Keith Kitchens, CERP, vice president, Tomball Rental Center, Tomball, Texas, whose family has been part of the Texas rental community since 1977 and who has been a member of the Texas Rental Association (TRA) board since 2018, is eager to now serve as president of the state chapter.
“I am so excited and honored to become president and lead the board. I am very proud of the members we have on the board. They are all extremely knowledgeable. I look forward to working with them and doing everything I can to continue the board’s mission of providing good service to the members in the state. I am excited to help continue the legacy of what the TRA board does and how helpful they have been to the rental industry and particularly small business owners. I hope I can do as well as Dillon [Hughes, TRA immediate past president and owner, Only 1 Rentals, Navasota, Texas] did,” he says.
Having served on the TRA board for the past several years, Keith is familiar with the benefits offered by the state association. “I have seen how valuable it is to meet with other owners throughout the state. I have found that for a lot of small business owners we don’t have the resources that large chains have and may feel we are on our own. The board and the overall TRA give us the resource of other people who are in the same situation that we are in,” he adds.
Serving the community has been the way of life for the Kitchens family since his father, Bill, and brother, Terry, established Tomball Rental, which caters to both the equipment and party segments. “They started the business in 1977. My other brother, Greg, came onboard in 1978. My mom came in full time in 1980. I have worked here since I was 11 years old. I worked here through high school until I went to college at Texas A&M. I then spent 15 years in the corporate world doing management information systems. But when my parents decided they wanted to retire in 2002, I came back here to help with the paperwork and bookkeeping. I have been here ever since,” he says with a laugh.
Keith is glad he stayed. “I enjoy the rental industry and the challenges that come with being a small business owner. It is always something new every day. I enjoy being able to work with my employees one-on-one and feel like we are a good team. I enjoy working with our customers and dealing with other small business owners,” he says.
The operation has grown throughout the years. “We now have 15 employees. Four are family members: my brother, Greg, and his wife, Beverly, me and now Greg’s son, Adam, the third generation. My brother, Terry, passed away four years ago,” he says.
Volunteering at the state level also runs in the family. Greg, general manager of the family rental operation, served on the TRA board for years, including as president in 2016.
As Keith embarks on his new board role, he foresees the state chapter being involved in several different areas:
- Legislative: “Being a legislative year in Texas, we want to make sure the rental industry is protected from legislative issues that may come up and impact our businesses. Through the TRA and our lobbyist, Chuck Bailey, we can make our voices heard at the state Capitol. If you are not plugged in, you don’t know about the issues until it is too late. It is a lot easier to affect change before it happens. We are just getting geared up for the spring and will monitor issues that will be addressed by the Texas Legislature. I see a State Legislative Day being important this year,” he says.
- Roundup: “Another big goal is to have another successful Roundup next year. That is one of our premier events. This event gives all our store owners the ability to network, meet with vendors and have some vacation time with their families as we always hold Roundup at a family-friendly resort. This year’s event was very successful, so we will want to build on that,” Keith says.
- Area meetings: “We had to stop holding our area meetings during COVID. We want to get back to offering these meetings on a quarterly basis because it is helpful for rental operators to get together and meet others in their area, talk about what is happening in the state as well as with the American Rental Association (ARA), such as the new health insurance option and all the educational resources that are being offered,” he says.
Because he has gained so much from being part of TRA, Keith hopes that everyone will see through these efforts how beneficial TRA can be in their lives.
“The No. 1 thing with TRA is the ability to network with other stores and others in your industry so you can know what is going on. Otherwise, all you know is what you know. Being involved gives you an opportunity to talk with other people who are in the same boat you are in so you can find out how other stores are handling situations that you are dealing with and getting your voice heard in local and state government,” he says, adding that spreading the word about all there is to gain from TRA is a significant goal of his.