Joe Craley, manager, Great Lakes Rental & Equipment Service, based in Toledo, Ohio, and Amanda Withee, CERP, director of operations, Sully’s Tool & Party Rental, Akron, Ohio, have joined the ARA of Ohio board.
Craley’s initial foray into rental came about through helping a friend. He had no idea that assistance would put him on a career path in the rental industry.
“I grew up with the owner’s son. He asked for help setting up tents one weekend. I came in and helped him do that. It was one of those things where I never got asked to leave, so I kept showing up. I helped Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during high school while I was playing football. During my senior year, I would come in after school and on Saturdays. I started full time after I graduated from high school in 2014,” Craley says.
Rental has been the perfect career choice for him. “It was a great move. It was one of those things where I didn’t know what I was going to do after high school, so I ran with the rental and fell in love. Working here has been great. I like that every day is different. I get to work with my hands, and I like working with the construction customers and getting them the tools they need when they need them,” he says.
Craley has worked in almost every area of the operation. “I started basically from the ground up — being the yard guy pressure-washing machines, doing the fuel checks and getting the equipment ready to rent. Then I moved to a delivery position. From there I started working the front counter and was given more and more responsibilities. The owner has been a great teacher. In 2019, I became the manager of our Sylvania operation, which caters to the equipment market. I think of myself as more a hands-on type of manager. I often find myself in the yard helping alongside my yard personnel. I also like teaching our high school guys and sharing the knowledge I learned not too long ago,” he says.
Now that he’s a manager he wants to continue “to learn more and grow with the industry,” he says. When Craley heard about the opportunity to serve on the ARA of Ohio board, he knew this would be a great chance to do both.
“I have been to The ARA Show™ and some ARA of Ohio events and have seen how rental companies interact with each other. It is a great industry to be in. I would like to learn from peers who have been in this industry longer than me. I also would like to bring to light new challenges in the industry so everyone can learn from each other. I am still learning to this day. I believe you have to keep learning each day or else you aren’t growing,” he says.
Craley believes he can bring “a fresh perspective to the board. I am part of the Young Professional Network. I am curious about what else is out there to learn and grow from. There is a lot of stuff that I haven’t seen and a lot of things I want to learn.”
Once he gets a better feel for what is involved in his position, he will make suggestions. “At first I want to see how everything works, but then I plan to step in. I like to get into the action and make things happen, so I plan to be an active board member,” he says.
As far as goals, he would like to see “more involvement from the younger up-and-coming generation of rental operators. It is important for younger people to take part to see what is going on, see where the industry is going and what is in store for those like me. If you don’t get involved, it is like not watching the news and then you get blindsided by something critical you didn’t know about. It is important for us to be on the battlefield to make positive change,” he says.
Withee, whose family has been serving the event and equipment rental needs of her community for nearly 75 years, always knew rental was for her.
“I grew up in the business, doing the dishes as a kid and working up to the counter. This always has been a passion of mine. During college, I would come home on the weekends and each summer to work here, but Dad said I had to get another job to make sure this was truly my passion and what I would want to spend the rest of my life doing. After college, I was an analyst for an insurance company. I was there exactly two years and 355 days before I came back,” says Withee, who was featured in Rental Management in 2019 as one of the “12 to watch under 40.”
For the past eight years, Withee and her brother-in-law, Brian Molnar, have been handling the day-to-day duties with the off-site oversight of Withee’s father, Richard Saunders, president.
Withee says being asked to serve on the ARA of Ohio board now “is a real honor. I have served on other young professional boards for various chambers in the Akron and Canton area. Serving in this way has been a passion of mine. I stopped my board service when I had my two sons, but now that they are a little bit older, I feel I can get involved again in this way and give back. I really have missed not serving in this way.”
Withee brings to her new role a lot of experience as well as enthusiasm and appreciation for what the ARA of Ohio has offered the state’s rental community.
“I know what is expected as a board member from serving on previous boards. I also have really enjoyed what the ARA of Ohio board has put together in the past — the educational opportunities and the Columbus Zoo outing. I just look forward to being a part of that and bringing everyone together again after COVID for educational and just networking opportunities. It is important to get to talk and grow your network with the help of your rental peers. What you can learn from your fellow rental peers who are in the same boat as you — the tips and tricks that others are implementing to make things work in their rental operations — is invaluable,” she says.
After understanding the requirements of her new role, Withee says she will be ready to “jump both feet in straightaway and help in any way I can,” she says.