Let it shine

Recently, a friend said to me: "You work in a shadowy business."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He explained the roofing industry is "filled" with shadowy characters. Some in the form of workers and others in the way they operate their businesses. I began to wonder whether he had been hurt at some point during a construction project. Ultimately, I got him to admit that was the case.

Regrettably, his one bad experience led him to believe something about all of us that isn't true. He had a single poor experience and then projected that experience on the entire industry. It's easy to do, and I suppose many of us are guilty of doing the same thing if we are honest with ourselves. So how do we get out of the shadows?

We need to step into the light. Light destroys shadows and allows us to see things we might have missed had we stayed in the darkness. This brings me to NRCA's new vision, which calls on us to implement plans to improve the industry's image. To bring our successes into the light.

That's what we tried to do again this year during National Roofing Week. We had terrific success highlighting and featuring the great work done by our members. NRCA members and staff celebrated National Roofing Week through contributions to charitable organizations in their communities. Members were encouraged to share their stories of charitable giving and successful projects with NRCA, and we promoted their efforts through social media, NRCA's Roof Scoop blog and Professional Roofing magazine. By using Twitter, Facebook and Instagram we were able to expand the reach of our members' good work.

Each day of the week, we put the good things about the industry front and center, and each day we highlighted a different topic, such as employee appreciation, training and charity. We also let our members show off a bit by featuring their recent projects. We cast a light on those good things and eliminated every shadow around us. Hundreds of you participated, and I am thankful for each one who did. And I encourage the rest of you to participate next year.

You have a story to tell, and no one tells it better than you. Beyond that is the benefit of your own uniqueness. Nearly all roofing companies can match service or quality, but no one else can tell your story. Your reason for being in the roofing business is your own. Share it! Why you do what you do always is more important to consumers than what you do. When you come out of the shadows and stand tall, you make all our lives better.

Reid Ribble is NRCA's CEO.
@NRCA_CEO

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