Keeping a major APRO award secret from Tulisha Wendele was no small feat.
As APRO’s Director of Finance and the association’s longest-serving staff member, Wendele is involved in much of what keeps the organization running behind the scenes. So when APRO decided to surprise her with the 2026 Steve Kruse Award of Honor, staff members, former coworkers, friends, and family all had a role to play in making sure she never saw it coming.
APRO CEO Charles Smitherman presented Wendele with the award during the APRO Awards Luncheon & Business Meeting at RTO World 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The Steve Kruse Award of Honor recognizes individuals for extraordinary lifelong service and unwavering commitment to the rent-to-own industry, honoring those whose dedication has made a lasting impact on both the industry and its community.
For Wendele, that service began in 1991.
She joined APRO as a receptionist after responding to a newspaper classified ad. Within nine months, she had been promoted to Office Manager and Bookkeeper, beginning a career that would eventually make her responsible for APRO’s financial operations.
Today, as Director of Finance, Wendele handles work that Smitherman jokingly described during the presentation as “all of the fun and easy stuff at APRO.”
That includes the association’s annual audit, tax returns, financial statements, Charitable Foundation finances, RTO World finances, and bookkeeping for state rental dealer associations.
“She makes it look easy,” Smitherman said.
Over the years, Wendele has also become a trusted source of institutional knowledge for APRO leadership, serving the association through multiple generations of staff and leadership while maintaining relationships with members across the country.
“She was a trusted advisor to APRO’s leadership from Bill Keese to today, the embodiment of APRO’s institutional knowledge,” Smitherman said.
But recognizing someone who works inside the organization required more than an award presentation.
APRO assembled a surprise video featuring current and former coworkers, industry colleagues, and members of Wendele’s family. One after another, they described the work that often happens quietly behind the scenes and the person they have come to rely on.
“You are the glue that has held APRO together for a very long time,” said former APRO Member Services Coordinator Bridget Marotz.
“You keep the trains running around here, and we would be lost without you,” added APRO Vice President Jen Troke.
“Tulisha has kept the wheels on APRO’s finances. She’s been a treasure,” said former APRO General Counsel Ed Winn.
Others spoke about her attention to detail, her ability to solve difficult problems, and the depth of knowledge she has accumulated over more than three decades with APRO.
“You fret over every member and help them with a smile and a solution,” continued Troke. “You’ve been a gem to work with over all these years.”
Her colleagues also pointed to the less visible pieces of her work: keeping financial records accurate, making sure bills are paid, handling state association finances, solving database problems, and remembering the history behind decisions, people, and processes long after others have forgotten them.
“I’ve learned so much from you about accounting, about finance,” said Smitherman. “Every time you’re able to share your institutional knowledge about people here, the things that have happened in the past.”
The tribute also reflected relationships that extend well beyond spreadsheets and financial statements.
Former coworkers recalled years spent working alongside Wendele, while family and friends spoke about the milestones, celebrations, challenges, and losses they have shared together.
“Working at APRO for 28 years was the best time of my life, but it was made better by working with you,” said former APRO Senior Director of Sales & Marketing Cindy Ferguson.
“We’ve celebrated life’s happiest moments and carried each other through unimaginable loss. You’ve remained one of the strongest, kindest, and most faithful people I know,” said former APRO IT/Web Director Laurie Hill.
Smitherman’s own presentation was equally personal.
“She is a beloved team member of the APRO staff and is never allowed to retire,” he joked before turning to the significance of her work. “Her important work has helped APRO continue to grow and thrive, and we are grateful for her lifelong service to our beloved members of the industry. She is one of us, and we salute her.”
Wendele has been recognized before for that service. In 2025, Tennessee Rental Dealers Association (TRDA) President Chris Bolin presented her with the TRDA President’s Award for Excellence in recognition of her dedication to both APRO and the state association.
Yet when Wendele took the stage at RTO World to accept this honor, her remarks were characteristically brief and focused not on herself, but on the people she has served.
“I couldn’t ask for a better industry to be part of,” Wendele said. “Thank you all for letting me be part of your life.”
For more than three decades, Wendele’s work has touched nearly every corner of APRO, much of it without fanfare. The 2026 Steve Kruse Award of Honor brought that work out from behind the scenes and gave the APRO staff, its members, and the broader rent-to-own community an opportunity to recognize the person who has quietly helped keep so much of it moving.
