RER: Tell me a little bit about your business and your background in the rental industry.
Morehead: I came to the rental industry after working for 10 years as an advanced development engineering leader at the RCA Corporation. A good friend, T. Charles McCourt, had purchased a rental store in Lancaster, Pa., in 1964. When he heard in 1970 that I was planning to change jobs, he suggested I buy part of his store and help him grow it faster. We grew to five stores before Charlie decided to sell out and focus his time on building chairs. At that point I bought all of Ace Rents. I currently have one location, and have enjoyed expanding it into a combined tool and party rental store.
I recognized the importance of trade associations even back in my RCA days, and I have always been active in some way in promoting my industry. My past experience in ARA is as a local association officer as well as ARA council chairman, regional director, and board member at large.
What do you perceive as your biggest challenge as ARA president?
Our members have valuable business services available to them as a result of being members of ARA. Unfortunately, many of these services are not utilized. My biggest challenge will be to find a way within the association to bring to the forefront the values of membership. My second biggest challenge will be to find a way to measure the effectiveness of our programs to ensure that they continue to be the best resources for our members.
Is the membership base of ARA currently where you would like it to be? What will you do to maintain current memberships, obtain new ones and foster more volunteerism?
I plan to nurture ARA's worldwide membership base. One of our strategic objectives is to enhance the presence of ARA internationally for the benefit of our members. Right now we have a strong membership base in the United States and Canada, as well as members in more than 30 countries, upon which we plan to build.
A detailed study of the dynamics of our membership was begun under the presidency of Dave Wilcox and has been continued by Tom Fouts. My hope is that the conclusion and results of this study will enable us to build a more effective membership program in 2004. Fortunately we have members who are willing to invest their time and talents in ARA as volunteers.
Our plan is to encourage volunteerism by providing training for members who want to get involved, and by supporting them with good staff to make their jobs easier. ARA has made remarkable progress in this initiative over the past two years.
What will you do to grow the next generation of ARA members?
So far my average in that regard is 33 percent. One of my three sons, David, serves as general manager and vice president of Ace Rents. ARA feels strongly that involvement of the next generation of rental owners is vital to the association. As president, I have already taken the opportunity to increase next generation involvement by asking many of the second and third generation members to accept positions on committees and task forces, and they have accepted.
I will also encourage those who demonstrate good decision making skills and leadership qualities to give future consideration to seeking ARA board positions. I have experienced first-hand that involving talented people in positions of responsibility in ARA adds value to their membership by giving them opportunities to network with top professionals in their field and that it also greatly benefits the association.
What are your plans for the RenTech Program in 2004 and do you have any new plans in development for additional continuing education programs?
Since the pilot RenTech program in December of 2001, there have been nine RenTech events. The two that I attended were well organized, and I found the subject matter useful in many ways. The best part is that the information was provided by experts. The RenTech programs provide training for members in a close-to-home location and are typically one to two days in length. The topics are driven by the needs of the state or region in which the training is held. This kind of forum provides excellent training and plenty of time for networking among members who share common problems unique to their area. RenTech also provides opportunities to develop leadership skills among our members since the program planning and on-site work is done by volunteers. It teaches by example how volunteers who supply the ideas and direction of an event can effectively work with the ARA staff that supports the effort by taking care of the time-consuming details of making sure the program is organized and runs well. In addition to the RenTech held in Canada in January, several more are under consideration for 2004.
A new program receiving attention by our members is RentalU, a computer-based learning program that offers a variety of rental subjects as well as general business training. Although our second and third generation members are more accustomed to e-learning than our older members, it is truly a more efficient and convenient way to learn. We also have continuing education for party rental called CERP.
Can you give me an update in the status of ARA's relationship with the California Rental Association?
We are two independent rental trade associations, each dedicated to the advancement of the rental industry. I believe that when opportunities present themselves, we can cooperate with one another in achieving common goals.
Economically speaking, what do you think 2004 will bring for the rental equipment industry?
I agree with what we are hearing from our member surveys — a better economy in 2004. Reports I see indicate a five percent increase in gross domestic product (GDP) over the year. The increase should benefit all segments of the rental industry but especially equipment rental.
Rental is growing dramatically in the East in countries such as India. Will ARA be an active participant in fostering continued international growth?
Yes. We will be a significant part of a formal international rental alliance that had its beginnings in The Netherlands two years ago. The Worldwide Rental Alliance, dedicated to working as partners to perpetuate rental worldwide, consists of representatives from several international associations who are meeting this month in the United States during The Rental Show for the second year in a row.
ARA intends to take a leadership position and to facilitate international relationships.
About which issues will ARA lobby the legislature in Washington D.C. this year?
A top priority issue is to get a favorable outcome from the Department of Transportation to allow the use of surge brakes in interstate commerce. We hope that this will get the issue resolved. The tax issues are next in priority, which include inheritance taxes, bonus depreciation, and expensing provisions (Section 179 of the internal revenue code). Timely now are re-authorization of the transportation bill (TEA-21), association health plans and liability issues. We are part of coalitions working on these items.
What will ARA do to address some of the current pressing issues with insurance?
ARA has two insurance subsidiaries — ARA Insurance Services, a managing general agency, and ARA Insurance, LTD, an offshore captive insurance company. I plan to work closely with the boards of both companies during my term as president. I believe that loss control education is essential if rental dealers are going to have a stable insurance market, and I would like to see the educational and safety programs of our subsidiaries emphasized this year.
