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Florida Rental Dealers Honor Past, Commit to Future

APRO CEO Charles Smitherman (L) receives a check from FRDA for the APRO Charitable Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund honoring Kirk Kaye (passed) and Impact RTO’s Daniel Ruiz-Perez (R).

The Florida Rental Dealers Association (FRDA) recently held its annual meeting, attracting 156 attendees to the stylish Hotel Haya in Tampa, Florida’s historic Ybor City district.

The meeting began with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at a VIP Happy Hour, followed the next morning by the association’s Annual Member Meeting. Led by FRDA President Chris Kale, Jr., the meeting opened with his father and Partner at Happy’s Home Centers Inc., Chris Kale, Sr., honoring the memory of Terry Beville, who served as Chief Financial Officer for Bi-Rite for more than 25 years and was a rent-to-own industry leader. Kale noted that FRDA will continue to contribute to the APRO Charitable Foundation Scholarship Fund on Beville’s behalf. Beville’s daughter, Sharon Tomaszewski – Co-Owner of CPL Group Inc. dba Rent King – also spoke lovingly about her late, great, dad.

Mike Zagar, Director of Franchise Operations for Buddy’s Newco LLC dba Buddy’s Home Furnishings, addressed the audience on the importance of legislative advocacy at both the state and federal levels, and announced a new advocacy initiative for FRDA members: the organization will alternate years with visits to the state capitol and visits to their legislators’ local district offices. The first such “District Advocacy Blitz” is scheduled for this September.

Impact RTO team members (L to R) Paul Metivier, Sachin Rama, Jonathan Hobbs, Daniel Ruiz-Perez, and Jason Winters take the opportunity to get together.
(L to R) Dan Sattuck of Great Rooms Spring Hill LLC and Josh Ciesicki, Kali Langschwager, and Nikki Figueroa of Great Rooms Central LLC enjoy the Tampa Nights Party.
(L to R) Chris Kale, Sr., Sharon Tomaszewski, and APRO Director of Marketing & Communications Amberlee Maya have a Sunshine State reunion.
The team from Rivero, Gordimer & Company P.A. – Title Sponsor for the event – hosts a colorful booth at the Vendor Fair. (L to R) Janelle Edgar, Mike Helton, and Alicia Holloway.

Paul Metivier of Impact RTO Holdings dba Rent-A-Center, FRDA Immediate Past President, presented the Kirk Kaye Volunteer Award to Daniel Ruiz-Perez, a Regional Manager with Impact RTO (read more about how Ruiz-Perez earned this honor here). FRDA also presented the APRO Charitable Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund with a $4,000 check on behalf of both Kaye and Ruiz-Perez.

RNR Tire Express Training Development Coordinator Will Jackson was a featured speaker at the event, talking to participants about going From Cleats to Clipboards – how to transition smoothly from being a high performer to an organizational leader. Following lunch, the meeting continued with roundtable discussions on topics like hot products, sales strategies, and collections tactics.

The Vendor Fair buzzed with 44 exhibitor booths, and the Tampa Nights Party at Las Novedades spotlighted the rich historic flavor of Ybor City, complete with a station for hand-rolled cigars – once Tampa’s primary industry.

FRDA members get a taste of Tampa, Florida history, at a hand-rolled cigar station during the Tampa Nights Party.
Charles Smitherman (L) greets Joe Hickey (R), President of Audit Advantage, at the event’s VIP Happy Hour.
The Vendor Fair was all abuzz with more than 40 exhibitors participating.

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Mike Lewis

Central Properties dba Premier Rental-Purchase

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.