For 45 years, rent-to-own has been a family business for the Strongs. What began with Mike Strong building a new business in Hutchinson, Kansas, has grown into a multi-generational operation now led alongside his children, Angela Strong-McCool and Michael Strong.
APRO honored the Strong family of APRO Member Mike Strong Inc. dba Mike’s Rent-To-Own as the 2026 Chuck Sims Rental Dealer of the Year.
The award recognizes a rental dealer who goes beyond the everyday work of rent-to-own to give back to the industry, APRO, fellow dealers, employees, customers, and the community.
For the Strong family, that commitment has been more than four decades in the making.
Mike entered rent-to-own in 1981, opening the company’s first store in Hutchinson with limited resources, a pickup truck, good credit, and a determination to make the business work. Those early days included handling deliveries after the store closed and, for a time, sleeping in the back of the store because Mike and his business partner could not yet afford somewhere else to stay.
Over the years, the company grew into a multi-location Kansas operation, but the next chapter was already taking shape inside the stores.
Michael and Angela grew up in the family business, helping with payment cards and other small tasks before eventually moving into store management and company leadership. Today, both are co-owners of Mike’s Rent-To-Own, carrying the business their father started into its next generation.
That family leadership extends throughout the broader rent-to-own industry.
The Strongs have been active in APRO, TRIB Group, and the Kansas Rental Dealers Association (KRDA). Michael serves on the APRO Board of Directors. Angela serves as President of KRDA, and was instrumental in the development of APRO and TRIB Group’s Leadership Excellence and Advancement Program, better known as LEAP
Their involvement reflects one of the lessons Mike has emphasized throughout his career: the value of learning from other dealers.
“I want to thank all the dealers that gave me all the good tips over the years,” Mike said during the family’s acceptance video. “They helped me, they didn’t even know.”
That willingness to learn, paired with a work ethic built around doing the best they can and never giving up, has helped define the Strong family’s approach to both business and industry involvement.
It has also created a company culture centered on relationships. Across generations, the family has maintained close connections with its employees, customers, fellow rental dealers, and the communities its stores serve.
But when Mike, Michael, and Angela sat down together to accept one of APRO’s highest dealer honors, solemn speeches were apparently never part of the plan.
“Because if you’re not first, you’re last,” they joked as the three traded lines, interrupted one another, debated exactly who deserved thanks, and tried to remember that their acceptance was supposed to be a surprise.
Mike thanked his son and daughter for “extending my career,” while Michael and Angela made sure employees, APRO, fellow dealers, vendors, and customers all eventually made their way into the conversation.
“We’re surprised,” they assured viewers. “We’re very surprised.”
Behind the jokes was the story of three family members who have built their careers around the same business and continued finding ways to serve an industry that has been part of their family for 45 years.
The 2026 Chuck Sims Rental Dealer of the Year Award recognizes that shared commitment and a Strong family legacy that began with one store in Hutchinson and continues through a second generation of leadership.
Watch the Acceptance Video on YouTube
About Mike’s Rent-To-Own
Mike Strong Inc. dba Mike’s Rent-To-Own is a Kansas-based rent-to-own dealer with 14 locations across the state. The family-owned company offers furniture, appliances, electronics, televisions, tires, and other household products through flexible rental-purchase options. Mike’s Rent-To-Own has been an APRO member since 1993.
