Rental operators who attended the ARA of Ohio’s April 1 meeting received valuable information on topics that are nothing to fool with — on-the-road safety and cybersecurity. However, the meeting wasn’t all hardcore education as the night ended with delicious heavy hors d’oeuvres and relaxing rounds of friendly competition at Topgolf.
The event kicked off with the presentation “Ohio State Highway Patrol, Licensing and Commercial Standards” by Ohio State Motor Carrier Enforcement Supervisor Brandon Evans and Trooper Tim Mularcik.
They offered a hands-on presentation, with time for questions-and-answers. Issues they addressed included:
- How placement on the trailer affects weight on the tow vehicle and trailer axles
- Portable scales deployment
- Inspection of load securement and weight and load securement regulations
- Differences in truck and trailer combinations
- Proper tie-down procedures
- Applicability of federal and state CMV safety regulations
The second educational offering, “The Before and After You Have Been Breached,” featured Glenn Smith, founder and CEO of World Synergy and chairman of the FBI Cleveland Citizens Academy.
Smith highlighted how:
- Businesses should be rethinking their approach to cybersecurity.
- To build a cybersecurity strategy to protect your business.
- To protect your business prior to a breach and what to do after a breach has occurred.
Then attendees gathered for food and drinks before they tested their golf swings on the Topgolf driving range, offering lots of networking, enjoyment and bragging rights to the winner.
“The educational portion of the program highlighted important topics, whether you are in equipment or event rental,” says Danny Fielitz, president, General Rent-All, Massillon, Ohio, who serves as ARA of Ohio president. “We partnered with local and state law enforcement officers to guide us on best-practice techniques and knowledge around transportation of rental items, whether by a customer or our own rental vehicles. Then we focused on ways to protect our businesses from cyberthreats. You can just watch the nightly news and see businesses, large and small, that have been attacked. He shared great tips on what we can do to protect our businesses and what steps we need to take if we are hacked.”
After that thorough education, Fielitz says everyone was ready for some relaxation and fun. “We had a great dinner and then everyone had a blast at Topgolf. I wasn’t the only one who discovered that we could use a little help in this area, but no matter how anyone did, we all had a great time. Plus, we ended the evening by giving away more than $5,000 in prizes, including a Traeger smoker. It was an awesome way to end the evening,” he says.
Connie Lannan
Connie Lannan is special projects editor for Rental Management. She helps plan, coordinate, write and edit ARA’s quarterly regional newsletters, In Your Region. She also researches, writes and edits news and feature articles for Rental Management, Rental Pulse, supplements, special reports and other special projects. Outside of work, she loves to bake for others, go for walks with her husband and volunteer for her church and causes she believes in.
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