Pianelli is ‘humbled’ and ‘honored’ to become Region Nine director in March

On March 23, Alberto Pianelli, general manager, F & B Rentals, Santa Ana, Calif., will assume his new role as Region Nine director on the American Rental Association (ARA) board — a position he is eager to assume and one he takes very seriously.

“I feel honored to be able to represent my peers, hear what they have to say and be their voice for our entire region, which covers California, Nevada and Hawaii,” Pianelli says. “We are a region full of members who have a lot of different opinions and needs. It means so much to me that my peers picked me to represent them. I don’t take that lightly. It is a serious commitment. I feel humbled that Region Nine members have confidence in me. I will continue to do the footwork to better our industry and association. I am very excited to be part of something that is much bigger than myself and be of service to my peers.”

Pianelli was strongly encouraged by many of his rental peers to run for the position. That support fueled his desire to “add something to what already has been done and also bring some new ideas to the table,” he says. “I love networking and helping people in our industry. I think I have the ability to make connections where there might not have been connections before. I also bring a younger generation’s perspective. I am the third generation of my family to work in our rental business. While I have been in the industry for a long time, I also believe I have a fresh view from a young professional’s standpoint.”

For the past three years, Pianelli has been volunteering as the ARA of California president. “Through that role, I had the opportunity to put on events, set budgets for those events and gain a good grasp of how expansive and how big our membership is in California alone. I also was able to hear from rental store owners the things they wanted to see happen and what they were looking for from the association. That has given me a good pulse of both the construction side as well as the event side. That insight has helped me prepare for my new role. I don’t feel I am stepping into this position blind,” he says.

He has already begun thinking about goals he would like to accomplish during his tenure. “I would like to increase the participation throughout the region. California alone is so huge. I hope to help our members in California, Nevada and Hawaii become more engaged and realize all the resources that ARA has to help run their businesses. They really are awesome. Nevada and Hawaii don’t have state boards. I would like to have more events out there, including educational opportunities, which members in those states could find beneficial. Through events like these, I hope to encourage them and show the benefits of forming state chapters. When you have a state chapter, there is so much more that can be offered to members in that state,” he says.

Pianelli is very positive about where the industry is headed and ARA’s role in that. “ARA is doing so much for our members and helping the industry be strong well into the future. On the legislative side alone, there is so much that ARA is doing to benefit all our members. I am excited about where we are heading, and I encourage everyone in our industry to become more involved and see all that ARA offers and what ARA is doing to help all of us be successful. I look forward to being part of the board and assisting ARA in that effort,” he says.