April 11, 2023
Michelle Nelson, ECP-ST
Aloha, American Rental Association (ARA) Region Nine members!
My name is Michelle Nelson, president of MK Equipment Corp. in Honolulu. It is an honor to have the opportunity to share with you this month.
As we say hello to spring, I hope that by the time you read this the weather will have improved. My mother-in-law had to evacuate her home this season due to flooding in her area of Northern California. When this is all over, it is comforting to know that just down the street she can rent whatever she needs from a trusted ARA-member store to restore the water damage. I know they will take care of her even though they don’t know her because I know the owner of that store and their customer service culture. ARA is not just a professional association. ARA is a standard that we can all be proud of.
Whether you are heavily involved in your state chapter or you didn’t even know you were in Region Nine until today, I want to remind you that there’s always something new going on. ARA works hard to continue adding value for its members year after year, and I’d like to tell you about some of the latest resources available to us.
Let’s talk first about safety. A few months ago, I heard that OSHA inspections are on the rise in Hawaii and it caused me to ask myself if I was doing everything I could to keep us compliant. Thankfully, RentalU offers convenient, online, rental-specific, under-five-minute safety awareness training videos at no cost to members. Imagine having a subscription that sends everyone in your store a link to a new safety topic each month, helping to keep safety top of mind at your business. ARA does this through the monthly Prioritize Safety Series. And if you want more, RentalU has longer, in-depth training available on those topics as well.
Another priority is keeping up with industry news. By now you may have noticed that the Rental Management magazine digital issue has been transformed. The Rental Management website offers articles, videos and more. Everything is sharable via social media, but you don’t have to be into that to find what you are interested in. There are navigational tools, search bars and filters.
And lastly, ARA works hard at gathering industry data and putting it together in one place to help us make better-informed decisions. I would like to encourage all of you to participate in ARA’s surveys and research. If each of you could take the time to leave a rental software review by clicking here, praising your software or letting us know that it isn’t working for you, that would help others who are looking for answers. Also, when Mike Savely sends out the quarterly survey, if you have a few moments please take some time to respond. The results always mean more when more people participate, and meaningful information benefits everyone.
By the way, April is Volunteer Appreciation Month. ARA’s success is due largely in part to the work of members who volunteer their time to help drive the industry forward. If you’re interested in learning more about ways to get involved, you can find more information here. From my experience volunteering on ARA’s Equipment Rental Shared Interest Group, I can tell you that it is extremely fulfilling.
I hope I added some value to your day today. And don’t forget to check out the community calendar to learn about upcoming events near you. Mahalo.
Michelle Nelson, ECP-ST
MK Equipment Corp.
Honolulu
808-847-2965
michelle@mkequipment.com
