We recently attended the 2015 International Roofing Expo (IRE) held in conjunction with the annual convention of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA). As usual, there were a number of new products and industry initiatives announced. This year, however, we learned about things that will define the roofing industry from now into the foreseeable future.

First, there was the gathering of a group formed as a council of the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA) in late 2014: Women in Roofing (WinR). The organization’s goal is networking for women within the roofing industry with a focus on mentoring for incoming young female professionals and business owners. 

Recognizing the growing number of women roofing contractors as well as industry leaders in manufacturing, distribution, technology and publications, WinR aims to provide a platform for mentoring as well as providing ongoing education for career success in the industry. It’s good that leading women in the roofing industry are banding together to improve not only themselves but the next generation of women coming into the business.

As if to put an exclamation point on women in roofing, the NRCA elected a woman to lead its organization at its 128th annual convention. Lindy Ryan, senior vice president of Tecta America Southeast LLC, Sanford, Fla., will take the reins of the association as its first female president beginning June 1.

Ryan brings 24 years of construction management experience to her new post and has spent countless hours working her way through the ranks of the NRCA, serving on numerous committees and two terms on the board of directors. In other words, her election to the position of president was earned, just the same as her predecessors.

Speaking of the NRCA, the organization made even more history at its 128th convention. You may not think a trade association announcing a new application for mobile devices and personal computers is a big deal, but in my view, NRCA’s new app is most decidedly a game changer. I believe it’s the organization’s most significant new initiative in nearly two decades.

The NRCA app, available online exclusively to NRCA members, gives users instant access to the newly published NRCA Roofing Manual: Membrane Systems 2015. A number of NRCA’s other technical publications including Guidelines for Asphalt Shingle Roof Systems and A Roofing Contractor’s Guide to LEED, to name but a few, are likewise accessible online.

With access via mobile devices, the valuable information contained in NRCA’s technical manuals and publications is accessible from the office and from the field, which is the most significant feature of the app. Of all the reasons a roofing contractor should stop procrastinating and join the NRCA, this is one of the most compelling ever.

Roofing Contractor is proud to be a member and supporter of the NRCA, the MRCA and WinR. We are pleased to share these links so you may learn more about all of the above:

International Roofing Expo (IRE)

National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA)

Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA)

Women in Roofing (WinR)

WinR Announces Leadership Team

NRCA Elects First Woman President, Lindy Ryan

NRCA App

Women in Roofing Management