Neffle appoints new A.R.A. SIGs, committees

A.R.A.’s new President Charles Neffle has announced his appointments to the A.R.A.’s special interest groups and committees for 2001.

Special Interest Groups (SIGs):

Construction & Industrial Services: Chairperson — Jeffery Wearing, Ready Rent All, Decatur, Ga.; Charles Neffle, All Occasions Event Rental, Cincinnati; Kyle Cox, Iberia Rental Service, New Iberia, La.; Jay Lageschulte, S & M Rentals, Phoenix; Larry Kaye, SCRIPT International, Jacksonville, Fla.; Roger Vajgrt, Home Rental Center & Sales Co., Marshalltown, Iowa; Dennis Turner, PDQ Rentals, Santa Fe Springs, Calif.; Board Liaison — Frank Wilson, Frank Wilson’s Tents & Events, Augusta, Ga.

General Tool & Equipment Services: Chairperson — Robert DeBusk, American Equipment Rentals, Phoenix; Charles Neffle; Barry Carter, Barry Rents, The Dalles, Ore.; James Masison, Taylor Rental/Pro-Quip, Foxboro, Mass.; Victor Proulx, United Rentals, Buckley, Wash.; Terry Trusgnich, Aide Rentals & Sales, South Chicago Heights, Ill.; Albert Emel, A G G Rental Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatch-ewan, Canada; Board Liaison — David Wilcox II, General Rental Center, Frankfort, Ky.

Party & Events Services: Chairperson — Maun Petersen, Diamond Rental, Salt Lake City; Charles Neffle; Matt Holt, Celebration Party Rentals, Flemington, N.J.; Will Holditch, Austin RentAll Party, Austin, Texas; Scott Lovell, Party Time Rentals, Ocala, Fla.; Rick Frechette, Quality Rental Center, Pawtucket, R.I.; Edwin Knight, Celebration Rentals, Pipersville, Pa.; Board Liaison — Thomas Fouts, Bledsoe’s Equipment, Lee’s Summit, Mo.

Next Generation: Chairperson — Debra Shipper, Chicago Party Rental, Countryside, Ill.; Charles Neffle; Brad Turlington, Party Showcase, Raleigh, N.C.; David Lemieux, Ray Rents, Columbus, Ga.; Peter Webster, McLean-Sherwood Party Rentals, Brampton, Ontario, Canada; Scott Morris, General Rental Center, Springfield, Mo.; J. Brian Wearing, Ready Rent-All, Mableton, Ga.; Board Liaison — Frank Wilson.

Committees:

Advertising & Marketing: Chairperson — Jonathan Rodgers, Rentals Unlimited, Bolingbrook, Ill.; Charles Neffle; Murray Vale, A-1 Tablecloth Co., Hackensack, N.J.; William Pedersen, Pedersen’s Rentals & Sales, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; Charles Button, Button’s Rent-It, Royal Oak, Mich.; Jane Hutton, Fiesta Rentals, West Palm Beach, Fla.; Rachel Fitzgerald, J & F Reddy Rents, St. Louis Park, Minn.; Board Liaisons — Frank Wilson, Thomas Fouts and David Wilcox II.

Business Development: Chairperson — Randall Hardy, Construction Rental, Salina, Kan.; Charles Neffle; Drew Harris, One Stop Tool Rental, West Chester, Ohio; John Crabbe, Vermont Tent Co., South Burlington, Vt.; J. Barry Ghiglione, Handyman Rental Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Kevin Hoffman, A to Z RentAll & Sales, Madison, Wis.; Arthur Brown, All Occasions Party Rental, McMurray, Pa.; Board Liaisons —Thomas Fouts, David Wilcox II.

Education: Chairperson — Paul Hawk, A-1 Rental Centers, Moline, Ill.; Charles Neffle; Marion Ghiglione, Handy Special Event Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; Terry Turner, RentX Equipment & Party Rentals, Knoxville, Tenn.; Leonard Sedillo, Diamond Rental, Salt Lake City; Ben Shipper IV, Chicago Party Rental, Countryside, Ill.; Kimberley Markey, Pedersen’s Rentals & Sales, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada; Board Liaison — Thomas Fouts.

Events Ad Hoc: Chairperson — Kelly Murphy, Panache Party Rentals, Pompano Beach, Fla.; Charles Neffle; Robert Hughes, All Occasions Event Rental, Cincinnati; Damon Holditch, Austin RentAll Party, Austin, Texas; G. Richard Young Jr., Young Rental Center, Harvey, La.; Dulany Noble, Gala Cloths by Dulany, Reistertown, Md.; Steve Frost, Stamford Tent & Party Rental, Stamford, Conn.; Megan Jones-Holt, Celebration Party Rentals, Flemington, N.J.; Spencer Etzel, S.E.C. Sales Group, Wilsonville, Ore.;Paul Zahner, Party Time Rental, Carmel, Ind.; Board Liaison — Thomas Fouts.

Exhibitor Advisory: Chairperson — Ken Snover, Ingersoll-Rand Co., Annandale, N.J.; Laurence Price, Multiquip, Carson, Calif.; Jim Johnston, Hilti, Tulsa, Okla.; Kathyrn Reissig, Stone Construction Equipment, Honeoye, N.Y.; Michael Smollock, Merry Tiller/MacKissic, Parker Ford, Pa.; Tom Tucker, Exposition Management, St. Louis; Ken Persson, Maywood Furniture Corp., Maywood, N.J.; Board Liaison — Charles Neffle.

Governmental Affairs: Chairperson — Frank Wilson; Chris Wehrman, American Rental Association, Moline, Ill.; L. Sandy Meaders, Rent All of Laurel, Laurel, Miss.; Larry Pedersen, A Tool Shed, Campbell, Calif.; Terry Bryant, Bryant’s Rent-All of Lexington, Lexington, Ky.; Pamela McKenney, Bluffton, S.C.; Hal Roe, Bradley Equipment Rentals & Sales, Cleveland, Tenn.; Board Liaison — Charles Neffle.

A.R.A. Political Action: Chairperson — David Wilcox II; Thomas Fouts; Maun Petersen.

Investment: Chairperson — Charles Neffle; Chris Wehrman; Thomas Fouts; David Wilcox II; Frank Wilson; Vincent Nett, Advantage Rental Centers, Algonquin, Ill.; Jeffery Wearing.

Membership/State and Local Affiliate: Chairperson — David Henderson, A C & E Rental, Okemos, Mich.; Charles Neffle; Buddy Stubbs, Busylad, Tupelo, Miss.; Andy Cooke, Cooke Rentals – Cornelius, Cornelius, N.C.; Rhonda Pedersen, Pedersen’s Rentals, Seattle; Bob Anderson, Anderson Rentals, Lawrence, Kan.; Michele Crumbaugh, Independence Rent-All, Independence, Mo.; Lenny Meyer, Koshin America Corp., Schaumburg, Ill.; Board Liaison — Thomas Fouts.

MBA Ad Hoc Committee: Chairperson — Stan Crumbaugh, Independence Rent-All, Independence, Mo.; Jay Lageschulte; Thomas Fouts; Charles Neffle; David Wilcox II; Frank Wilson.

National Awards: Chairperson — Robert DeBusk; Chris Wehrman; Steve Kohn, Miller’s Rentals & Sales, Edison, N.J.; Douglas Dartnell, Bow, N.H.; Hotch Manning, Las Cruces, N.M.; Pamela McKenney.

National Nominating: Chairperson — Jay Lageschulte; Chris Wehrman; Jack Webster, McLean-Sherwood Party Rentals, Brampton, Ontario, Canada; Stan Crumbaugh; Charles Neffle; Frank Wilson; James Bunkoff, Shaker Equipment Rentals, Albany, N.Y.
Party Certification Ad Hoc: Chairperson — Maun Petersen; Charles Neffle; Catherine DeBusk, Party People Rentals & Sales, Phoenix; Susan Miles, PDQ Rentals, Santa Fe Springs, Calif.; Robert Sivek, The Meetinghouse Cos., Elmhurst, Ill.; Stephen Belliveau, Tentwares, Londonderry, N.H.; Jane Gillespie, Rental Service, Woburn, Mass.; John Crabbe; Andrew Paquette, Bravo Party Rentals, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, Canada; Board Liaison — Thomas Fouts.

City Conference Ad Hoc: Chairperson — Kathryn Reissig; Chris Wehrman; Maun Petersen; Thomas Fouts; Charles Neffle; David Wilcox II; Frank Wilson; Jeffery Wearing.
Long Range Planning: Chairperson — Richard Paquette, Pyramide Rental Centers, Chateauguay, Quebec, Canada; Chris Wehrman; Fred Anderson, Allison Box, Joseph Lynch and Kathy Schwartz, American Rental Association, Moline, Ill.; Pamela McKenney; Frank Wilson; David Wilcox II; Charles Neffle; Thomas Fouts; Maun Petersen; Steve O’Hearn, Deere & Co., Moline, Ill.; Steve Kohn; Andy Cooke; Terry Hagy, RentalMax, Downers Grove, Ill.; Maury Rice, Academy Tent & Canvas, Los Angeles. 

A.R.A.’s Missing Equipment 
Locator service is up and running

Until recently, store owners had few options for tracking down their missing equipment. Now, with A.R.A.’s new online Missing Equipment Locator service, members can simultaneously notify all U.S. and Canadian members about equipment they can’t account for.
For years members have asked the association for a way to quickly get the word out about lost equipment, according to Michael Moore, A.R.A. director of field services. “The Missing Equipment Locator is the first in a number of services designed to help dealerships with their bottom line,” he says.

A recent Minnesota survey illustrates how the entire rental industry’s bottom line is affected by missing equipment. Over a three-year period, losses totaled $75 million in Minnesota alone. That figure included replacement costs and insurance hikes due to increased claims.

A few regional rental associations have addressed missing equipment by forming alliances that alert their members as soon as products have been reported missing. “This new method covers all regions of North America, is easier to track and is instantaneous,” Moore says.

The Missing Equipment Locator was designed to make searching for lost equipment as easy as possible. The process begins when a rental store reports the lost item to its police department.

Then you go to the A.R.A.’s Web site where the Locator takes you through the entire “File a Report” form step-by-step. Some of the information it requires includes the law enforcement agency’s warrant or report number, the type of equipment lost, as well as its serial number and manufacturer. 

Along with details on the lost product, the report form also asks for information on the last person known to have rented it. Moore points out, though, that the software was not designed for tracking down alleged criminals. “The focus is on finding the equipment, not finding a suspect,” he says. “Never say it’s been stolen. Accidents do happen.”

Aside from filing reports, the Missing Equipment Locator also allows members to get a complete listing of reported missing equipment, search for a specific lost item and receive e-mail alerts of the latest missing equipment. 

You can find out more about the Missing Equipment Locator by clicking on “Just for Members” on A.R.A.’s home page, www.ararental.org. Log in using your member ID number and password, then select “Missing Equipment Locator” under the “Member Resources” tab.

The Missing Equipment Locator is just another way A.R.A. is helping you keep your products — and profits —from leaving your store. 

Customize your store locator home page at 2RENTSMART.com

A.R.A. members who have provided their equipment inventory for the Store Locator on A.R.A.’s new consumer Web site at 

www.2RENTsmart.com, can customize a home page for their business that appears when consumers visit the site. 

Members have the flexibility to customize their store’s unique page. Standard information, supplied directly from the A.R.A. database, includes store name, address, phone and fax numbers, Web site and e-mail addresses. Custom features that may be added include a store photo, hours of operation, delivery policies and a brief promotional message. 

To customize your home page, log on to www.ararental.org and select “Just for Members.” Provide your member identification number and password, select “Membership Information” and select “Update 2RENTsmart.com,” rather than “Update Information Online.” Make changes by following the prompts, including uploading a store photo. Or, call Web Editor Mike Savely at A.R.A. (800) 334-2177, ext. 246. A.R.A. will customize your home page for a nominal fee. 

By following these steps and selecting “Update Information Online,” you can add or delete equipment from your inventory list and change a store address, fax or phone number to keep your store’s information current for the Store Locator.

You’ll receive faxed equipment reservation requests through the Web-based Store-Locator service. If A.R.A. has your fax number, customers can send faxes directly to you from the Products Listing page. The customer can select the equipment and the date needed, and provide other information in the memo area. This message will automatically carry the sender’s phone number and, as an option, his or her e-mail address.

Members must have a full-time dedicated fax line to receive fax inquiries.

The new consumer Web site and phone hotline are ongoing services that bring customers to your business as a benefit of your A.R.A. membership. 

If you’re not an A.R.A. member and you’d like to take advantage of these services, join A.R.A. online at www.ararental.org or call (800) 334-2177 for a membership application. When you join, take a few minutes to provide detailed information about your inventory for the Store Locator. Your store will be added to the locator service within 10 working days. 

A.R.A.’s (866) 2RENTSMART hotline connects stores and customers

Potential customers can reach an A.R.A.-member store using the the new consumer Web site, www.2RENTsmart. com. There’s also a direct toll-free phone number — (866) 2RENTsmart — that can connect a customer to a nearby A.R.A. member’s store. 

Here’s how this service works: The caller hears a welcome message: “Thank you for calling (866) 2RENTsmart, a service of the American Rental Association [or the Rental Association of Canada]. Renting is the smart way to get things done.” In Canada, the welcome will be repeated in French.

A couple of preliminaries follow. First, it is established that the caller has a touch-tone phone. In Canada, the caller has the option to listen in English or in French.

Then the caller hears, “Please make your selection to be connected to a rental store near you that can best assist you. For party rentals, press one. For home-improvement tools, press two. For construction equipment, press three.”

To locate the store, the callers are asked to enter their zip codes in the U.S., or their 10-digit phone numbers in Canada. Still using the keypad, their numbers are confirmed, or corrected if they are not valid. Once the callers’ numbers are confirmed, the system automatically connects them to an A.R.A. [RAC] member store within 10 miles.

When callers are connected to member stores, the store employees hear this message: “A customer is being transferred to you from the A.R.A. (866) 2RENTsmart store-locator line. Please press pound to continue.”

If the call cannot be completed — the line is busy or it’s after business hours — the caller is given the option of calling back during normal business hours, trying another location or leaving a fax message for the store reached. The fax message will be an option only for stores with a dedicated fax line. The fax will contain the caller’s phone number, type of rental, choice of the same day or another day to call back and the time of day the caller wants the return call — morning, afternoon or evening. Message faxes will be sent throughout the day, as consumers call.

In the end, whether callers are connected or leave a message, they will hear this departing thought: “Thanks for calling the American Rental Association [Rental Association of Canada] locator connection line, (866) 2RENTsmart. For more information, log on to www.2RENTsmart.com.”

For more information about the (866) 2RENTsmart hotline, call the A.R.A. at (800) 334-2177, ext. 254. 

association briefs

A.R.A. Insurance Services announces charter of reinsurance company in the Cayman Islands

As the business insurance market tightens, A.R.A. Insurance Services (AIS) announces the charter of a reinsurance company, which will help stabilize the insurance market for A.R.A. members. 

The charter for A.R.A. Insurance Ltd., located in Georgetown, Cayman Islands, British West Indies, was activated Feb. 23. AIS reported the completion of the charter to the A.R.A. board of directors at its February meeting in Orlando, Fla.

According to Phil Kelling, AIS president, “With the creation of A.R.A. Insurance Ltd., A.R.A. members now have two insurance entities that are wholly owned by the association. The agency, AIS, provides coverage through Safeco Insurance,” he said. “Creation of the reinsurance company provides members an additional safety net in times of insurance crisis, such as the current hard insurance market.”

In a hard market, rates rise, coverage tightens and some insurance companies will leave this market, Kelling said.

“A.R.A. Insurance Ltd. wasn’t started a moment too soon,” he said. “Everyone is flocking to the alternative market. AIS started early. We developed the concept six years ago, and the A.R.A. board of directors gave us permission to proceed last February.”

“This is one of the best opportunities for A.R.A. in years,” said Jack Greenfield, chairman of the AIS board of directors. “Now we have the ability to control our destiny in insurance. As we grow, AIS can offer coverage that can solve additional problems in the rental industry.”

Director-at-large terms extended to two years

The A.R.A. Board of Directors, at its March 1 post-convention meeting in Orlando, decided to extend the terms of both at-large directors to two years, beginning with Linda Jones, member director-at-large, and Kathryn Reissig, associate member director-at-large.