By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

This year, Roofing Day is April 5 and 6. Hear from our panel about how this advocacy event is helping the roofing industry thrive.

RoofersCoffeeShop® cannot wait for Roofing Day 2022! This year’s Roofing Day will be held April 5 and 6  at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C.  

Heidi J. Ellsworth recently met with an amazing panel comprised of NRCA CEO Reid Ribble, JD Miles and Sons Roofing’s Sherri Miles, the NRCA’s Deborah Mazol, and Technical Director with SPRI Randy Ober to talk about Roofing Day 2022. 

Roofing Day in D.C. brings together the entire roofing industry throughout the U.S. to voice our priorities to Congress. A huge part of ensuring that members of Congress hear the critical issues facing the industry, Roofing Day is the largest advocacy event dedicated solely to the roofing industry. 

Reid tells Heidi about how Roofing Day was born out of a desire to see the roofing industry better represented to Congress.   

“What we decided to do was create NRCA's one voice initiative that pulled manufacturers and distribution into the family, and then allow them to inform our decision making in Washington, D.C.,” Reid says. “I knew that if we went in agreement where the whole industry agreed across the entire supply chain, members of Congress are going to be more receptive to that, and immediately we began to put wins on the board for the roofing industry and the strategy worked.” 

Roofing professionals across the board agree that this level of political involvement is crucial to a thriving industry. “I think it's the basic tenant of our civic engagement as well as citizens that people are representing us, and so we need to have our voices heard. There is power in numbers,” agrees Sherri. “Some really powerful, important, and meaningful relationships are built in those few days. It's great to have a common cause certainly, and it's wonderful to be together.” 

This event is not only impactful for contractors, but also manufacturers, Randy shares that last year was his first year at Roofing Day and how he is encouraging the trade organization of manufacturers, SPRI, to participate in such an impactful event. “SPRI is encouraging all the manufacturers to participate in this and support the roofing contractors, because 90% of all issues we're in total agreement with, both the roofing contractor base as well as the manufacturer. We certainly want to provide as much support as possible.” 

From the lack of ability to get a trained workforce to supply chain issues, Roofing Day is all about finding solutions on a national level. Deborah explains that Roofing Day participation is easy, as contractors and manufacturers will receive all of the support they need to have their voices heard.  

“We'll do advocacy training, so you know exactly what to say and how to say it. We'll give you a briefing on the issues so you can be really up to speed on everything that the member of Congress or staff might ask you,” says Deborah. “As well as set up your congressional meetings for you, you don't have to worry about looking up who your representative and senators are, trying to figure out all the logistics, we'll do all of that for you. You'll get a schedule and you just have to show up.” 

Roofing Day is an excellent opportunity to make a difference for your business and our industry, RCS looks forward to seeing contractors at this industrywide advocacy event. Events like these, in the words of the honorable Reid Ribble, “have put roofing on the map in the minds of our legislators in Washington.” 

Read, Listen or Watch the entire Coffee Conversation to learn more about Roofing Day 2022 and to learn about how to get your voice heard in Washington.

DORA is a comprehensive database of roof systems that are tested to meet the International Building Code (IBC). 

RoofersCoffeeShop®, the award-winning place where the industry meets for technology, information and everyday business, is pleased to welcome DORA® into its community for contractors. 

Finding the right materials and assemblies that satisfy a commercial building’s specific performance and safety requirements can be challenging.  Existing resources for finding approved roof assemblies for projects with certain design considerations are limited. This fundamental challenge is what inspired the creation of The Directory of Roof Assemblies (DORA®), an initiative to create a solution to empower contractors, consultants, architects, building owners, and code officials. 

DORA is a web application database for single-ply roof systems tested in accordance with standards referenced in Chapter 15 of the International Building Code (IBC). This service offers a better way to search, view and save assemblies. Listing everything from wind uplift load capacity of single ply and modified bitumen roof systems, DORA makes it easy to access important information about materials that meet building requirements. 

Features: 

• Innovative searching: Smarter tools to find the assembly you need. 

• Project library: Manage your projects, assign DORA® assemblies, store documentation, collaborate and share. 

• Save searches and notifications: Save a search and get notifications for new assemblies meeting its criteria. 

• No erroneous assemblies or products: All supporting documentation is independently validated before being listed in the DORA database. Submissions are reviewed and verified by Intertek Laboratory Testing Services before they are entered on the website. 

• Free to the public. 

How it works 

Industry companies voluntarily submit their assemblies with supporting documentation from third-party validated test reports and qualified evaluations to DORA. Supporting documentation from all qualified accredited laboratory or certification body is accepted. 

DORA® is sponsored by SPRI (Single Ply Roofing Industry). 

RoofersCoffeeShop® is proud to welcome DORA! 

About SPRI 

SPRI is a trade association comprised of commercial roofing industry experts dedicated to providing an open forum for discussion, education, and innovation. It is the leading authority in single-ply roofing and provides ongoing resources and expertise for contractors, architects, and building owners and code officials. For more information on SPRI, or to become a member, please visit their website at www.SPRI.org 

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

SPRI is the leading authority in single-ply roofing consisting of commercial roofing experts dedicated to providing an open forum for discussion, education and innovation.   

RoofersCoffeeShop®, the award-winning place where the industry meets for technology, information and everyday business, is pleased to welcome SPRI into its community for contractors.

SPRI is a network of commercial roofing industry experts dedicated to providing an open forum for discussion, education and innovation. This trade association seeks to provide easy access to online publications and documents that range from ANSI Standards, technical guidelines for design and application to general information about roof maintenance and emergency repairs.

As part of SPRI’s commitment to improving the quality of education in the industry they provide ongoing resources and expertise for contractors, architects, and building owners. Technical and educational efforts have branded SPRI as a leading force in the roofing industry. SPRI seeks to enable each member to improve the industry. SPRI is made up of: 

• Regular Members - Professionals who manufacture or market flexible sheet membrane roofing systems; but not including independent manufacturers’ representatives or distributors. 

• Associate Members - Professionals who manufacture and market, or simply market, raw materials, components, accessories, tools or equipment used in flexible sheet membrane roofing systems. 

• Affiliate Members - Professional roof consultants, architectural firms, specifiers, product distributors, sales representatives, testing agencies and research agencies. 

Together, SPRI members sponsor research, develop industry standards, publish informative guidelines/publications for the commercial roofing industry, and continue to advance roofing technology. 

RoofersCoffeeShop® is proud to welcome SPRI! 

About SPRI

SPRI is a trade association comprised of commercial roofing industry experts dedicated to providing an open forum for discussion, education, and innovation. It is the leading authority in single-ply roofing and provides ongoing resources and expertise for contractors, architects, and building owners and code officials. For more information on SPRI, or to become a member, please visit our website at www.SPRI.org.

By: Ryan VanWert, Director of Engineering, Duro-Last.

Al Janni, Duro-Last^® veteran and familiar face to many, was recently recognized with the President’s Award during the Single Ply Roofing Industry (SPRI) Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona.

The President’s Award was created by SPRI to recognize the service and leadership of an exemplary volunteer every year. During his 15 years of service to SPRI, Al has chaired many technical task forces, served as chair of the Member Services committee, and taken on the leadership roles of Director and President. 

SPRI is a collection of commercial roofing industry experts dedicated to providing an open forum for discussion, education, and innovation. As a leading authority in single-ply roofing, they provide ongoing resources and expertise for contractors, architects, and building owners.

“Al has supported SPRI through his exceptional volunteer efforts, representing the values and priorities of the organization while fostering the cooperative spirit that helps SPRI achieve its goals,” stated the organization. 

Al has been a part of the Duro-Last family for 41 years, starting in the production facility and working in various other technical roles including his current position as Product Testing and Code Approval Specialist. He continually represents Duro-Last in industry organizations with a passion for learning and serving others, contributing to countless initiatives that have helped to improve and advance the roofing industry. From all of us here at Duro-Last, we are grateful for Al’s service and his passion that he brings to work every day. 

Congratulations Al!

 Learn more about Duro-Last products. 

Original article source: Duro-Last