Taylor steps up as ARA of North Carolina president
By Brock Huffstutler
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Taylor steps up as ARA of North Carolina president

Kimberly Taylor, CERP, CEO, TCS Event Rentals, Burlington, N.C., has taken on the role of president for the ARA of North Carolina. She succeeds Shannon Thomas, CERP, owner, Creative Solutions Special Events, Belmont, N.C., who has transitioned into the position of board chair.

TCS Event Rentals was established in 1985 and provides event supplies for individuals, colleges and universities, organizations, businesses and more across the eastern United States. In 2022, the company was acquired by CMG Ventures, the parent company of Durham, N.C.-based Best Rent‐All and Best Tents & Events.

Taylor has had two tenures with TCS Event Rentals. Her initial run began in 2002 and was a learning curve, where her natural inquisitiveness made her familiar with the operations of an event rental company. After a 10-year hiatus working in sales for another company, she was recruited back to TCS in 2017 as part of its sales team. Taylor soon earned a position of higher scope — director of business development — and in 2020 was promoted to chief operations officer. Following the CMG Ventures acquisition, Taylor was promoted again to CEO of TCS Event Rentals and of Piedmont Portables, another company that was part of the acquisition.

In 2019, Taylor joined the ARA of North Carolina board of directors, becoming the American Rental Association’s (ARA) state chapter vice president in 2021. Stepping into the role of president, she says she is “excited to see what benefits I can help others find available to them through the ARA. I hope by serving on the board I can grow the North Carolina membership. I know we haven’t tapped into all the things ARA can assist with and I’m sure there are other companies in the same spot.”

Taylor says her first order of business as president is to attract new faces to state chapter events. “I would really like to see more involvement from newer groups of people — refresh the attendance pool, so to speak,” she says. “We seem to get the same people at most events and that’s because we get most comfortable with people we know. I want to meet new people and excite them about ARA.”

Leveraging ARA resources on workforce development at the state level is another priority for Taylor during her tenure.

“I personally think the industry missed an opportunity of educating a whole generation of people, so I would like to see what ARA national has done with educating young people on careers in rental and bring that to the state chapters so we can influence locally. I think this is huge for the organization and the future labor pool,” Taylor says.

Brock Huffstutler

Brock HuffstutlerBrock Huffstutler

Brock Huffstutler is the regional news editor for Rental Management. He writes and edits articles for ARA’s In Your Region quarterly regional newsletters, Rental Management, Rental Pulse and other special projects. Outside of work, he enjoys biking and spending time at the few remaining vintage record stores in the region.

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