CRA President’s Message: February 2012

Your association is part of an international network.

I am honoured to have been elected president of our Canadian Rental Association. Thank you for your support as we work together to raise the standard. We are in a great industry and our CRA has got to be one of the best industry trade organizations in the country.

The CRA was established in 1965 and is made up of seven provincial rental associations, better known as locals. These are: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic local that includes all the Maritime provinces. In all, there are over 900 rental stores from across Canada that are members of the CRA. We also have over 200 Canadian supplier members.

Each of the seven provincial locals is made up of volunteers who are elected to be local president, vice-president, etc. The locals put on social and networking events and deal with issues that come up provincially. They also elect a provincial director to represent them on the CRA national board.

The CRA national board is made up of provincial directors and executive committee members. The national board meets semi-annually and has monthly conference calls to deal with national issues and projects. Our national committees have been very successful in putting together a number of valuable services and programs for members, for instance, our very own, world-class, member-owned, insurance program. Thanks to our committee volunteers we have a brand new website and very successful trade shows in each region. The CRA also boasts a national advertising campaign featuring Bryan Baeumler of House of Bryan, Disaster DIY and Leave it to Bryan. 

The executive gives direction to the staff at CRA head office. The CRA head office is located in Winnipeg and is led by our executive director, Mandy Wellnitz, and our bilingual membership services co-ordinator, Pascale Lambert. It is staffed on a full-time basis to assist you in any way. Please visit our new website at www.crarental.org to see all the exclusive services that are available to you as a member.

When a rental store becomes a member of the CRA, it also becomes a member of the ARA. The ARA is made up of 10 regions, with Canada being Region 10, the second largest region in the association. We are represented on the ARA national board by our region 10 director, who is elected for a three-year term. The ARA has a membership of over 7,500 rental stores. Being a member of the ARA has tremendous advantages for you. The ARA has a staff of over 60 people working in its head office, and they are there to help you, too. Visit the ARA website at www.ararental.org and use your password to go to the Member’s Only section. I am sure you will say, “Wow!”

The Canadian Rental Association is a member of the Global Rental Alliance. The GRA was formed in 2003 and now includes seven countries. The Alliance holds conference calls during the year and meets annually at the ARA Rental show, which this year will be held in New Orleans, Feb. 5 to 8. The purpose of the GRA is “To increase the profile of equipment rental worldwide and increase membership value to the respective membership associations.” Please visit their website at www.globalrentalalliance.com .

I have set a personal goal to bring in at least 10 new CRA members during my term as president. I would encourage each CRA member to set your own goal to increase our membership. If you are not a member of the CRA and are interested in joining, give me a call at 1-204-489-0003 and I will walk you through the process. If you are a CRA member and know a business owner who should be in the CRA but is not, I ask you to please pass along the contact information to me so that I can encourage him or her to join.

Ed Dwyer owns and operates C & T Rentals in Winnipeg, Man. He is a past president of the Manitoba Rental Association and also an active member of TAB (The Alternative Board).