No, I promise you I am not going to come down the aisles at the Nugget this summer in Reno with former Pittsburgh Pirates star Willie Stargell and the ’70s soul group Sister Sledge singing “We Are Family,” but it might not be such a bad idea.
Maybe by now you know or have heard the rumblings of trouble brewing in the RTO clan. I don’t know if “trouble” is the word, but the ranks have been somewhat unsettled as our biggest brother, a.k.a. Rent-A-Center, has pondered life without APRO. So many board members have been thinking about finances and agendas this year. Some of us were concerned that our RTO family might lose something that has made us so very good together if we split apart.
It seems to me that the one thing this industry has going for it is its ability to stay focused on common goals. As long as I have been part of APRO’s leadership, I have always been surrounded by people from the smallest to the largest companies who scream togetherness as loud as they can and for as long as necessary so we will all hear. Five years ago, I don’t think anyone could have predicted that two companies would exist today that represent 39 percent of this industry.
Now that they do, tell me why that should change the Association’s continuing campaign to make people in this land accept us as an attractive and viable alternative method of use and ownership of consumer goods. And let’s talk about that ever-elusive dream of federal legislation, one that ensures a safe harbor for owners and provides for fair and equal treatment of consumers.
Somebody shake me if I have overslept and missed the party. The last time I looked we were still pursing these lofty goals. Does anybody out there really think the Chicago Bulls will repeat again without their star Michael Jordan? Think about this. What if Jordan came back tomorrow and the other guys on the team said they were leaving. Could Chicago have any greater hopes of a championship with one man? The answers to these questions should be obvious.
We came to where we are today by operating as a united front. We will get to where we are going tomorrow by doing the same thing and acting the same way. Last year, the APRO board created a new dues structure of $375 per store. This dues structure stated that cost of membership would be equal for members big and small. Later that year, two big companies became much bigger.
This change caused these companies to rethink the cost of APRO membership. They asked us to reconsider their needs based on what they do for this Association and this industry. This was not an easy process. It is a hard thing to quantify when you are trying to evaluate contributions members make to the industry outside of the annual APRO budget. We all struggled with the problem at the APRO board and staff level. It looked for a while as if we might really split up, but in the end, we all managed to get together.
As a result, this year membership should continue to aspire toward the realization of our lofty goals. Public relations, government relations and all of APRO’S great programs will go forward. We will have a fantastic convention as we always do. New members are continuing to join our family and we look forward to a banner year. Old members who were part of our great past will be again part of what I believe will be a great future. Contentment reigns in APRO land. Maybe I wouldn’t sound so bad singing that song.
Ernie Lewallen is president of United Household Rentals in Cincinnati, OH.
