Our Company was founded in March 2001, by entrepreneurs Michael Lerch, Kathleen Bennett-Lerch and Michael Gordner.
Michael Lerch began in the Rent to Own Industry in 1992 in Geneva New York with the former company Rent-A-Vision. He worked with the company filling various positions until 1997, when he was relocated to Pennsylvania as a District Manager and was soon after Promoted to Regional Vice President of Pennsylvania Rent-A-Vision Stores.
He held this position until Rent-A-Vision was acquired by RentWay in October of 1999. Michael worked for RentWay as a Regional Manager for about one year before he began laying the ground work for his own Rent to Own Store chain with wife Kathy and coworker Michael Gordner.
Michael Gordner who began in the Rent to Own Industry in 1997 at Rent-A-Vision, was soon promoted to Supervisor, and worked closely with Michael Lerch. Together the Trio; Michael Lerch, Kathleen Bennett-Lerch, and Michael Gordner opened their first store in Shamokin, Pennsylvania in March 2001.
Mike and Mike were both from a small independent company that was bought out by a large publicly traded company. They had seen both sides of the spectrum and were and still are determined to run their company with a mom and pop approach and not the approach of a large, faceless entity. Lightning Rent to Owns' well trained staff pay close attention to detail and do whatever is possible to accommodate their customers' needs.