Association of Progressive Rental Organizations

State President Meetup Coverage

2022 State President Meetup

APRO hosted a State Association Presidents Meetup via Zoom in mid-April, bringing rent-to-own leadership from across the country together to learn and talk about legislative and regulatory activity nationwide, the responsibilities of association administration, and other state-level subjects of interest.

State Association Presidents in attendance included Dennis Adams of the Rental-Purchase Dealers Association of Indiana, Chris Bolin of the Tennessee Rental Dealers Association, Paul Davis of the California Association of Progressive Rental Organizations, Candice Hill of the Arkansas Rental Dealers Association, Bill Howard of the Kentucky Rental Dealers Association, John Manzari of the Northeast Rental Dealers Association, Kelly Martin of the Illinois Rental Dealers Association, Paul Metivier of the Florida Rental Dealers Association, and Jonathan Rose of the Virginia Rental Dealers Association.

APRO Director of Education and Membership Jen Troke led the meeting, which began with an introduction from APRO Chief Executive Officer Jill McClure. McClure noted that APRO just welcomed its 21st state association into membership: the Texas Association of Rental Agencies, under the leadership of President Chris Higgs, recently joined APRO. She also thanked the Illinois Rental Dealers Association and President Kelly Martin for agreeing to serve as the pilot organization for an APRO State Chapter program.

“We’re hoping to further streamline state association management and further lighten the load for volunteer leaders,” McClure explained. “The chapter model will use APRO branding, so an organization will be an APRO Chapter. And this model will focus specifically on advocacy and education. We’ll be working through it over the next year, figuring out how we make this program effective for the state volunteer leaders.”

McClure also reviewed the three levels of APRO membership services available to state associations, confirmed that APRO plans to revive its annual Legislative Conference in Washington, DC, in 2023, and thanked the state associations participating in the 2022 APRO Scholarship Fund – Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee.

The meeting continued with a presentation about Tax Requirements for State Associations, led by Chris Terrigino, Shareholder, and Kim Cardenas, Tax Team Manager, both of APRO member Rivero, Gordimer & Company P.A. Later, Julio Jimenez, Risk Management Consultant, and Macenzi Holmes-Norton, Vice President of RTO Risk Management, both of APRO member USI Insurance Services LLC, presented on State Association Risks and Responsibilities, particularly applied to liability coverage for organization directors and officers.

Matt Grynwald, Chair of the Government Relations committee for APRO and Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for Rent-A-Center, provided a Government Relations update, noting that ten APRO Alerts concerning legislative or regulatory activity in 13 different states have already been issued this year. Grynwald also offered tips for interacting with state lawmakers once face-to-face meetings return in full force.

“Be very aware of who you’re talking to, and what will appeal to the ideology of the person,” counseled Grynwald. “Know who your representatives are, and if you have a good relationship with your individual rep, then talk to them and see what other members they think you should talk to or you should stay away from. And have your statistics ready – your number of employees, your payroll or property taxes; elected members want to know who’s voting for them, and how much economic contribution you make to the state.”

Troke introduced two new tools APRO is working on to support members’ advocacy work: a “Find Your Congressional Members” tool coming soon to the APRO website; and updated state economic impact numbers by district.

A roundtable discussion wrapped up the meetup, with state presidents weighing in on APRO’s State Association Handbook, regular communications with their members, their 2022 state meetings, their elections and succession plans, and the upcoming APRO State Association Activity Survey.

“We deeply appreciate our state association presidents and the work you do,” McClure concluded. “We understand you’re volunteer leaders, so we thank you so much for your dedication, for showing up, listening, and engaging today. APRO wants to make it as easy as possible for you all to keep our state associations a strong and active support for our industry moving forward.”

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Mike Lewis

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.