Our ability to build relationships is like no other business out there.
David Ingram, President and CEO, easyhome, Ltd

Photo RTO Online

easyhome U.S team member Matt Wood shows Team Spirit at Tuesday's team-building activity on Centre Island. Inset: Tony Bianco flashes the Region Six sign in front of his new Cadillac Escalade. See 367 photos from the 2009 easyhome National Conference here.

easyhome, Canada's largest rental-purchase company, opened it's 2009 National Conference Tuesday by awarding Tony Bianco, region 6 regional manager, with a Cadillac Escalade as the winner of the company's 2008 4th Quarter Incentive. Mike Grozelle (store 542), won in the store manager category, driving away in an Infinity G37 Coupe. This represents the first time that a regional and store manager from the same region have taken both awards.

See new video interviews with David Ingram, easyhome president and CEO; Dave Maries, easyhome's senior vice president of operations and merchandising; Bud Gates, master franchisor of easyhome US; and Mark Feldbauer, director of franchising for easyhome US.

Hundreds of easyhome managers and executives participated in the easyhome Olympics on Centre Island Tuesday evening. Teams competed in events from rock climbing to tug-of-war. Region 4 took the gold. See 367 photos from the 2009 easyhome National Conference here.

Bianco and Grozelle both credit their teams for the success of region 6. "I've got a team that comes early and stays late to get the job done," Bianco said. His advice for other regional managers is simple - "Spend time and develop your team. Be patient - they're all good people." Bianco joined easyhome 6 years ago and has been a rental professional in Canada for 26 years.

The theme of this year's conference is The Big-Time. As the dominant leasing company in Canada, one could argue that the company has already arrived. But easyhome leadership says the company has barely scratched the surface of its potential for growth.

Dave Maries, Senior VP Operations and Merchandising for easyhome, says the company's growth depends on focusing on the Big 3 - People, Customers and Values. "The big three take every one of you here today to The Big Time."

easyhome is streamlining its systems to put the right tools in the hands of front-line troops. The company has embarked on a push to utilize technology to ease administrative burdens at the store level, allowing team members to focus more time on customers.

President David Ingram says that easyhome's "secret sauce" is its ability to build relationships. "Our ability to build relationships is like no other business out there," he said.