Roofing contractors from every state should still come out to the nation’s capital next month for the first-ever Roofing Day, whether the government is open or not.

That was a message National Roofing Contractor’s Association CEO Reid Ribble wanted to make clear when asked about the prospects of a second government shutdown during the 2018 International Roofing Expo in New Orleans.

The federal government did partially shutdown on Feb. 8 for the second time in less than a month. It was short-lived, however, as lawmakers ended it the following day by passing a $400 billion budget deal, contingent on a six-week temporary funding agreement to keep government running. That expires after roofing contractors and others are scheduled to be in Washington.   

Though he remained optimistic that a longstanding deal would be struck by the time stakeholders in the roofing industry converge on Capitol Hill for a day of lobbying their respective members of congress, Ribble said it was essentially irrelevant in terms of completing the mission.

“If it comes to that, they’ll have more time to visit with us,” Ribble said before addressing attendees of the annual ROOFPAC Golf Outing fundraiser the day before the show.

“We’re going to be putting some legs behind the contributions your making to ROOFPAC,” he said moments before NRCA members hit the green. “We’re trying to track down 1,000 roofing industry stakeholders to come to D.C. and begin to really start enforcing with congress some of the changes we feel we need to see.

“And also letting them know we operate in a professional environment and are seeking the very best we can for our employees and the economy. And we want all 50 states represented.”

Click here for more information about Roofing Day.