Entering its 11th year, the Roofing Alliance and its partners have created a showcase to demonstrate the up-and-coming talent of roofing’s future by hosting a student competition on the industry’s biggest stage. 

That tradition continues when the International Roofing Expo’s annual Roofing Alliance Construction Management Student Competition begins at 8 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

The yearly competition showcases the brightest minds of the next generation as they demonstrate their competitive bidding skills, estimating talents, and dedication to the roofing industry.

This year's focal project, the Embassy Suites by Hilton San Antonio Airport Hotel, fielded 10 initial entrants from universities nationwide — many of them perennial candidates — who submitted meticulous bid packages to deliver compelling oral presentations for a chance to win. 

A panel of roofing industry veterans from the Alliance will evaluate the presentations and each team’s entire body of work. 

In mid-January, the top six teams were announced and invited to participate in this year’s IRE for the final contest phase: the oral competition. Each team will showcase its bid and demonstrate project management, estimation, and safety expertise. 

An assigned roofing contractor mentor has assisted the teams throughout the competition, helping the students craft proposals.

Of this year’s participating schools, all but the University of North Florida have returned for another crack at the win, and include:  

• Auburn University, Auburn, Ala. — Team Mentor: Paige Harvill, Nations Roof
• Bradley University, Peoria, Ill. — Team Mentor: Alex Hernandez, Clark Roofing Co.
• California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif. — Team Mentor: Rudy Gutierrez, Shell Roofing Solutions
• Clemson University, Clemson, S.C. — Team Mentor: Will Fort, Eskola Roofing
• Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas — Team Mentor: Kyle Cahill, King of Texas Roofing Co.
• University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Fla. — Team Mentor: Marshall Hall, Childers Roofing & Sheet Metal – A Tecta America Co.

“Our mission [remains] steadfast … to promote careers in roofing management by exposing students to the roofing world in which we all live,” Greg Bloom, the Roofing Alliance’s recent past-president said of the annual event. 

Attendance is free, and in years past, some of the industry’s biggest names have made it a point to drop in and, in sporting parlance, scout out the prospects. The students have previously expressed gratitude for attendees making the time to watch, so let’s help uplift those who will follow us.

The top two teams will be recognized onstage during the NRCA's Industry Awards Ceremony and Cocktail Reception, which will take place later that evening, from 5-7 p.m., at the Lila Cockrell Theater inside the Gonzalez Convention Center.