As I was saying …

July always is a busy month for NRCA's staff as we prepare for meetings of NRCA's board of directors, Executive Committee, and about 30 committees and task forces. The cliché remains true: An association is only as strong as its membership, and an active membership is a sign of a strong association. By that measurement, NRCA is in great shape.

Some members cringe at the idea of working on the committee responsible for developing NRCA's roofing manual; it's a taxing and demanding process. Yet without it, we'd never achieve the consensus necessary to describe what many believe are the best practices in the industry.

Other members serve on NRCA's Government Relations Committee, which is charged with staking out NRCA positions on the wide variety of issues streaming out of Washington, D.C. That committee also must contend with the crush of new federal regulations affecting our industry and help NRCA's Washington staff manage the immense flow of information it receives.

Still other NRCA committees address the association's communications, educational efforts, insurance programs and technical services, just to name a few.

The NRCA staff also contributes to the committee process—we bring information, often along with expertise. But at the end of the day, it's the members who establish positions and recommend action—exactly as it should be.

Columnist George Will once remarked the sport of football combines two of the worst American tendencies: violence and committee meetings. NRCA committee meetings, for the most part, are managed without violence—though not always without controversy.

It sometimes is true, as they say, that committees are a procrastinator's dream. Or, as someone else said, that camels are horses designed by committees. Maybe. But don't tell that to the 80 or so roofing industry leaders who will be in Chicago July 12-16 for NRCA's Midyear Meetings. They will be hard at work on your behalf, helping shape the industry's future.

Bill Good is NRCA's executive vice president.