SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Larry Pedersen, newly elected president of the Rental Industry Association, promises to make new efforts to develop a revised trade-show agreement with the American Rental Association.

"Frank (Wilson, ARA president) and I have talked, and we're hoping to come to some kind of conclusion," Pedersen told RER. "I've been involved in these efforts from the beginning, and I hope we can get something done."

Pedersen, a longtime association activist who served on both RIA's and ARA's legislative affairs committees, has a lot of experience in the often murky waters of politically charged negotiations. Pedersen owns A Tool Shed in Campbell, Calif.

In other RIA news, two non-California rental company owners have been appointed to RIA's board of directors for the first time, as the association planned when it changed its name from the California Rental Association last year. David Dworschak, Don's Rental, St. Helens, Ore., and Steve Garcia, Garcia's Tents and Events, Albuquerque, N.M., will be present at RIA's board meeting in San Francisco next month.

In other election news, John Wetherholt is the association's new vice president; Dale Blackwell, treasurer; and Laird Burns, secretary.