The McPherson Area Residential Landlords Association (MARLA), met for the first time on July 12, 2001 with 15 people in attendance. Bob Moore called the meeting to order. Officers elected for the coming year were Bob Moore, President; Doyle Davidson, Treasurer; Bonnie Hoffman & Linda Rathbun sharing the secretarial duties.

Meetings were set to held on the second Thursday of the month at noon at the Sirloin Stockade. A constitution and by-laws were adopted with the name McPherson Area Landlords Association (MARLA) being established.

Over the months, it was determined that in order for more people to attend, meetings would be held at noon on the even months and in the evening on the odd months. The evening meetings would be held at 7:00 p.m. at the McPherson Public Library.

During each meeting, a program is presented on a topic of interest to landlords. Membership has remained about the same over the years. Officers remain the same as originally elected with the exception of Linda Rathbun who moved out of the area. No one was elected to replace her.

Currently, meetings are being held on the second Thursday of the month in the Alumni Dining Room at Central Christian College.

In January 2007, MARLA launched the RentMcPherson.com website in order to provide a clearinghouse for residential rental properties in the McPherson area. Landlords who are paid members of MARLA are able to list their properties on the website at no extra charge. The public is able to access the database at RentMcPherson.com at no charge to search for available rental properties in the McPherson area.