By Heidi J. Ellsworth, RCS President. 

Attendees will experience networking, educational opportunities, fun events and great speakers. 

Those who are attending the 2022 IIBEC International Convention and Trade Show will experience some of the best networking, education and hospitality in the roofing industry. The conference will welcome building enclosure professionals from across North America to the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida March 17 – 22, 2022. 

“Our 2021 convention, which took place in September, was a success, but we’re pleased to be holding our 2022 convention at the normal time in the spring,” said Brian Pallasch, executive vice president and chief executive officer at IIBEC. “IIBEC members are looking forward to the networking, educational opportunities and great speakers that make our international convention and trade show the premier event for building enclosure consultants and industry professionals.” 

“Exhibitors are excited to be returning to in-person events like the 2022 IIBEC International Convention and Trade Show,” said Karen McElroy, vice president of events at IIBEC. “We know the strong interest we’re seeing among exhibitors will be matched by the interest in their products and services among the building enclosure professionals who will attend the trade show.” 

Several RoofersCoffeeShop partners will be at the show including: 

1. Duro-Last 819 

2. SOPREMA 713 

3. EVERROOF 417 

4. FlashCo 908 

5. Metal-Era 332 

6. S-5! 626 

7. Sika 600, 601 

8. Western Colloid 514 

9. Leister 110 

10. ATAS International 411 

11. CertainTeed  821 

12. IB Roof Systems 229 

13. Johns Manville  201 

14. Master Builders Solutions  518 

15. ROCKWOOL  501 

16. Roof Hugger 415 

17. National Women in Roofing (NWiR)  113 

18. Nations Roof 106 

19. National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) 316 

20. Single Ply Roofing Institute (SPRI) 215 

In addition, Johns Manville will be hosting a hospitality event to celebrate their 50th Bursi Anniversary on March 18, 2022, from 7:15 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. at Conway Room, Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. There will be cocktails and appetizers served during the reception. They are excited to celebrate their 50th Anniversary for the BURSI Program and would love to hear any stories attendees may have to share from attending past BURSI events. Be sure to RSVP here. 

According to IIBEC, the education will be off the charts, “Those looking to boost their continuing education hours (CEHs) at the show will earn 2.0 CEHs for spending up to four hours on the trade show floor and 3.0 CEHs for spending more than four hours at the trade show. The convention also includes more than 17 hours of live, in-person educational seminars. Kicking off the educational content on Friday, March 18 is an auxiliary seminar, “Florida’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) Product-Approval Process,” presented in three sections: the history of the Florida Building Code’s HVHZ section; Miami-Dade product-control requirements for fenestration and cladding components and systems; and Miami-Dade product-control requirements for roofing components and systems.” 

The opening general session will feature Duncan Wardle, founder of iD8 & innov8, who will share how he created magical consumer experiences while head of innovation and creativity at Disney, and how his unique Design Thinking process can help embed a culture of innovation into today’s workforce. 

Whether you are already attending or still thinking about attending, there is time to register and make a great plan for the 2022 IIBEC International Convention and Trade Show. Simply visit their website for full event details. 

Learn more about IIBEC in their RoofersCoffeeShop Directory or visit iibec.org

By Evelyn Witterholt, RCS Reporter.

John Geary, owner of Nations Roof, discusses how valuing crew safety and happiness yields great results. 

In this podcast, RCS podcast producer Megan Ellsworth sits down with John Geary, owner of Nations Roof, who is also our December R-Club Roofer of the Month. Nations Roof is the result of three roofing executives who all wanted to make an impact in the commercial roofing industry. In the podcast, John breaks down what makes his company unique in how it operates and how much it values its crew and customers. 

John delves into the services Nations Roof provides. They primarily do low-slope commercial roofing but also have units that specialize in residential steep-slope roofing. “Whether it's new construction, maintenance, repair or reroofing, we do it with virtually all types of materials as well,” said John. 

Not only does Nations Roof work with all kinds of roofs and materials, but they also operate all over the country. Their service center is located in Mobile, Alabama and they provide work in most states including Hawaii and Alaska. “What we do is we try and make it easy for our customers,” said John. “I mean, we have clients with thousands of buildings all across the country and with one phone call or one email, they can say, ‘Hey, take care of that.’ And it's taken care of.” 

John loves to celebrate the efforts of his crew by holding year-end events and picnics. He believes in showing appreciation to his company’s many crews across the country by throwing fun parties complete with bounce houses and gifts. 

He also believes a great way to show crew members they are appreciated is through safe work practices. One year, they spent over $2 million on roof railings to keep crews safe while working on a roof. It ultimately pays off because when crew members feel their safety is valued, they do a better job. “We don't want to just do what OSHA says. We want to do what's right. We want to do the right thing and keep them safe while they're on their roof. And they like that,” said John. 

John shared that taking care of workers leads to a positive experience with customers as well. Customers notice how well Nations Roof treats their workers and appreciate that projects get completed efficiently and effectively. Above all else, Nations Roof maintains an important core value: “Do the right thing,” said John. “It is amazing how many things you can overcome when you just do the right thing for the customer, for our teammates, for our vendors.” 

Listen to the full podcast to learn about December's R-Club Roofer of the Month Nations Roof here! 

Learn more about Nations Roof in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.nationsroof.com.

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter. 

This year's SheBuild event was extra special, as women across generations came together to build a roof for Miss Betty Danielle. 

We sat down to talk about the event with Rae July, who serves as the co-chair for the local National Women in Roofing council in Seattle along with Brittany Wimbish for the past two years. Additionally, she is the co-chair of NWIR's Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee along with Jess Cress and Meredith Marsh-Shaevitz. Rae is also on the board of directors for Rebuilding Together South Sound, and this year she volunteered to be house captain. 

Rae tells us on a local level, the NWiR Seattle Council has partnered with Rebuilding Together South Sound for the SheBuild project before, donating a roof and doing whatever repairs need to be done on the home. “The homeowner is usually a woman and makes it even more fun — helping another woman to feel empowered,” says Rae. “Because your home is your castle, so having your home be someplace that you feel comfortable makes it all the more reason a motivator for us to want to help out." 

Rae reports that this year's SheBuild, was profoundly impactful, with everyone finding a lot of purpose in the work. “Somehow this year we worked even harder than last the last time,” says Rae. “I think with everything going on with the pandemic and this being our first time since the pandemic that we were really able to get together in person as a chapter, it just felt really good...you can see the progress that you are making, and she was incredibly grateful for us helping her out. We enjoyed her interacting with us and telling us her story.” 

This year's recipient is Miss Betty Daniel, an 89-year-old disabled woman who has proudly lived in her 71-year-old home since 1961. Rae describes her as a spitfire. “She wanted to help out! She was out there ready to go and then we're like no you can sit and watch,” laughs Rae. “She just loved the work, so much that she didn't want us to leave, she's like ‘I'm going to miss you guys I wish you guys can stay?’” 

Miss Betty worked at Boeing for 50 years and saw much of the civil rights movement. “Miss Betty is a black woman, and I am a black woman and that connection there of seeing another woman of color be part of this thing this makes you so proud,” says Rae. “Standing shoulder to shoulder with her, hearing her story and being able to give back to her just meant so much to us.” 

Rae’s 12-year-old daughter joined her to volunteer, along with Brittany’s 13-year-old daughter and Girl Scout Troop members. “Having the young people be part of this and see the difference they're making it was just amazing,” says Rae. “We had pretty much all women there and SheBuild is about empowering women in our community. Being part of National Women in Roofing and being able to empower a female homeowner, as well as having our daughters there as the next generation and the Girl Scouts be a part of the event was very symbolic.” 

"I think it holds an extra significance when you are a woman in the trades; you've got your next generation there with you and you're helping someone who is the generation above you," says Rae, “and I think that adds some significance as well for Miss Betty.” 

This year they did a roof replacement as well as some landscaping work for Betty. National Women in Roofing Seattle Council handled all of the exterior repairs and planted some low maintenance plants for her. Convoy Supply did the roof tear off and Chinook Roofing and Gutters donated the labor for the roof replacement and shingle installation. Fields Roof Service, Inc. and Nations Roof LLC also sponsored the event and GAF donated the shingles. 

“We live in Seattle and it rains like nine months out of the year here, so knowing [when] it starts to rain she doesn't have to be worried that something is going to be wrong with her roof is such a relief,” says Rae. 

Everyone showed up to the event ready to work, knowing it would be a hot day, the work was split into two days, with the goal being to finish by 1 o’clock. “When we showed up on Saturday morning, we just looked at everything and we're just kind of like "Oh my gosh this is a lot,’” says Rae. 

“We worked extra hard this year because when the guys took her roof off, they couldn't get the dumpster in her driveway close enough, so [they] had to tear all two layers worth of shingles off and ground drop it. On Saturday we packed it all out into the dumpster by hand, we moved all of the shingle debris,” says Rae. “But everybody was all hands on deck!” The project finished at 1:10, and Rae happily reports she didn’t even break an acrylic nail. 

“I have to give major props to Rebuilding Together South Sound, they're doing excellent work in our community. They're so involved in the community and have a genuine desire to make the community better,” Rae shared. 

“Rebuilding Together is one of those organizations that tries to provide the education these female homeowners need so they don’t get taken advantage of and learn a skill to do basic repairs on their homes. It's just a great organization and we absolutely love partnering with them to do this SheBuild,” says Rae. “Again, it’s that symbolism of being part of NWiR and working with female homeowner to empower them and just make them feel safe and comfortable in their house. It means everything to us.” 

Learn more about NWiR in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.nationalwomeninroofing.org.