The National Barn & Storage Rental Association’s (NBSRA) ninth annual conference was held in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 5-6. An amazing lineup of speakers presented valuable knowledge to the attendees focusing on creating a culture of caring, outcome drivers and overall best practices for the RTO industry.

Each of these tracks were specifically chosen based on this year’s theme of “Clarity.” Without clarity in every one of these areas, building, growing and servicing without a doubt becomes at least 10 times harder.

As always, the vision and purpose of NBSRA is to bring into membership those firms and corporations engaged in the barn and storage rental business; to exchange views, promote the general welfare of members, and evaluate the standards and conduct of all those in the RTO shed industry in order to protect the industry’s future against legislation. NBSRA also seeks to encourage industry practices in accordance with God’s principles. This results in superior customer service and satisfaction.

To assist our membership in accomplishing this for the 2018 conference, attendees heard outstanding presentations from individuals with years of experience in the business or shed industry.

Mark Whitacre, an Ivy League Ph.D., is considered the highest ranked executive of any Fortune 500 company to become a whistleblower in U.S. history. His story of redemption and second chances is one of the most inspirational stories of our time. Mark presented two sessions for the conference titled, “When Good Leaders Lose Their Way,” and “What Does God Say About Our Work?”

Jason Graber is CEO and founder of Shedsuite.com and started building sheds when he was 18 years old. His time in the shed industry has given him great insight into some of the key pain points shed builders face every day. Jason left the shed building business to pursue the technology side of things. Jason presented a session titled, “The ‘why’ Behind RTO Practices.”

Roselyn Connor is a nationally known speaker and has been instrumental to many companies, schools, and agencies in educating members. Roselyn spoke to the staff present at the conference with a presentation titled, “Taking Your Job from Stress to Passion: Energized Employees Create Great Customer Experiences.”

At the same time Scott Strahm, CEO of BLI Rentals spoke to management over “Why Your RTO Customers Win, When You Put Your Employees First.”

Philip Rudolph, president of Watson Barn Rentals, helped attendees be “Crystal Clear: The Importance of Clear Communication in and out of the RTO Office.”

Matthew Weaver, founder and owner of MyShedRental moderated the ever popular “Panel of Experience Q&A.”

For the final day of education, Tanner Leibee, manager of MyShedRental, touched on best practices with a session titled, “Equipping Your Staff to Handle Difficult Situations.”

Finally, we wrapped up with the always a crowd favorite Ed Winn delivering us “Legality & Legislative Updates.”

This year we had numerous companies attend for the first time, which is a clear indicator of the growing trend of our industry for a cohesive and clear message surrounding RTO in the shed industry. This event is always made possible because of the businesses that support the NBSRA vision and purpose and their financial backing with sponsorships.

This year the NBSRA would like to recognize these businesses within our column and let them know their dedication and work with the NBSRA is sincerely appreciated. The following businesses sponsored the 2018 Annual Conference at the highest level with our Platinum Sponsorship: AFG Rentals, Backyard Leasing, BLI Rentals, and Watson Rentals. Showing their support at our Silver Sponsorship is MyShedRental and Whitsell & Company.