As I was saying …

The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress is one of the roofing industry's great (if less well-known) success stories and recently has taken steps to make itself even more of a force.

Formed in 1996, the Alliance was created as a forum for leaders from all roofing industry segments to address current and future issues, creating a permanent endowment fund to allow for ongoing financing.

In 1996, one of the big issues facing the industry was how to attract, train and keep workers. The Alliance engaged the Gallup Organization to conduct a study of workers—current and previous—and the findings helped change the way we think about our industry.

Entry-level roofing workers, the Gallup Organization concluded, want and expect career-path training. They also want and expect to be contributing members of a working team. The company also concluded roofing foremen, in most cases, are the key to training and keeping workers.

As a result, the industry changed the way it attracts workers, and NRCA has changed the way it approaches training. Foremen training, for example, which used to focus on roofing activities, now focuses on management and leadership training.

The study's findings led the Alliance to fund a series of 16 Roof Applicator Training Programs, some 16,000 of which have found their way into the marketplace. These programs cost more than $1 million to produce and have been a great source of training during the past decade.

Subsequently, in 2005 the Alliance funded a futures study that forecast what the industry would look like in 2025. Among the study's findings: Photovoltaic systems and other energy-related products would fundamentally transform the industry.

Most recently, the Alliance helped fund the development of RoofPoint,™ a roof system evaluation program developed by the Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing. RoofPoint is just beginning to be used in the marketplace—with great results—and has the potential to change the way the industry's customers think about their roof systems.

And the Alliance continues to offer two of its signature programs: the Most Valuable Player Awards, which recognize the best workers in the industry, and the Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship Program, which provides substantial financial assistance to NRCA members' employees and family members.

Going forward, the Alliance continues to need the industry's best and brightest to help shape the industry's future. It's a good bet the long list of successes will continue to grow. For more information about the Alliance, visit www.roofingindustryalliance.net.

Bill Good is NRCA's executive vice president.