Rent-to-own News

Rent-to-own News - FRDA kicks off annual meeting with "Slats" golf tourney

October 3, 2010

The Florida Rental Dealers Association (FRDA) kicks off its annual meeting today at the Sheraton Suites Tampa Westshore Airport in Tampa with its popular networking events including a golf tournament and 'casino night' prior to a jam packed meeting slated for Tuesday.

More than 100 attendees from 17 rent to own companies and 32 vendor companies are participating in the state's largest annual industry gathering.

The 8th Annual Norman 'Slats' Slatton Golf Memorial takes place at the lush Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club where four-member teams tee off with a shotgun start at noon.

Later that evening, meeting participants ante up for FRDA's Texas Hold E'm/Casino Night. Money collected goes toward the FRDA PAC Fund.

FRDA President Chris Kale of Rent Kind opens the association's annual meeting Tuesday at 1 p.m. Guest speaker and former college and pro football player P.T. Willis.

For the past 10 football seasons, Willis served as the color analyst for the Seminole Radio Network alongside Gene Deckerhoff. The former Seminole quarterback writes a weekly column for Warchant.com breaking down the Seminole football team.

Willis was inducted as a member of the Florida State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. During his successful senior year in 1989 (his first and only season as the starting quarterback), he led the team to 10 straight victories, including an impressive 41-17 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Fiesta Bowl.

It was also during that year that he set 15 team passing records. He surpassed Seminole great, and fellow Hall of Famer, Gary Huff to become Florida State's top single season passer with 3,124 yards. He also set the record for passes completed in a season (211), most 300-yard passing games (six), as well as touchdown passes in a game (six). PT also set five Florida State career records including best passing efficiency at 148.5.

After college, Peter Tom played professional football for the Chicago Bears (1990-93) and the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (1997-98).

APRO Executive Director Bill Keese will present and industry update followed by Ronald McDonald House CEO Janice Davis.

Kale will also announce FRDA's second annual Employee of the year. Mike Van Heusen of Z-Best Rentals is the Florida Rental Dealers Association's 2009 'Employee of the Year.

Florida is home to 558 rent-to-own stores 3,348 RTO employees. State RTO dealers pay out $117,000,000 in annual wages, $18,000,000 in annual payroll taxes and generate $411,000,000 in annual revenues

About APRO
The Association of Progressive Rental Organizations is the official voice of the rent-to-own industry and the most accurate and trustworthy source of rent-to-own news in the industry. Founded in 1980, APRO is the national, nonprofit trade association advocating and representing the rent-to-own industry before the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, courts, media and the public.

For more information, visit www.rtohq.org.

2012 APRO Convention and Trade Show

July 24-26, Memphis, TN

Attendee Information

Exhibitor Information

Thank you APRO 2012 Sponsors

Watch RTOHQ Rent to Own videos on YouTube!

Featured APRO Photo:
From the Celebrating 30 Years and Beyond: The American Innovation Expo, July 29-30, Nashville, Indiana Album
Celebrating 30 Years and Beyond: The American Innovation Expo, July 29-30, Nashville, Indiana
View All RTO Photos
in the RTOHQ.org gallery

RTOHQ: The Magazine
RTOHQ: The Magazine is the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations' award-winning rent-to-own industry magazine, and it's available here.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR DIGITAL RTOHQ: THE MAGAZINE

RTOHQ: The Magazine’s upgraded digital format

APRO's new, mobile-ready magazine is now available in addition to our print edition. The digital format provides the same informative content as our printed magazine, but also offers tools to make the reading experience more enriching. Access the table of contents page with one click or tap. Get additional information from advertisers by clicking on the links in their ads. The interface is easy to navigate and requires no special app—read our magazine on your computer, digital table or smartphone. Click here to access the digital version of RTOHQ: The Magazine March-April 2012.

A New Rent-to-Own Experience

by Neil Ferguson

Here’s the lowdown on APRO’s 2012 Convention and Trade Show, July 24-26 in Memphis. The RTO industry’s big event will offer many valuable experiences, including insights on how to turn your stores into “experiences”–the good kind for consumers

Who Is Your Competition?

by Bill Keese

In order to expand your customer base, you can learn a lot by observing your competitors. But first, you need to figure out just who they are. If you think your only competition is the rent-to-own store down the street, you’re not considering the bigger picture. APRO’s executive director offers a big-picture perspective.

A Review of Online Customer Complaints

by Ed Winn III

While rent-to-own companies have not cornered the market on negative reviews posted on consumer complaint websites, it’s no surprise that there are cyberspace beefs against RTO. APRO’s general counsel reviews some of them in search of a pattern and he considers appropriate response to online complaints.

Rent-to-Own Families, Part VIII

by Kristen Card

Our series of family-run rent-to-own businesses continues with profiles of the Homeiers in Kansas and two Texas-based sets of kindred colleagues, the Spangles and the Weisblatts.

Future issues of APRO's magazine will be available in this same new format. Click here to access past issues that are not yet archived in the new interface.

Association of Progressive Rental Organizations
1504 Robin Hood Trail
Austin, Texas 78703
800/204-2776, ext. 103
Fax 512/794-0097