The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress is sponsoring its second student competition that will culminate with presentations and the 2016 International Roofing Expo (IRE). ® The winner of this prestigious competition will be announced at the NRCA Industry Awards Ceremony and Cocktail Reception being held Thursday evening in Room W304A-H at the OCCC. 

The Alliance competition this year features teams of four university students testing their roofing, project management, estimating, safety, quality control, and presentation skills. The three participating teams this year are Auburn University of Auburn, Ala.; Louisiana State University of Baton Rouge, La.; and the University of Florida of Gainesville, Fla. Out of the 12 students participating, three of these students participated last year.

The three teams were asked to bid on installing a roof system at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) in Orlando, Fla. Each team had to research the project, review the plans and specifications, and assemble a full estimate and proposal to submit a qualified bid package.

A panel of industry judges reviewed the written proposals and determined the preliminary scores. The teams will give their oral presentations before the judges on Thursday morning, Feb. 18 from 7:45 to 11:15 a.m. in Room W207ABC at the OCCC. Coffee and pastries will be available starting at 7:45 a.m. for those attending the presentation. The presentations will begin at 8 a.m.

At the conclusion of the presentations, the teams will have an opportunity to ask questions of representatives who performed the actual job from Springer-Peterson Roofing and Sheet Metal, Inc., Eaton Park, Fla. and PCL Construction Services, Inc., Orlando as well as go up on the OCCC roof to see the actual work that was performed. 

The judges’ scores from the oral presentations will be combined with the scores from the written proposals to determine the winning team.

The Alliance’s 2016 Construct Management Student Competition is a hallmark competition that promotes careers in roofing industry management. In addition to providing a significant learning opportunity, the competition fosters an environment that is mean to bring out the best in each team; encourages dialogue among the students; and fosters team spirit as students rise to meet the challenge. 

The winning team will receive a $5,000 L.B. Conway scholarship for the winning school, a team trophy and individual awards; and recognition in a press release, in Professional Roofing magazine and on the Alliance’s website.

Auburn University

(Jim Johnson, Grant Dohrenwend, Ben Coode, Oscar Iniguez)

Louisiana State University

(Aaron Cherry, Tucker Attaway, Blake Johnson (alternate), Nate Duxbury, Meghan Brunet)

University of Florida          

(Eddie San Juan, Nick Loewenthal, Caleb Strauss, Drew Winant)

Team mentors:

            Auburn – Kyle Thomas, Thomas Roofing, Mobile, Ala.

            Louisiana State – Tupac De La Cruz, Roofing Solutions, Prairieville, La.

            University of Florida - Lincoln Register, J. Register Co., Jacksonville, Fla.

Judges:

            John Arellano, GAF, Parsippany, N.J.   

            John Geary, Firestone Building Products Co., Indianapolis, Ind.

            Stanley Graveline, Sika Corp., Canton, Mass.

            Scott Kawulok, B & M Roofing, Frederick, Colo.

            Bruce McCrory, Kiker Corp., Mobile, Ala.

            Bob Pringle, Evans Roofing Co., Elmira, N.Y.

            Jeremy Voss, PCL Industries, Orlando, Fla.

For more information on The Alliance’s student competition and information on the The Alliance in general, please visit the Alliance website at: www.roofingindustryalliance.net.