Industry Briefing

Contractor group is established

Twenty-seven roofing contracting companies have established RoofConnect,™ a service that connects prospective customers to roofing contractors via a toll-free telephone number. RoofConnect has 48 member offices nationwide that provide roofing and maintenance services.

The following have been elected officers to manage RoofConnect: president—Tim Rainey, co-owner of Supreme Roofing Systems Inc., Dallas; vice president—Johnny Zamrzla, president of Western Pacific Roofing Corp., Palmdale, Calif.; and secretary/treasurer—Glenn Langer, president of Langer Roofing & Sheet Metal Inc., Milwaukee.

RCAT holds trade show

The Roofing Contractors Association of Texas (RCAT) held its 27th Annual Conference and Trade Show Sept. 25-28 in Austin, Texas.

Sandra McGlothlin, vice president of Empire Roofing Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, was elected president for 2003-04, and Jeff Comstock, vice president of Port Enterprises Ltd., Manchaca, Texas, was designated president-elect. In addition, the following were elected vice presidents: Carl Hickey, president of Metroplex Roofing Contractors, Fort Worth; Sonny Howell, president of Hamilton Roofing Co., Lubbock, Texas; and Bill McBride, president of Sechrist-Hall Co., Corpus Christi, Texas. Brent Alexander, president of Easley Roofing & Sheet Metal Inc., Victoria, Texas, was elected secretary/treasurer.

In addition, RCAT awarded its Curtis Blackwell Memorial Award to Rick Birkman, president of Texas Roofing Co., Austin. The award is given to an association member who has made significant contributions to RCAT and the roofing industry.

The association also awarded Doug Harycki, a student at North Texas University, Denton, and Lynn Arden Ward, a student at the University of Texas, Austin, with $1,500 scholarships. Scholarship winners were chosen based on financial need, grade-point averages and written statements.

RCAT will hold its 28th Annual Conference and Trade Show Sept. 24-27, 2003, in San Antonio.

MRCA holds convention

The Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA) held its 53rd Annual Convention and Trade Show Sept. 19-20 in Chicago.

During the convention, MRCA elected the following officers for the 2003 term: president—Ed Williams, president of Fremont Roofing Co. Inc., Fremont, Ohio; first vice president—Bob Swanda Jr., vice president of Independent Roofing Co., Omaha, Neb.; second vice president—Dennis Runyan, president of Dryspace Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and secretary/treasurer—James Brosseau, vice president of Bennett & Brosseau Roofing Inc., Romeoville, Ill.

MRCA's 2003 convention will be held Oct. 23-24 in Cincinnati.

Request for technical abstracts

The National Research Council Canada's Institute for Research in Construction (IRC) is requesting abstracts for its CIB World Building Congress 2004, which will be held in Toronto May 2-7, 2004.

IRC is requesting 300- to 400-word abstracts written in English and submitted through the conference's Web Site, www.cib2004.ca. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 15, 2003. Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified April 15, 2003. For more information, contact Monique Myre, IRC's special events coordinator, at (613) 993-0435; fax (613) 952-7673; or e-mail monique.myre@nrc.ca.

ARMA launches advertising campaign

The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) has launched an advertising campaign to renew interest in asphalt roofing products.

The campaign, which features the tag line, "Have you seen what's up with asphalt roofing?", includes a series of illustrations that will appear in print advertisements targeting builders, architects, roofing contractors, roof consultants, facilities managers and consumers.

SMRCA awards scholarships

The Southeastern Michigan Roofing Contractors Association (SMRCA) Inc. recently awarded six $600 scholarships to students attending postsecondary institutions.

Winners included Craig Champagne, a student at Baker College, Port Huron, Mich.; Matthew Crane, a student at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo; Matthew Ramiro Galvan, a student at Wayne County Community College, Detroit; Jeffrey Mohammadi, a student at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Erin Piontkowski, a student at Macomb Community College, Warren, Mich.; and Sharlee Trent, a student at Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant.

Scholarship recipients must be dependents of SMRCA contractor members' employees and complete an essay about the importance of the roofing industry. For more information about next year's scholarships, contact Karen Colver, SMRCA's executive director, at (586) 759-2140; fax (586) 759-0528; or visit SMRCA's Web site, www.smrca.org.