APRO recently held the third quarterly State President Meetup of 2024, where leaders from more than 11 state rental dealer associations (RDAs) gathered via video conference.
The meeting began with an advocacy presentation by Aaron’s, LLC, Director of Government Relations Michael Wall, who provided crucial insights for the industry’s future advocacy work.
Wall shared some essential tips for RTO professionals to follow when doing legislative advocacy work, including:
- Be proactive – get to know your legislators now, and have intentional, purposeful conversations with them;
- Get involved in your local community – establish positive relationships with decision-makers;
- Remember, politicians are people, too – please treat them with respect;
- Do your homework – be sure to study up and prepare for key meetings;
- Have a plan for your meeting – make sure you understand your audience and the rules of engagement; and
- Political giving is great (and encouraged!) – but expect nothing in return.
Following Wall’s presentation, the group engaged in a lively discussion about APRO’s Legislative Conference. The desire to expand the Legislative Fellows program in partnership with the state RDAs was a key point of conversation; the goal is to increase the program from its 2024 inaugural class of 11 to a total of 20 Fellows next year, with involvement from as many RDAs as possible. States plan to discuss and decide about their commitments to the program over the coming months.
The group next talked over plans to host state Legislative Days in 2025, with five states confirming they will advocate for our industry. Then, the presidents addressed the APRO Charitable Foundation Scholarship Fund, and the timeline for the next school year. APRO partnered with state RDAs to award 39 scholarships to rent-to-own employees and their family members this year; states were asked to thoughtfully consider their budgets and contribute in support of this important educational endeavor.
This was the state Presidents’ final meeting of 2024, but dates have already been chosen for next year’s quarterly meetings of these vital and valuable industry leaders.
