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Pennsylvania Rental Dealers Engage at Annual Meeting

A man wearing a blue polo shirt stands at his place at a conference table, holding a check and speaking to his seated colleagues.
PARD President Mike Simoncini prepares to present contributions to the Maria Fisher Scholarship Fund and the Nativity School. 

The Pennsylvania Association of Rental Dealers (PARD) recently held its annual meeting in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at the Harrisburg Hilton. About two dozen rental dealers and vendors from around the Keystone State attended the one-day event, which included advocacy updates, board elections, and charitable contributions. 

PARD President Mike Simoncini of Blue Ocean Brands, LLC, led the meeting, which kicked off with voting for open board of directors’ positions. Later on in the day, Simoncini announced the elections of Jeff Smith of Your Hometown Rent To Own Inc. dba Hometown Rent To Own as Vice President, Pat Hartman of Blue Ocean Brands, LLC, as Secretary, and Sandi Frye of White Rose Enterprises dba Premier Rental-Purchase as Board Member. 

RTO Info & Insights 

The day’s agenda featured a variety of presentations from industry leaders, association partners, and vendor representatives. John O’Connell gave a legislative update, while Smith spoke about the importance of industry advocacy and his positive experience at the 2026 APRO Legislative Conference. Then TRIB Group Executive Director Dennis Shields and President Joe Fischer offered an update on the group’s activities, including the joint APRO-TRIB monthly LEAP leadership-development sessions. 

Several vendors provided presentations, including: 

  • Robin Wood of Benefit Marketing Solutions 
  • Michael Price of Nav-Air Corporation 
  • Chase Pitman of Ashley Furniture Industries 
  • Vraj Parikh of Atlog 
  • Carrisa Cruz of O’Rourke Sales Company 
  • John Akerman of Jamison Bedding 
  • Zeb Troyer of HSP Bedding Solutions dba DutchCraft 

Mike Kays, Sales Director for Wonder, also conducted a special presentation about GigaCloud – an e-commerce platform specializing in large parcel merchandise – and his company’s new Wonder app mobile sales-acceleration tool. 

Zeb Troyer of DutchCraft
Chase Pitman of Ashley Furniture Industries
Robin Wood of Benefit Marketing Solutions
A broad spectrum of vendor partners provided presentations at the PARD Annual Meeting in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Investing Beyond Industry 

Finally, PARD members continued their financial support for the Maria Fisher Scholarship Fund and the Harrisburg-based Nativity School. PARD contributed $4,000 this year for school supplies at Nativity, a preparatory middle school working to break the cycle of poverty for low-income, inner-city boys. 

“Our annual meeting was really great this year,” said Frye. “Everyone was extremely engaged and actively participated in some excellent conversations, including during the dealer-vendor roundtables.” 

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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.