The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress Is Advancing its Mission on Multiple Fronts

As part of The Alliance's partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities, Alliance and NRCA members adopt houses in their areas to ensure the roofs are properly maintained. Pictured here is the Ronald McDonald House in Morgantown, West Virginia. Photos: The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress

As part of The Alliance’s partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities, Alliance and NRCA members adopt houses in their areas to ensure the roofs are properly maintained. Pictured here is the Ronald McDonald House in Morgantown, West Virginia. Photos: The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress

In 1970, the National Roofing Foundation (Foundation) was formed as the National Roofing Contractors Association’s (NRCA’s) educational and research foundation. In 1996 the Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress (The Alliance) was created within the Foundation as a forum for leaders from all segments of the industry to address current and future issues and to create a permanent endowment fund. The Alliance continues to be a diverse, thoughtful and dedicated forum of roofing contractors, manufacturers, distributors, service providers and industry professionals united to shape, improve and advance the roofing industry.

The Alliance meets twice a year to conduct member business; hear updates on current projects and programs; analyze and select new projects that are proposed for funding; hear speakers from within and outside the industry; and to network with fellow Alliance members.

The Alliance currently has 165 members. This group of committed leaders has contributed over $13 million to the Alliance’s endowment fund to help preserve and enhance the U.S. roofing industry’s success by funding industry research, providing timely and forward-thinking industry responses to major economic and technological issues, and helping to promote professionalism and increasing awareness about career opportunities within the roofing industry.

To date, the Alliance has allocated a little over $5.3 million in funding to 46 different projects, programs and studies to help better the industry.

The Alliance has four areas of focus: philanthropy; education; workforce and training; and technology and research.

Philanthropy

The Alliance’s philanthropic efforts include:

  • The Helping Our Own Program, which includes reaching out to the roofing community and its members and helping fund efforts dedicated to good works and charitable giving. Through a nomination process, The Alliance can recognize and

    The Most Valuable Player Awards (MVP) Program honors outstanding roofing field workers and warehouse workers who not only excel within their companies but go above and beyond to make a difference in their communities. This year’s nomination process begins in September. Photos: The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress

    identify the challenges associated with these life-changing events and help create sustainable solutions for individuals or families in need. Although The Alliance may not be able to solve all the problems rendered during a time of crisis, collectively, we can make a real difference in the lives of families who may fall victim to tragedy.

  • The Most Valuable Player Awards (MVP) Program provides an opportunity for companies to nominate their most outstanding roofing field workers or warehouse workers who not only excel within their companies but go above and beyond to make a difference in their communities. Since the program’s inception, 632 employees have been nominated and 234 winners and finalists have been selected. A maximum of 10 winners are selected by members of the Alliance’s MVP Task Force. The winners receive an expense-paid trip to NRCA’s annual convention and are recognized at NRCA’s Industry Awards Ceremony and Cocktail Reception. Details for the 2018-19 MVP Program will be available in September 2018.
  • The Gold Circle Awards program recognizes Alliance and NRCA member firms for their outstanding contributions to the roofing industry through outstanding workmanship, innovative solutions and safety preparedness and performance. Winners, selected by the Alliance’s Gold Circle Awards Committee, are also recognized at NRCA’s Industry Awards Ceremony.
  • The Alliance’s newest initiative is a partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). RMHC is operated with the support of McDonald’s Corp., headquartered in Chicago. Each of their 165 stand-alone houses is independently owned and operated, and all are established as 501(c)(3) corporations. The core purpose of each house is to provide a home for family members of children who are being treated at a hospital. The houses provide private sleeping rooms, food and pride themselves on offering opportunities for families to interact as they go through their difficult times.

In addition to providing roof and building maintenance, volunteers help Ronald McDonald House Charities in a variety of ways. Pictured here are volunteers at Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, Mountain Center, California. Photos: The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress

Alliance and NRCA members adopting houses in their areas are asked to conduct annual roof inspections, ensure the roofs are properly maintained and perform emergency roof repairs when needed. Roof replacements will be managed as individual projects, and, when appropriate, several contractors may be asked to participate. We’ll reach out to our manufacturer and distributor members to see if they can assist with donated products and materials. In addition to providing roof maintenance, there are a number of volunteer opportunities for the members’ employees. Volunteers are welcome to prepare meals, bake special treats, clean, paint, etc.

Currently 90 out of the 165 stand-alone houses have been adopted. Alliance President Rod Petrick issued a challenge to Alliance and NRCA members that he would like to see all 165 houses adopted by the Fall, 2018 Alliance meeting.

Education

On the education front, the Alliance partners with Construction Management Schools, provides scholarships and is a Diamond sponsor of National Women in Roofing.

We’re working with construction management schools across the country to (1) raise awareness of our industry among students and faculty; (2) encourage the schools to integrate more roofing-specific materials into their course curricula; and (3) encourage students to consider our industry as a viable career option.

The Alliance sponsors design competitions for construction management students. Pictured here is the first-place team from Auburn University’s McWhorter School of Building Sciences at the. 2018 International Roofing Expo in New Orleans. Photos: The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress

A great way to reach construction management students is through design competitions. We’ve had four so far and we’re currently working on our fifth. The competition challenges the students’ roofing knowledge, construction management skills, time management, organizational and presentation skills. The finalist teams and faculty come to the convention to give their oral presentations. While there, they also opportunities to meet members and to learn more about our industry by attending the educational sessions and the expo.

The next step in our partnership with construction management schools is to find ways to connect with faculty. Our plan is to do this through a research project recently approved at the April, 2018 Alliance member meeting, “A Study of the U.S. Roofing Industry and Its Workforce.” This demographic study will quantify the economic impact of the roofing industry and measure the size, age, racial background and gender of the workforce. It also will identify the number of roof contracting, manufacturing and distribution companies that exist in the U.S. market and the type of work they do. This comprehensive study will provide real data for us as we plan our future.

The Alliance awards $55,000 annually in scholarship funds through the Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship Program, which is open to employees and family members of NRCA member firms who are pursuing careers in the roofing or building construction industries. Since the program’s inception, a total of $790,000 has been awarded to 125 students.

The Alliance is also a Diamond sponsor for National Women in Roofing, which is dedicated to educating, mentoring and supporting women in the various roles they fill within the roofing industry.

Workforce and Training

The Alliance continues its efforts to elevate the roofing industry under the current leadership team that includes (from left) Alliance Vice President Josh Kelly of OMG Roofing Products, Agawam, Massachusetts; Alliance President Rod Petrick of Ridgeworth Roofing Co. Inc., Frankfort, Illinois; Immediate Former Alliance President Thomas Saeli of Duro-Last Inc., Saginaw, Michigan. Photos: The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress

The Alliance supports several workforce and training initiatives. Previously the Alliance partnered with Bilingual America on a cultural and leadership training program for Alliance-member firms that employee Latino workers. And, more recently, the Alliance provided funding to help with the development of NRCA’s ProCertification Series.

Technology and Research

On the technology and research front, the Alliance funded:

  • NRCA’s EnergyWise online calculator. Originally funding was provided to help develop the program; later funding was approved to provide program updates.
  • A study to better understand the moisture release in concrete roof decks. A final report will be available this fall.
  • NRCA’s Silica Objective Data Collection Study.

Over the next 12 months, The Alliance will be working with an outside marketing and communications firm to ramp up marketing efforts, making the sure the industry knows who The Alliance is and is aware of all that the Alliance is doing. Hopefully as we create more awareness, more project funding requests will be generated. And, of course, we work to continue to grow the Alliance with new members, but equally important — we want to make sure our current members stay actively engaged and involved.

Member involvement is key. The Alliance can only continue in its efforts if members remain actively involved every step of the way. It will be exciting to see what the new year brings under the leadership of Alliance President Rod Petrick. Rod’s passion, energy and drive are contagious. As president, he will see to it that The Alliance continues to be imaginative, intelligent and bold so that working together we can help The Alliance reach its full potential!

For more information on The Alliance, visit www.roofingindustryalliance.net.

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