Association of Professional Rental Organizations (APRO)
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Meet Your Board: Jerry Marshall 

A man with short-cropped hair wearing a pale pink dress shirt smiles.
APRO Board Member Jerry Marshall, Owner & President at KAPPA Investments LLC dba Buddy’s Home Furnishings.

Jerry Marshall, Owner and President at KAPPA Investments LLC dba Buddy’s Home Furnishings, is a rent-to-own (RTO) veteran who began his RTO career in 1999 as a Manager-In-Training with RentWay. Within four months, Marshall was promoted to Store Manager, and within three years, his store ranked #2 of 1,200 stores nationwide.

“One of my proudest professional moments was being named a top store manager,” Marshall attests. “Then, I moved up to Regional Manager, and had another proud moment when our region ranked #1 of 114 total regions.”

From Pride to Ownership

Marshall moved into a Regional Manager position at Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership, overseeing eight locations – including three of Aaron’s top-performing Virginia-based stores. In 2010, Marshall won a national “best-of-the-best” operator competition hosted by Canada-based Easyhome, with a $750,000 startup funding prize.

Marshall used the capital to open his first Easyhome store in Lynchburg, Virginia, later that same year, and quickly set a company record by reaching $1 million in revenue faster than any store in Easyhome’s history. Marshall transitioned his locations into the Buddy’s Home Furnishings franchise system in 2016.

“I’m honored to have owned my own company for the past 16 years,” affirms Marshall. “I love the relationship business that RTO is. I truly value the customer, coworker, peer, and vendor relationships I’ve developed over the years, and I love serving people. Serving people serves my heart.”

Three men dressed in business-casual-wear stand together smiling in a restaurant environment, with several other professional-looking men around them.
Jerry Marshall (C), APRO CEO Charles Smitherman (L), and Mike Helton (R) enjoy each other’s company along with their fellow APRO Board of Directors during the 2023 Fall APRO Board Meeting.
A man wearing a baseball cap that reads “Captain,” a light blue shirt with a Buddy’s logo on it, and a red lanyard around his neck talks into a microphone he’s holding.
Jerry Marshall (far L) visits Congressional offices with his advocacy team during APRO’s 2026 Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
A man wearing a light blue shirt and a multi-colored lanyard with many ribbons attached to the bottom of its nametag stands laughing behind a slender podium and in front of a big, purple curtain.
Jerry Marshall shows off his sense of humor and great smile during RTO World 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Leading the Industry Forward

Marshall started serving as a member of the APRO Board of Directors in 2022, and currently holds the office of 1st Vice President. An annual attendee of APRO’s Legislative Conference since 2023, Marshall says he wants to help continue strengthening industry advocacy efforts, as well as adding further value to APRO membership.

“I want to keep learning more about RTO as an industry, to help ensure we all can thrive moving forward,” Marshall asserts. “And I want to keep becoming a better overall leader for this industry we all love and cherish.”

Marshall spends his out-of-office time with his family – often boating and traveling together – and playing competitive full-court basketball twice a week. He’s a devoted University of Virginia athletics fan, and loves his leadership role as a coach for his daughter’s 12U fastpitch softball team.

A man wearing a baseball cap that reads “Captain,” a light blue shirt with a Buddy’s logo on it, and a red lanyard around his neck talks into a microphone he’s holding.
Jerry Marshall addresses his colleagues during the 2026 Buddy’s Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Three men sit in profile with microphones in front of them and a huge sign behind them reading “Live – The RTO Show at RTO World 2025.”
Jerry Marshall (L) participates on a podcast panel during RTO World 2024’s live-cast of “The RTO Show.”
A man wearing all blue, including a baseball cap, smiles broadly while holding up two bright blue signs that read “APRO – part of something bigger” and “APRO – stronger together.”
Jerry Marshall cheers for APRO during the TRIB Group’s 2025 Meeting of the Minds event.

About KAPPA Investments LLC dba Buddy’s Home Furnishings

KAPPA Investments LLC is a franchisee of the Buddy’s Home Furnishings brand. The company provides consumers with access to furniture, appliances, electronics, and other household essentials through flexible rental-purchase agreements – and serves customers seeking an alternative to traditional retail financing, offering flexible payment options and a path to ownership. KAPPA Investments has been an APRO member since 2017.

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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.