Gagnon and Castro join the ARA of Arizona board
By Connie Lannan
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Gagnon and Castro join the ARA of Arizona board

Eddie Gagnon, territory manager, ProCon JCB – Arizona, Phoenix, and Brady Castro, principal, PRO EM National Event Services, based in Phoenix, have joined the ARA of Arizona board.

Gagnon is eager to take on his new role and was recently named secretary of the board. “The biggest thing for me is networking and learning from each other,” he says.

Gagnon, who is originally from Wisconsin, worked as an outside sales rep for Sunbelt Rentals in Indianapolis and Joliet, Ill., for 12 years prior to joining ProCon JCB. He knows how important safety is to the success of an operation, both at the business and on the job site. “Being part of the board, I would like to emphasize initiatives that can improve the safety of job and work environments,” he says.

He brings a variety of experiences to his new role. Before joining the equipment rental industry, Gagnon worked at Honda Manufacturing and then as a wind turbine technician. Sunbelt Rentals was his first exposure to rental and helped him learn a great deal about the industry.

“I have experience in a lot of different areas of rental. That was the nice thing about my Sunbelt career. They dealt with power, construction and industrial rental. I learned almost the whole spectrum of rental in one place. I have a varied background and stored knowledge,” he says.

Gagnon moved to ProCon JCB after talks with the owner and vice president of sales, who were both previous Sunbelt employees.  

“I have been here since August. I am now on the dealership side of things, which is definitely nice for me to be able to see this side. I am now dealing with the support on this side as well as rental opportunities,” he says. “At ProCon I am the heavy-equipment specialist for the West Coast, dealing with big heavy wheel loaders and excavators. That is a new line for me that I have taken on since I have been here.”

As someone who is “very organized and detail-oriented,” Gagnon is eager to begin his board service by listening to others. “You can always learn more and can accomplish more by listening to what the goals are and then seeing how you can help. I want to support the association and see how I can help the state chapter achieve them.”

While Castro is new to service on the ARA of Arizona board, having recently been appointed vice president, he has spent lots of time volunteering at the national level. He has served with the American Rental Association’s (ARA) Party & Event Services Shared Interest Group and is currently serving on the association’s Large Event Rental Company Council and the Event Rental Advocacy Work Group.

“I have really enjoyed my time on these groups. Volunteering on the ARA of Arizona board is just another way to get involved at the local level,” he says. “I have had nothing but overwhelmingly positive experiences during my time with ARA. I just want to share that with other people in the industry.”

Castro has spent nearly 25 years in the event rental industry. “I started with PRO EM in 1998, working part time as a parking attendant. As the business started to grow, I grew with it,” he says.

He quickly moved up the ranks — into sales, as director of security, then working in operations and eventually becoming vice president in 2006.

“I left for two years and was vice president of operations for the Super Bowl Committee here in 2008 and then came back to PRO EM. By then we had acquired a local tent company, so we had become a full-spectrum service company. I have been here ever since,” he says.

Now as principal, Castro is a key player in the company that has a nationwide footprint handling everything from smaller corporate meetings, weddings and social gatherings to large-scale nationally televised sports events, concerts and festivals.

Castro is eager to share his experience with others. “If I can help others in our industry learn how to be better, how to run their businesses better and what resources are available, then I want to share my experiences to do that,” he says. “I have enjoyed getting involved, and I want to help others get involved — people who may not know there is a way and know that they have a voice. I want to help give them that voice and show them there is an outlet to get involved and meet people. I have really enjoyed and benefited from getting involved and meeting people from all over the country.”

As far as goals, Castro says he would “like to bring more local participation to the board and get the word out about what we are trying to do and make our events something that everyone wants to attend,” he says.

Castro admits he is still learning his new role. “I hope I can bring a new set of eyes or maybe some new content to the board, but I am just getting started in this, so I don’t know what I don’t know. I am excited to be here, take it all in and see how I can help and make the ARA of Arizona grow,” he says.

Connie Lannan

Connie LannanConnie 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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