Steve Lusby, general manager, Grand True Value Rental/Grand Rental Station, Hackettstown, N.J., has taken on the role of president for the ARA of New Jersey. He succeeds Courtney Tamuzza, general manager, A Party Center, Fairfield, N.J.
“I am very excited to get this year started as the new president of the ARA of New Jersey,” Lusby says.
Grand True Value Rental was established in 1995 as a Grand Rental Station location and offers event, wedding, tent and party rentals as well as rentals on the construction/tool side. Lusby joined the ARA of New Jersey board in 2018. Prior to coming on board, he participated in the American Rental Association’s (ARA) Leadership Conference to hone his volunteer leadership skills and also has voiced the concerns of state rental operators in Washington, D.C., as part of ARA’s National Legislative Caucus.
As he steps into his new role, foremost on Lusby’s mind is to “bring a fresh mindset to this established chapter. It has been wonderful seeing the group grow over the four years I have been a member. Primarily, I'd like to get members back into each other’s stores following the pandemic and really create awareness in our industry. I expect to grow our networking relationship between the stores and also welcome new ones.”
Many of Lusby’s planned initiatives for the state chapter involve the quality of event offerings and encouraging member participation.
“I want our group to have regular meetings that are interesting and helpful, [with content] that our members can take back and share with employees, like the safety seminar that we hosted at our Grand Rental Station in Hackettstown in March,” he says. “I also hope to have times where we just meet for a causal dinner to catch up on what is going on within one another's stores. I think this will allow us to have a greater trust and bond with one another as a chapter.”
Although he has only just begun his stint as ARA of New Jersey president, Lusby already is contemplating the legacy he will leave behind and is laying the foundation now for a productive term.
“My goals are to have our members be comfortable with sharing ideas and to leave the chapter stronger then when I entered,” he says. “When my term does come to end, I would like to leave a core foundation behind. We will have the next group of board members selected as I exit so the transition is seamless and easy for both our existing and new members.”