EASY A (for Advocacy)

Advocacy is one of those lofty buzzwords that can seem difficult to attach to something tangible, but the definition is actually quite simple: Advocacy is public support for a cause. That’s it. Just support – a letter, a call, a testimony – for something you believe in.

At APRO’s annual Legislative Conference, advocacy is the name of the game. The support comes in face-to-face meetings with U.S. representatives, senators, and their staff members, and the cause is rent-to-own.

“This is a really essential event,” stressed APRO CEO Charles Smitherman as he welcomed this year’s Legislative Conference attendees. “Throughout the year, we engage and enliven this industry so that you feel a real pride when you come up here and talk to our lawmakers about how important RTO is – how important it is for the customers we help, the communities we serve, and the people we employ.”

The 2025 Legislative Conference – APRO’s 31st – happened in early April in Washington, D.C., with 84 registrants, including 15 new and five returning Legislative Fellows, representing 21 different states.

“A lot of us are business competitors – we share market space, we compete with each other,” Trent Agin, President of Missouri-based SKC Enterprises Inc. dba Rent One, noted at the event. “But here, we’re together competing to stay in business. We’re all here because at the end of the day, we’re one business, and we all love and want to protect rent-to-own.”

Event attendees agree, the APRO Legislative Conference is not only a great way to build critical relationships and educate federal legislators about the good-news story RTO has to tell, but also a unique opportunity to participate in our democracy.

“Honestly, coming to this event gives me a sense of gratitude,” said Mike Kays, Vice President of Rental Sales for Ashley Furniture Industries, headquartered in Ohio. “We get to make a difference and have our voices heard just by taking a few days out of our journeys. I look forward to telling the rent-to-own story and how wonderful it is.”

The 2025 APRO Legislative Conference kicked off on Tuesday afternoon at the beautiful Kimpton George Hotel near Capitol Hill with a little something extra for attendees who had contributed to the APRO Political Action Committee (PAC): participants who donated were invited to an exclusive meet-and-greet with U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks (D-NY). The official event launch followed, with registrants collecting their conference materials while enjoying a Welcome Reception sponsored by Benefit Marketing Solutions and O’Rourke Sales Company. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were served as attendees networked and strategized with their assigned teams for the following day.

As ever, the crowd was a blend of seasoned LegCon veterans and advocacy newbies, including the second class of APRO Legislative Fellows – newcomers specially mentored to become the next generation of advocates for rentto- own, and whose participation at the conference was sponsored by state rental dealer associations and APRO vendors Ashley Furniture Industries; Benefit Marketing Solutions; Rivero, Gordimer & Company P.A.; and Slumba, LLC.

The next day began with the most important meal of the day – especially when the day will include thousands of steps’ worth of walking – a hearty breakfast sponsored by APRO associate member TRIB Group. Keynotes from Curtis Beaulieu, Senior Policy Advisor for Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson (R-LA), and David French, Executive Vice President of Government Relations for the National Retail Federation, covered the current state of affairs in the nation’s capital, as well as what attendees might expect during their legislative visits.

“A lot of folks don’t really understand what the rent-to-own industry is all about,” veteran conference-goer Randy Lewis, Owner of Jaguar Holdings LLC dba Eagle Rental-Purchase, observed. “There are a lot of misconceptions out there, so we come here every year to meet with the legislators and their staffers, educate them about what we do and how we do it, and demonstrate the importance of RTO to our communities, and the individuals and families who live there.”

“The things that happen here in D.C. affect our lives, whether we feel their impact directly or many times indirectly,” added Eagle Regional Manager Dale Anderson. “It’s a rewarding experience just to catch a glimpse of what that’s all about.”

And then it was time to hit the Hill. APRO members spent the rest of the day roaming all over Capitol Hill to meet with their Congressional representatives and legislative staff members. Seventeen teams, organized by home-state locations, worked hard to fulfill 110 studiously scheduled appointments within about six hours’ time. Team leaders with prior Legislative Conference experience ensured efficient and effective encounters throughout the day.

“Over the years – and I’ve been coming here for 21 years – there have been many attempts to recharacterize the rent-to-own transaction as a credit sale, at both the state and federal levels,” Brad Denison, CEO of Texas’ Benefit Marketing Solutions, attested. “At the federal level, that would impact all the states. But through coming up here every year and building positive relationships and telling our story, we’ve been able to fight back that legislation and safeguard our industry. Without the Legislative Conference, I don’t think rent-to-own would still be here.”

“It’s critical to maintain these relationships with our Congresspeople,” agreed Hudson Cook LLP Partner Dailey Wilson. “So that when industry issues arise, we’re not just coming into their offices as strangers suddenly asking for something. It’s crucial to have established relationships where we can go to them and share our concerns and know they’ll listen.”

The day concluded with a shuttle ride (sponsored by Georgia-based Vox-Pop- Uli, Inc.) to a memorable group photo (sponsored by Hudson Cook, which is headquartered in Tennessee) upon the steps of the U.S. Capitol, followed by the Debrief Dinner (sponsored by Ashley Furniture Industries).

Held at Top of the Town against a dramatic backdrop of stunning views of the National Mall and Potomac River, the Debrief Dinner began with Aaron’s, LLC Senior Director of Corporate Affairs Michael Wall thanking those in attendance for standing up for the industry stating, “It’s important that elected officials hear from you because if we don’t share our industry’s voice, no one will share it for us. It’s important that we share it not only for ourselves and our businesses, but also for our employees and our customers.”

Buddy’s Newco LLC dba Buddy’s Home Furnishings CEO and APRO President Michael Bennett took a moment to express his gratitude for the members of APRO’s Board of Directors, and their countless volunteer hours of leadership for the association and the industry. Charles Smitherman also thanked APRO’s board members and all the conference participants, along with a wish that the event will continue to grow.

“There are lots of people to meet and lots of stories to tell,” Smitherman affirmed. “And the more positive RTO stories we can put out there, the better. Being here, being present, makes a big difference – anyone who works on the Hill will tell you that.”

Attendees took over the evening, sharing their experiences of their day in D. C. Allye Traficante – a Regional Manager with Florida-based Impact RTO Holdings dba Rent-A-Center, and one of this year’s Legislative Fellows – called her debut experience at the event “amazing.”

“I shared my story today about beginning as a rent-to-own customer,” recalled Traficante. “I felt comfortable enough to share all that, and got to talk with Representative Buddy Carter (RGA), who is actually in my district, so it was fantastic to develop a relationship with him. The day was simply incredible.”

American Rental Store Manager Elizabeth Trull – also a Legislative Fellow and event first-timer – had a similar experience telling about how her Waynesville, North Carolina, store was able to help their community during Hurricane Helene’s devastating floods last year.

“I told them about how the floods affected our store, and how we – not just our company, but the RTO industry as a whole – were able to provide services,” Trull remembered. “It felt like our community was cut off from the rest of the world, and we were able to provide generators, refrigerators, washers and dryers to help neighbors in need. We even offered free meals during that time. And today, at our last meeting, the person we were meeting with said, ‘So let me understand this, you’re saying you meet people where they’re at.’ He really understood us, and I’m so happy APRO gave me the chance to be here and experience this.”

Advocacy for the sake of rent-toown customers was a recurring theme of the evening, with Michael Strong, Co-Owner of Kansas’ Mike Strong Inc. dba Mike’s Rent- To-Own asserting, “I think it’s very important that we remember when we’re at these meetings who we’re really serving – which is our customer. If we’re not here talking about what we do, then we’re not going to be able to continue serving our customers. People need our service, they need what we do. And if we don’t tell everyone in Congress about what we do, then we run the risk of not being able to do it anymore.”

“I do this not so much for me, but for our customers,” added Brittany Hurt, Regional Manager at Impact RTO. “If this industry went away, then many of our customers would suffer tremendously.”

Michael Skehan, Divisional Manager at Buddy Mac Holdings LLC dba Buddy’s Home Furnishings and a Legislative Fellow, related that while the experience seemed intimidating at the outset, it ended up being much easier than expected.

“I was worried about not knowing what to say or do,” fretted Skehan. “But being with a team where members had been here many times broke the ice with the folks we met up with, and I felt like I could speak up, and talk about why and how we take care of our customers.”

“This was an eye-opening experience for me,” newcomer Trull added. “I loved meeting with the senators, representatives, and staffers individually, getting to see their offices, and talking with them about what it’s like to be a hometown businessperson. It was such a unique experience.”

“It was just ‘wow,’” concluded Traficante. “Being in the field, we don’t often get to see what happens behind the scenes for us so that we can keep on renting and collecting. I’ve got a lot to take home with me – including the knowledge that it’s easy to talk about what you do when you believe in it.”