Jeff Loudermilk, president, Rental Stop Ohio, Sunbury, has taken on an ARA of Ohio board role that he is very familiar with — president of the state chapter. He replaces Dan Fielitz, president, General Rent-All, Massillon.
Loudermilk, who has been on the ARA of Ohio board since 2012, first served as president from 2016-2018. Serving again in this way is a task he is glad to take on.
“I volunteered for the role,” he says. “I figured that if I am going to participate, I may as well be the president. Besides, when I joined the board back in 2012, there were a lot of the old guard on the board. I learned a lot from them. We have now expanded and diversified our board with new board members. I decided I could take the helm once again and serve.” Loudermilk adds that he hopes to be as helpful to the new board members as the rental owners were to him when he first started.
Loudermilk says he and the board are working hard to offer a valuable slate of events to Ohio members.
“In November we are going to offer the American Rental Association’s (ARA) MEWP (mobile elevating work platform) train-the-trainer events in northeast and southwest Ohio. This will offer those who go through the training to go back to their stores and train their staff. We hope to get a lot of people to this event. The state chapter will help defray the cost of this important training and offer lunch,” he says, adding that he and the board also are planning to offer a sports event with an educational component in the winter.
“We are looking to offer something every few months during the slower season. We will stay away from summer events when everyone is so busy,” he says.
Loudermilk is committed to offering a variety of educational and social events for members because he knows how much value they have provided him throughout the years.
“After being in construction, I started Rental Stop Ohio in 2010. I started with ARA Insurance. Then I was approached by some people on the board — Tim Maloney [CERP and president of Canton Chair Rental in Canton] and some of the guys who had been on the board for years. I knew it was a valuable resource to start with, but I didn’t realize how valuable it was — the camaraderie, the ability to talk with others who are experiencing the same things I was going through and such — until I got involved on that level. It was a great learning experience for me. I know with everyone having such busy schedules it is hard to make events, but people don’t realize all they can get out of attending and talking with their peers,” he says.
Loudermilk was president when Ohio began having social events at The ARA Show™ in 2018. “We hosted an event at the World War II museum in New Orleans. These social events were held in 2019 and 2020 in conjunction with the ARA of Indiana. COVID changed up the schedule for the show in the past couple years. We hope to plan a social event at the 2023 show in Orlando,” he says.
Loudermilk is a prime example of how the connections with his Ohio peers over the years have helped him become an even better rental operator. He is now part of Highlift Equipment in Cincinnati. “Their investment has helped grow the business. Rental Stop has grown to where we now have five times more fleet and five times the revenue,” he says.
The full ARA of Ohio board is as follows:
President: Jeff Loudermilk, Rental Stop Ohio, Sunbury
Vice President: Eric Fritz, Bobcat of Lima, Lima
Treasurer: James Fritz, Lasting Impressions Event Rentals, Columbus
Secretary: Scott Welsh, Copley Tool Rental, Copley
Chair: Dan Fielitz, General Rent-All, Massillon
Board member: Joe Craley, Great Lakes Rental, Toledo
Board member: Erik Mosley, Central Tool Rental, Cincinnati
Board member: Deanna Pahl, K-T Equipment Rental, Findlay
Board member: Amanda Withee, CERP, Sully’s Tool & Party Rental, Akron
Associate Member Director: Jesse Wendt, Construction Product Sales, Broadview, Ill.