Triumph amid adversity

The struggling economy did nothing to dull the energy and excitement at NRCA's 123rd Annual Convention and the 2010 International Roofing Expo® (IRE), which took place Feb. 20-24. This year, nearly 7,000 attendees converged on New Orleans' Morial Convention Center to explore 91,000 net square feet of exhibit space and learn from 380 exhibiting companies.

Once again, the convention and trade show drew roofing professionals from all 50 states with most of this year's attendees coming from California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. The largest number of international attendees traveled from Australia, Canada, Columbia, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

A strong start

NRCA's convention events were off to a strong start Sunday, Feb. 21, as more than 100 attendees gathered for the National Roofing Legal Resource Center's annual breakfast.

During the breakfast, attendees enjoyed a detailed presentation by a panel consisting of Rene Dupuis, president of Structural Research Inc., Middleton, Wis.; Mark Graham, NRCA's associate executive director of technical services; and Stephen Phillips, a partner with the Atlanta-based law firm Hendrick, Phillips, Salzman & Flatt. The panel discussed the risks of improperly applying adhesives; roof system moisture control; cool roof condensation; contractors' responsibility for building code compliance for photovoltaic and vegetative roof systems; when to reuse roofing materials; new energy codes' minimum insulation requirements; and managing risk when using fume-emitting products.

Political awareness

Sunday, Feb. 21, also featured a sporting clays tournament hosted by ROOFPAC, NRCA's political action committee. Sponsored by Denver-based Johns Manville, the tournament took place at High Point Shooting Grounds in Belle Chasse, Louisiana's oldest sporting clays range.

Winners of ROOFPAC's sporting clays tournament were Blair Holmes, manager for Flynn Canada Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario; Bobby Watkins, contractor for Frontier/Scholten Roof Service, El Paso, Texas; and Aaron Wood, sales representative for STS Coatings Inc., Comfort, Texas.

ROOFPAC events continued Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 22 and 23, with a silent auction held at NRCA's booth on the showroom floor.

Sponsored by GAF Materials Corp., Wayne, N.J., the auction included such items as a copy of All the Best, George Bush: My Life and Other Writings written and autographed by former President George H.W. Bush; roundtrip vouchers for Southwest Airlines; and a three-night stay at the Casa Marina Resort in Key West, Fla.

ROOFPAC's sporting clays tournament and auction raised $130,160 to support the organization's operations and probusiness candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Giving back

Feb. 21 also was a day for convention attendees to give back to the New Orleans community as the IRE, NRCA and Rebuilding Together® New Orleans held their first Community Service Day.

The event took place in New Orleans' Holly Grove neighborhood where 77 volunteers helped renovate five homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Many of the homes had been inundated by at least 6 feet of water; at least two of the homeowners had not been able to return to their homes since the hurricane struck in 2005.

Volunteers performed many tasks, including painting, glazing, landscaping, moving HVAC equipment and removing mortar from old bricks.

A day of recognition

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, NRCA held its annual luncheon at the Morial Convention Center. Luncheon attendees had the opportunity to listen to a presentation by Steven Strong, president of Solar Design Associates Inc., Harvard, Mass., a group of engineers and architects dedicated to the design of environmentally responsive buildings and the engineering and integration of renewable systems to power them.

Also during the luncheon, NRCA presented its highest honor—the J.A. Piper Award—to Mike Promen, former president of Clark Roofing Co., Broadview, Ill.

Promen served two terms on NRCA's board of directors and two terms as an NRCA vice president. He also served as NRCA's senior vice president from 1999-2000 and as NRCA president from 2000-01.

"For more than 40 years, our 2010 winner has been involved with our industry," said 2009 J.A. Piper Award winner Dane Bradford, president of Bradford Roof Management, Billings, Mont., during the award presentation. "Those of us who know him well know him as a friendly, humble, proud, humorous and dedicated man. Those characteristics carry through not only in his professional life but also in his life outside roofing."

First presented in 1948, the J.A. Piper Award is named for former NRCA President Joseph A. Piper, whose extraordinary efforts greatly aided the association during the Great Depression. It is presented annually to a roofing professional who has demonstrated outstanding service to NRCA and the industry.

Later that evening, NRCA hosted its annual Cocktail and Awards Reception. The reception featured a special awards program formally recognizing recipients of NRCA's 2010 Gold Circle Awards and 2010 Charlie Raymond Award, as well as The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress' 2010 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards and Professional Roofing's Best of the Best Award.

NRCA's Gold Circle Awards recognize NRCA members for outstanding contributions to the roofing industry in the following categories: Outstanding Workmanship—Low-slope, Outstanding Workmanship—Steep-slope, Innovative Solutions—Reroofing, Innovative Solutions—New Construction, Service to the Community and Service to the Industry.

This year, Castro Roofing of Texas LP, Dallas, won in the Outstanding Workmanship—Low-slope category for its work at Sanders Estes Unit, Venus, Texas; F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing Co. Inc., Milwaukee, a Tecta America company, won in the Outstanding Workmanship—Steep-slope category for its work at Milwaukee City Hall; Keystone Roofing Inc., Oceanside, Calif., won in the Innovative Solutions—Reroofing category for its work at a private estate in San Diego; Empire Roofing Ltd., Fort Worth, Texas, and Supreme Systems Inc., Dallas, won in the Service to the Community category for their work at the Women's Center of Tarrant County, Fort Worth; and Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing, Dallas, won the Gold Circle Safety Award for its work at The Merc, Dallas.

Two companies won in the Innovative Solutions—New Construction category: Black Roofing Inc., Boulder, Colo., won for its work at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, and GSM Roofing, Ephrata, Pa., won for its work at D.gallery, Gladwyne, Pa.

In addition, F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing received the Gold Circle Platinum Award for its work at Milwaukee City Hall. The Gold Circle Platinum Award was created to honor a company whose Gold Circle Award submission excels in all facets and surpasses all other entries.

Additionally, NRCA's Charlie Raymond Award was presented to Robert McNamara, F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing's president, and GAF Materials Corp., Wayne, N.J.

Each year, NRCA presents the prestigious membership recruitment award to a manufacturer and an individual for their extraordinary efforts to recruit new NRCA members. This year, McNamara recruited five members and GAF Materials recruited 15. The Charlie Raymond Award is named for former NRCA President and J.A. Piper Award winner Charlie Raymond, who first became chairman of NRCA's Membership Committee when the association had only 328 members; Raymond recruited NRCA's 1,000th member in 1973.

Also during the Cocktail and Awards Reception, the Alliance announced the winners of its MVP Awards, which honor roofing workers from various U.S. regions based on their significant contributions in one or more of the following areas: outstanding on-the-job performance; safety performance; contributions to a team effort; community service and volunteerism; and other noteworthy contributions and activities.

A complete list of the Alliance's 2010 MVP Award winners is available in NRCA Resources, April issue, page 50.

The Best of the Best Award, a special MVP Award category co-sponsored by Professional Roofing and Agawam, Mass.-based OMG Roofing Products, was awarded to Richard Heilinger, service specialist for GSM Roofing, Ephrata, Pa. To read more about Heilinger, see "A man of experience," page 28.

New leadership

NRCA also elected its 2010-11 leadership during the event. T. Allen Lancaster, president of Metalcrafts Inc., Savannah, Ga., was named NRCA president, and Kent Tolley, vice president of Quality Tile Roofing Inc., Boise, Idaho, was named NRCA senior vice president. They will serve one-year terms beginning June 1.

Alex Hernandez, vice president of Clark Roofing; Lindy Ryan, president of General Works LLC, Sanford, Fla., a Tecta America company; and David Tilsen, president of Tilsen Roofing Co. Inc., Madison, Wis., were named NRCA vice presidents and will serve two-year terms.

NRCA also named 13 new directors who will serve three-year terms. For a complete list of NRCA's new directors, see NRCA Resources, April issue, page 52.

Next year's show

This year's convention and trade show didn't let the lackluster economy drag them down with attendance coming in about 4 percent shy of last year's total. Next year's events are sure to be successful, as well, when NRCA's 124th Annual Convention and the 2011 IRE return to Las Vegas Feb. 14-18.

Kaylee Alberico is Professional Roofing's editorial assistant.