Oklahoma City rental operators Jennifer Rodriguez, CERP, general manager, Marianne’s Rentals, and William Edward (WEB) Brown III, president, ARS, have joined the ARA of Oklahoma board of directors.
Rodriguez says it was time to become more involved in her state association.
“I am a third-generation rental store operator. We are now 100 percent event. I always felt the event side was underrepresented. After seeing the ARA [American Rental Association] take a more focused approach to the event side, I thought, OK, maybe on a national level, they are coming to the place and seeing the event side as different — that you have to market it differently, you have to have a focused division. I think national is going in the right direction. I thought it would be something that would be worth continuing on the state level, and I wanted to help drive that change,” she says.
Rodriguez, who was named secretary of the board, brings a wide skill set to her new role. “I have worked full time at this company for 21 years. I was raised in the rental industry,” she says.
Her grandfather started a tool rental store in the 1970s, which Rodriguez says gives her a “unique perspective and some historical background on the rental industry in our market and how it has changed and grown and evolved,” she says.
Since her rental career has been on the event rental side, Rodriguez admits that she is “so mindedly event-focused,” which she says will be helpful as she joins the state chapter board.
“I believe I can help the board think about events because that is all I think about. I love what I do. I love the event industry as a whole. We say to everyone here, ‘We are a service industry. We help people have special events.’ That is what we do. We serve in that way through our rental inventory. For us it is about the experience and the products our customers receive. It is about making it easy for them, providing them a service that will make their events special, whether that be a wedding, trade show, conference or memorial service,” she says.
That history has made her want to be a change agent — to help all rental operations. One way she would like to drive that change is by offering educational meetings at the state level that would benefit both event and tool rental operations.
“I would like to see the local attendance of the meetings grow and the topics become more universally applicable. Even the networking isn’t worth it if the topic doesn’t pertain to what I need to grow my business. That is why I would like to see the focus on business development, networking and providing resources to the business owner that can grow their business, including possibly offering a financial education on running a business off zero debt. There are a lot of businesses that come with the cash in their wallet and only purchase what they can afford to pay for. I think that would be beneficial,” she says.
Rodriguez also would like to offer educational opportunities that would help “everyone be on the same page regarding standard practices for our industry. The more exposure we can have to the similar ways of doing things, the more we can standardize the local market so everyone is using the same best practices,” she says.
A good example of best practices centers around ballasting tents. “Now everyone is getting the same education and is offering a unified front as to the proper way to ballast a tent. There are so many other safety best practices. There is always a better version of ourselves to strive for. In this business, learning never stops. There are always ways to learn to be better leaders, run your company in a better way to take care of your employees, make our clients happy, etc. Focusing on those best practices can help all of us and be a reason why people will want to go to a meeting,” she says.
Rodriguez, like other rental operators in her area and around the country, is having a challenging time finding employees. That is why she would like the state chapter “to find a way to have job fairs to help our industry. There is nothing like our industry. I would like to see rental companies in our state band together to find ways to promote the jobs that are available,” she says.
Brown is no stranger to board service. He started volunteering for the state chapter in 2009, serving as president from 2015-2016.
When Brown was asked to rejoin the board, he gladly agreed. “They had a need for me and asked if I would consider serving again. They are all friends and I like them all, and, frankly, if they wanted me to be on the board, I was happy to do so,” he says.
Brown’s business offers primarily new and used shelving, pallet rack industrial shelving, industrial surplus and material handling equipment. “We literally provide anything you would find in warehousing and manufacturing,” he says.
Brown serves on many different boards in his area, including the Oklahoma Christian Apartments, which offers low-income housing for seniors, and on the FBI Citizens Academy. He brings that knowledge, his years of experience in the industry and his expertise in commercial and industrial real estate to his board role.
“I bring my past management of the ARA of Oklahoma board, ARA and other boards, and my experience with businesses of many types. I have a diverse portfolio and I interact with the business community on many levels throughout the state. I find that I enjoy people more than business and have learned that business is a byproduct of good friendships,” he says.
As for goals during his tenure, Brown would like to “see our membership grow and see our activities in both work and pleasure increase. Frankly, the board works very hard. I am a big people person and like to have fun as you go down the road. I want all of us to enjoy the ride as we help each other,” he says.
Brown’s businesses were not immune to the effects of the pandemic. “I know that the pandemic has hit the event rental companies the worst. Some of my businesses were impacted and some were not. I have areas where I was exposed to significant downturns, including ARS. However, I feel blessed that I was able to pay all my employees even though I sent them home for several months. Now business is coming back, which is great. However, all of us are exposed to shortages and other challenges from supplies to pricing. I sell more pallet racks than anyone in this part of the country, but pricing has more than doubled, freight has more than doubled in price, deliveries have gone out to 20 weeks. There are a lot of challenges that we are all facing. So, it is important for all of us to help each other navigate through the supply stream. The pandemic could significantly reintroduce itself because of the Delta variant. I think a critical component is for all of us to encourage everyone to get their vaccination because we cannot afford to shut our country down again,” he says.
Brown looks forward to helping the board offer educational and networking opportunities as a way to help rental operators get back on their feet and navigate these challenges moving forward.
He also looks forward to seeing his rental friends again. “Coming back to the board is like a reunion. I know the board members and they know me. I look forward to visiting with the board and other members again. I have missed interacting with them during the pandemic. I am excited to be back and am happy to serve until my services are no longer needed,” he says.