easyhome Wraps 2007 Conference; Sheri Reid Named Store Manager of the Year; Podcast Interview With Keynote Speaker Jack Black

easyhome, Canada's largest rent to own company, wrapped its 2007 National Conference Thursday evening with an awards banquet at the Fallsview Resort in Niagara, Ontario. Sheri Reid was named easyhome's Store Manager Of the Year for 2006. Reid was rewarded for her efforts when CEO David Ingram presented her with a new cherry red Hummer. Mike Casey was awarded Top Regional Manager of the Year. See a complete photo gallery of the 2007 easyhome National Conference here (303 photos).

Vendor of the Year went to Stephen Nagle, Vice President, Sales, JVC Canada for the third consecutive year. The award carries even more meaning for JVC because it's easyhome store managers who cast votes to choose the companies top vendor.

After a three year "re-engineering" process, transforming RTO Enterprises from a scattered group of individuals into a focused easyhome team, CEO David Ingram is ready to take on the US market, and possibly more. The company will begin selling market development agreements in the US through Master Franchisor Bud gates (see story). Gates is the CEO of Gates Enterprises and former CEO of Rent A Center. easyhome will reserve the border states for company owned stores.

2006 was a phenomenal year for easyhome with revenue up 16% from 2005 and same store revenue growth of 5.4%, marking 21 consecutive quarters of comp store growth. So many managers were honored for outstanding performance at Thursday's gala that there was a waiting line for award photographs.

Earlier in the day, motivational speaker Jack Black keynoted the conference. This is Black's fourth consecutive year as the conference's keynote speaker. CEO David Ingram describes Black as a "partner of easyhome." Ingram brought Black in to help motivate and guide management during the company's transformation from RTO Enterprises to easyhome.

In the 1980s, Jack Black was a social worker in the underprivileged East End of Glasgow. After seeing two colleagues destroy their health through the stress of work while only in their 40s, and then experiencing a similar collapse himself, he decided to discover how stress could be managed and personal development harnessed to allow people to fulfill their potential. MindStore was the culmination of his findings and now over a decade later, Jack is recognized as one of the UK's leading authorities on personal development and is an internationally renowned speaker.

easyhome's focus in 2007 will be on customer growth. David Ingram challenged easyhome managers to gain 10,000 new customers in 2007. The reward if the goal is met - the 2009 conference will be held in a Caribbean resort. Ingram closed the 2007 conference telling the assembled team, "You are simply the best."

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