Florida Rental Dealers Heave Ho at RTO Life Annual Meeting
APRO Executive Director Jill McClure, FRDA President Sharon Tomaszewski and FRDA board member Chris Kale, Jr.
Members of the Florida Rental Dealers Association met in Tampa this week for their annual meeting. This year’s theme was “RTO Life,” and also marked the highest attendance in the group’s history.
“We know it’s not easy to be out of your stores and we know you had to travel and rearrange your schedule to be here and it is our hope that the events over the last couple of days benefit you and broaden your connections within our group,” says FRDA President Sharon Tomaszewski. “We want you to walk away from here with meaningful information and ideas that you can take back to your stores and share. We want you to meet new people and build relationships that will support you and that is what guides us when planning this meeting. From the fun events, to the product information and training, industry updates and educational breakout sessions, it’s all done with you in mind.”
FRDA’s event kicked off with the state association’s annual Pirate Pub Crawl via river taxi’s along downtown Tampa’s Riverwalk including a welcome reception at Rooftop 220. Attendees enjoyed food, drinks and a sunset overlooking the Tampa Hillsborough River. After the reception, the group boarded trolleys to Gaspar’s Grotto, Tampa’s notorious pirate bar. The event benefits FRDA’s educational scholarships; more than $3000 was raised that evening for the cause. This year, FRDA awarded scholarships to Caitlin Miller, Lillian Snyder and Tatum Ellington.
The following day, attendees had the opportunity to meet with vendors to learn more about their latest product offerings at the Vendor Mingle and after lunch, the official FRDA Annual Meeting began. Tomaszewski thanked everyone in attendance including event sponsors Ashley Furniture and RentDirect Nationwide, Welcome Reception; NCTV and Rivero, Gordimer & Company, P.A., Pirate Pub Crawl; TRIB Group and O’Rourke Sales, Member Lunch; Symbol Mattress, Annual Meeting and Keynote Speaker; RES Accessories and PTS Direct Benefits, Pirate Pub Crawl T-Shirts.
APRO Executive Director Jill McClure shared highlights of RTO World 2018 held in August, provided an update on APRO’s legislative monitoring, and invited everyone to attend the 2019 APRO Legislative Conference April 9 – 11 in Washington, D.C. She also spoke about recent interest in the rent-to-own industry by the FTC.
Keynote speaker, Rick Gallegos with Dale Carnegie Training, led a coaching seminar, “How to Coach Your Employees to High Performance,” before the group broke out into seven rapid fire sessions moderated by FRDA board members. Topics included training, recruiting, lead management, hot products, marketing, future of RTO and Q4 sales strategy.
“Outside of this meeting, FRDA works throughout the year for all of us—for our businesses, our employees, our customers and our industry. We’re an association that advocates for the protection, prosperity and protection of our members. This association provides value and support to you and we want to make sure that we deliver that to everyone. Not just today, but every day.”
Click here for more photos of FRDA’s 2018 meeting.
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.
FRDA’s event kicked off with the state association’s annual Pirate Pub Crawl via river taxi’s along downtown Tampa’s Riverwalk including a welcome reception at Rooftop 220. Attendees enjoyed food, drinks and a sunset overlooking the Tampa Hillsborough River. After the reception, the group boarded trolleys to Gaspar’s Grotto, Tampa’s notorious pirate bar. The event benefits FRDA’s educational scholarships; more than $3000 was raised that evening for the cause. This year, FRDA awarded scholarships to Caitlin Miller, Lillian Snyder and Tatum Ellington.
The following day, attendees had the opportunity to meet with vendors to learn more about their latest product offerings at the Vendor Mingle and after lunch, the official FRDA Annual Meeting began. Tomaszewski thanked everyone in attendance including event sponsors Ashley Furniture and RentDirect Nationwide, Welcome Reception; NCTV and Rivero, Gordimer & Company, P.A., Pirate Pub Crawl; TRIB Group and O’Rourke Sales, Member Lunch; Symbol Mattress, Annual Meeting and Keynote Speaker; RES Accessories and PTS Direct Benefits, Pirate Pub Crawl T-Shirts.
APRO Executive Director Jill McClure shared highlights of RTO World 2018 held in August, provided an update on APRO’s legislative monitoring, and invited everyone to attend the 2019 APRO Legislative Conference April 9 – 11 in Washington, D.C. She also spoke about recent interest in the rent-to-own industry by the FTC.
Keynote speaker, Rick Gallegos with Dale Carnegie Training, led a coaching seminar, “How to Coach Your Employees to High Performance,” before the group broke out into seven rapid fire sessions moderated by FRDA board members. Topics included training, recruiting, lead management, hot products, marketing, future of RTO and Q4 sales strategy.
“Outside of this meeting, FRDA works throughout the year for all of us—for our businesses, our employees, our customers and our industry. We’re an association that advocates for the protection, prosperity and protection of our members. This association provides value and support to you and we want to make sure that we deliver that to everyone. Not just today, but every day.”
Click here for more photos of FRDA’s 2018 meeting.
