Wayner and Marion bring fresh perspectives to ARA of Georgia board
By Brock Huffstutler
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Wayner and Marion bring fresh perspectives to ARA of Georgia board

Over the winter, two members of the Georgia equipment and event rental community — Kendall Wayner, CERP, and Joe Marion — accepted leadership positions on the ARA of Georgia board of directors.

Wayner, Savannah director of client relations and marketing for Pooler, Ga.-based Ranco Event Rentals, is entering her 30th year in the event rental industry. It is a profession that has enabled her to put her graphic design degree, earned at Penn State University, State College, Pa., to good use.

“It has always been my passion to help people design and execute fabulous events. Working for a variety of party rental companies over the years — and these last 15 at Ranco— has allowed me to grow in my profession, starting with small backyard parties and moving to large full-scale corporate events, festivals and weddings,” Wayner says.

During the pandemic, Wayner’s event management expertise was tapped by her company for a special role and, while the coronavirus (COVID-19) meant downtime for many event rental companies, Wayner used the extra time to advance her professional education.

“During COVID, I helped a branch of our company, Ranco Response, with response and emergency management and learned about different types of rentals and clients. I also was not going to put anything on pause. I wanted to continue learning. I got on the ARA [American Rental Association] website and researched the CERP [Certified Event Rental Professional] designation. I worked through that process, got the certification and with that knowledge and confidence knew that I wanted to take it to another level and get more involved in the backbone of our industry,” she says.

An opportunity for greater industry involvement soon came knocking.

“Steven Eisenstein [CERP, president, Classic Tents & Events, Norcross, Ga., and ARA of Georgia president] is a leader and mentor in this industry, and he reached out to me to be a part of the ARA of Georgia. I am thankful that Randy Childs, owner of Ranco Events, is supporting my efforts in this endeavor,” Wayner says.

When the call came to join the ARA of Georgia leadership team, Wayner says she answered because “I always strive to learn and do my best. ARA is a great organization and I know that I can help with meeting content for our members and help address issues that our membership wants us to work on. Volunteering has also been a passion of mine and I felt this was a good way to get involved and give back to the industry that got me started.”

Wayner says she has some specific goals during her time on the board. “Inspiring others to get involved and providing meaningful content for our members is something I hope to be able to do. The labor shortage is a specific industry concern, and attracting new labor and retainment is also something that I hope to tackle,” she says.

“After many years of balancing raising children and working full time, I am about to be an empty nester. We look forward to a little more travel. My husband and I have been very involved volunteering in competitive swimming as officials and Safe Sport volunteers,” Wayner says of her priorities away from work.

In conjunction with Wayner’s appointment to the ARA of Georgia board of directors, Joe Marion, outside sales representative with Whites Creek, Tenn.-based MTA Distributors, also has joined the board in the role of associate member director.

“I was helping with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), and while at a BSA event I met one of the owners of MTA Distributors and we became friends. From there, a sales position became available and my career in the rental business launched. It was a natural fit for me because I have always been in sales and had spent a lot of my life working on small engines and running various rental equipment,” Marion says of his entry into the industry.

A frequent attendee of ARA chapter meetings, Marion enjoys the camaraderie of the events and says his familiarity with members of the equipment and event rental community led to the offer to join the ARA of Georgia board. His love of volunteering sealed the deal.

“I have always been a volunteer for various organizations such as my church, Rotary and Chamber of Commerce. One of my favorite pursuits was completing a two-year program called Christian Leadership Concepts with 12 others. The one volunteer program that I am proudest of was being a Scoutmaster with BSA. I was a founder of one the largest troops in Middle Tennessee and was recognized as one of the Top 50 Scoutmasters in America,” he says.

Marion took a break from volunteering during the pandemic but quickly got restless. When the opportunity to join the ARA of Georgia board presented itself, he jumped at it because “it seemed to be a perfect fit,” Marion says.

Marion says he feels ARA of Georgia “is running like a well-oiled machine” and that during his time on the board, “I want to help people in the rental industry understand what a valuable resource ARA can be to them and what it has to offer.”

Brock Huffstutler

Brock HuffstutlerBrock Huffstutler

Brock Huffstutler is the regional news editor for Rental Management. He writes and edits articles for ARA’s In Your Region quarterly regional newsletters, Rental Management, Rental Pulse and other special projects. Outside of work, he enjoys biking and spending time at the few remaining vintage record stores in the region.

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