Kelly Pouche, vice president/event specialist, Platte Rental Supply in Platte City, Mo., has joined the ARA of Missouri board of directors.
Although Kelly has been involved in the rental industry since 2008 when she and her husband, Ashley, purchased Platte Rental Supply from his parents, Fred and Marty, who started the company in 2000, her primary vocation through 2018 was teaching. Although most of her time was spent in the classroom during those years, she also was closely observing and learning about the operations of the rental business.
“When Fred and Marty decided to retire, they asked us if we would want to buy the business from them. At that moment, I was in my sixth year of teaching second grade and was pregnant with our first child. We decided to take the opportunity full-on. I stayed on as a teacher for nine more years; however, I took part in learning the ropes around the equipment rental side by going to the ARA’s [American Rental Association] rental shows and in 2013 we went to Germany and Switzerland to visit the Stihl plant,” she says.
Kelly’s full career transition from education to rental took place after the Pouches opened their second location in Platte City in 2017.
“We decided to expand the store beyond just tool rental by adding party and event rental to our fleet,” she says. “In 2018, I ended my 15-year career as a teacher and joined the staff in Platte City to build up this location. The pandemic made my transition from teaching to the rental world challenging, but our business has made great strides and I am looking forward to many years of growth.”
Stepping up to serve the industry through volunteer leadership is something of a family tradition for the Pouches. “My husband has been involved with the Associated Rental Stores of Kansas City for many years and then took on the position of president for the ARA of Missouri. I wanted to get more involved so that I could learn more about the rental industry, in particular the party/event side. I have already learned new ideas from my fellow board members that I am incorporating into our business,” Kelly says.
During her tenure on her ARA state chapter board, Kelly hopes to set the tone for a greater level of involvement from event rental operators in ARA of Missouri functions.
“My goal is to work alongside my other board members and encourage other party and event stores to become more involved in the state chapter,” she says. “Moving forward, I'd also like to see the event industry in particular be more prepared to combat any national or global issues that affect the business such as the pandemic did in 2020 and most of 2021.”
Away from work, Kelly serves as a substitute teacher at her children’s school, and she stays busy through involvement in her children’s activities.