meals occasionally, and even buying birthday gifts. Hill also organized an NFL Flag Football Youth Team within her Tampa, Florida community – giving more than 75 local kids a safe environment to get active, build confidence, and have fun.
Earlier this year, Hill was awarded the inaugural Kirk Kaye Vol- unteer of the Year Award from her colleagues at the Florida Rental Dealers Association, and – true to her giving nature – she volunteered her time to negotiate in Orlando for RTO World 2024, saving APRO and TRIB Group tens of thousands of dollars.
APRO HERITAGE AWARD
for consistent and continual support of the rent-to-own industry by an “unsung hero”
SPENCER SMITH
Smith Group dba Aaron’s
Spencer Smith, Founder and CEO of the Smith Group, is a sort of renaissance man of franchising, with a 25+-year history of developing real estate and retail locations – including eight Aaron’s locations in Colorado, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. Smith also owns two Colorado locations of Big O Tires, American Family Care locations in Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah, and the Colorado-based Tire Max.
But Smith’s dedication to rent-to-own isn’t divided; he has been an APRO member for 18 years, attended this year’s Legislative Conference, and was the first to respond to APRO’s call for PAC Fund support. Additionally, Smith is spearheading the formation of the new Central Rockies Rental Dealers Association, which will include RTO companies in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
APRO EMERGING LEADER AWARD
for rising among us into the ranks of rent-to-own leadership
JOSHUA CIESICKI
Great Rooms Central, LLC
Joshua Ciesicki got his start in rent-to-own in 2005, but surfaced on the APRO scene when his inspiring story of how he got into the RTO industry won him a spot at the 2019 APRO Legislative Conference – his first. Ciesicki was a high-school dropout with a wife and four children to support, who was not feeling good about himself or his prospects for success when he landed in rent-to-own. RTO provided him with not just a job, but an opportunity to find fulfillment through his hard work.
Today, Ciesicki is the Co-Owner and Chief Operations Officer for Great Rooms Central, LLC, which includes two stores in Polk County, Florida – right at the center of the state’s peninsula. He strives to connect personally with his customers, and as a result, faithful customers have followed Ciesicki along his rent-toown path. Every year since 2014, he has held a Back-To-School Party at his stores, giving away 100 backpacks full of school supplies at each location.
Ciesicki is active with the Florida Rental Dealers Association, has been an APRO member for almost five years, and returned to APRO’s Legislative Conference this year with a clear understanding of the importance of rental dealers building relationships with elected officials.
APRO NORM SMITH VENDOR OF THE YEAR
for demonstrating support and involvement with APRO through sponsoring events, advertising, exhibiting, and building up the association
DAVID GOLDMAN
VersiRent/Ideal Software Systems, Inc.
Native Mississippian David Goldman founded his company – Ideal Software Systems – in 1985, to develop software and hardware designed especially for the rent-to-own, retail, check cashing, payday advance, title loan, and family entertainment center industries. For RTO businesses, this includes VersiRent, touted as “the world’s most versatile software,” a leading-edge product that has made many rental dealers’ lives easier since its initial launch more than a dozen years ago.
But Goldman doesn’t support the rent-to-own industry through premium products alone. He has also been an APRO associate member for the past quarter-century, consistently bolstering the association and its membership through both financial support and active participation. Goldman’s company is a sponsor and an exhibitor at RTO World, he sponsors and attends APRO’s Legislative Conference, and he donates generously to the APRO PAC Fund.
Goldman’s commitment to RTO – through his involvement with APRO and his company’s continued innovation in industry-improving technology – is extraordinary, enduring, and deserving of appreciation.
APRO LEGACY AWARD
for abiding dedication to the success, advancement, and continuous improvement of the association and the rent-to-own industry overall
ED WINN III
APRO General Counsel
Edward Winn III is so much more to America’s rent-to-own industry than APRO’s General Counsel – though that in itself is more than enough. Forty-three years ago, he was an independent attorney giving a talk to a ragtag group of rental dealers about government regulation; the same day, he became the legal representation for the new national trade association the dealers were creating for RTO companies.
So Winn helped found APRO, drafted the association’s bylaws, and served as its executive director for its first five years. And for the next four decades, he has monitored all rent-to-own-related news, regulations, and legislation; shared compelling and critical information at industry events; written and edited thousands of articles for RTOHQ: The Magazine; and talked to a rental dealer almost every day of his life.
With Elizabeth, his wife of 35 years, and their grown twin sons to keep him grounded in the world beyond RTO, Winn has given generously of his time, energy, brilliance, candor, and wit – not simply to help make the rent-to-own industry look good, but to help the industry be better.
Winn himself once said, “Success is the measure of what you do and how you do it.” By this measure, Winn is not only a spectacular success himself, but has played an invaluable role in building a grandly successful American industry.
State Association Awards
Local relationships play a key role in protecting the rent-to-own industry from damaging legislation – and what happens at the state level influences what happens at the federal level, and all across America. There is definitely strength in numbers, and strong state associations do essential work not only for their own members, but also for the RTO industry as a whole.
APRO CONTINUED EXCELLENCE AWARDS
for state rental-dealer associations with sustained high performance in outreach and advocacy
Florida Rental Dealers Association
Rental Purchase Dealers Association of Indiana
Missouri Rental Dealers Association
Northeast Rental Dealers Association
Oklahoma Rental Dealers Association
Pennsylvania Association of Rental Dealers
Wisconsin Rental Dealers Association
APRO PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE AWARDS
for outstanding state rental-dealer associations in the past year
Arkansas Rental Dealers Association
Illinois Rental Dealers Association
Kansas Rental Dealers Association
Ohio Rental Dealers Association
Tennessee Rental Dealers Association
APRO STATE ASSOCIATION OF THE YEAR
Ohio Rental Dealers Association
This is the Ohio Rental Dealers Association (ORDA)’s fourth time since 1996 to be named APRO’s State Association of the Year. The ORDA is an extremely active state association, communicating and meeting throughout the year. The group supports training and education through its annual sponsorship of the Midwest RTO Training Expo, one of America’s best regional rent-to-own events. The association also works hard to build and maintain relationships with state and federal legislators, and contributes generously to the APRO Charitable Foundation Disaster Relief Fund. Additionally, ORDA Past President Mike Tissot of Countryside Rentals Inc. dba Rent-2- Own is a dynamic group leader, deeply involved in both ORDA and APRO, and serving on the RTO World Planning Committee.
APRO ED WINN LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY AWARD
Kentucky Rental Dealers Association
This new addition to APRO’s State Association Awards is named for – and was presented by – APRO General Counsel Ed Winn, an indefatigable champion for rent-to-own state associations since day one. The inaugural recipient – the Kentucky Rental Dealers Association (KYRDA), led by Bill Howard of RNR Kentucky, LLC dba RNR Tire Express – earned the honor by expediently and effectively thwarting some anti-RTO bills that unexpectedly popped up in the Kentucky General Assembly.
