August 2016 Newsletter

Heidi J. Ellsworth, President, HJE Consulting Group & Current NWIR Chair

As we move into the fall, I am still overwhelmed and excited about the level of passion for this new association. Membership continues to grow and we are thrilled to have some amazing founding sponsors. I want to say thank you again to The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress, SRS Distribution, National Roofing Partners, Johns Manville, and Tamko Building Products who have already donated founding dollars and time! Many more are currently working with us and we are excited to announce additional new sponsors as we move into the fall.

I am hearing from many of you asking what you can do to help. As I have said, we are all figuring this out together but here are some key items:

• If you want to volunteer for committees or to help out at trade shows in your area, check the appropriate box when you register for membership.
• Start a council in your local area. Information for that will be on this website after Labor Day!
• Upload your photos from NWIR events or from women working in the roofing industry to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/nationalwomeninroofing/
• Empower each other. Don’t wait for us, do it now. Get together with other women in the industry and empower each other.

Just today, I saw an email from a group of ladies out of Washington. A young lady wanted to get into the industry in sales and was looking for help. The advice was amazing and by the end of the email string, a contractor had already requested she send a resume. WOW! We are powerful together. Thank you for being a part of this great new association.

The speed of membership is highly encouraging! Anyone within the roofing industry or interested in becoming a roofing professional are invited to participate in this exciting new organization. Interested people can sign up for membership here.Sign up now!

NWIR is proud to announce the award of funding from SRS Distribution and establishment as a Founding Sponsor.

SRS Distribution Inc. (dba SRS Roofing Supply) consists of a family of industry-leading, independent roofing distributors with a common goal and purpose: to focus all of our efforts on serving the professional roofing contractor. SRS is a private company sponsored by Berkshire Partners and lead by a management team of industry veterans who understand the needs of the professional contractor.

SRS has grown rapidly through acquisition and the opening of multiple new locations since the February 2008 inception (more fully detailed in “Our History”). This continual growth in a down market has established SRS as one of the fastest growing building products distribution companies in the U.S. SRS enjoys strong investor and banking relationships and a solid balance sheet to enable us to remain a high-growth company in the years ahead. The goal of SRS is to form the strongest national network of independent roofing distributors with the most talented team of people working together to deliver the industry’s best products and services. In addition to our commitment to customer focus, SRS strives to become the preferred employer in the industry with highly motivated and engaged employees operating in an entrepreneurial culture where the corporate office works for the field and not the reverse.

SRS also aims to become the most attractive distribution partner to our many valued suppliers by forming collaborative relationships built on trust and friendship that date back many decades. SRS has a very narrow product focus with roofing making up almost 95% of sales. This focus allows us to enjoy a broader and deeper inventory of roofing products at each location than many of our competitors. We have the capabilities and equipment to deliver any product you need, where you want it, when you need it.

NWIR is grateful to SRS for its financial commitment and encouragement from the very beginning.

Jennifer Ford-Smith, Committee Chair

It is National Women in Roofing’s goal to leverage industry events to offer unique opportunities for networking, education and mentoring. Most recently on August 9, 2016, Roofing Contractor Magazine hosted a webinar that featured National Women in Roofing’s Executive team members Heidi Ellsworth and Jennifer Stone and Communication Committee Vice Chair, Jill Bloom. Presenters discussed the growing wave of change sweeping through the roofing industry. They shared their stories on how they built successful careers in roofing, and they presented the core mission of NWIR: mentorship, education, networking and recruitment. More than 150 attended the conference call and of those 47% of the participants were roofing contractors.

Check out our upcoming events below.

RCAT 2016 Convention
October 12-14
NWIR Luncheon
Friday, 10/14
11:30am – 1:00pm
Grapevine, TX

MRCA 2016 Convention
October 31-November 2
NWIR Reception & Mentoring Panel
Tuesday, 11/1
5:30pm – 7:00pm
Columbus, OH

CRCA 2017 Convention
January 19-20
Event Details To Be Announced
Chicago, IL

Fran Nichols, Committee Chair

One of our goals with Community Service is to establish a footprint within our communities for the roofing industry. A great resource is GoodWill.

Last month I was honored to assist in their certification program for job seekers. Their job fairs help employers connect with job seekers. So, why not roofing?!

It’s exciting to share the possibilities and options our industry has to offer, from skilled roofers to office personnel. GoodWill corporate centers are located nationally.

Hoping our Dress for Success with GoodWill takes off in each of our communities! Its a win, win.

Alison LaValley, Committee Chair

What a great month! We have had a number of terrific women reach out and express their interest in forming an NWIR Council, and we are thrilled at the tremendous outpouring of support! As we finalize the details for Council formation, we encourage you to volunteer. The page will prompt you to put in your email address and check a box indicating that you may be interested in helping to start a Council in your area. No commitment is implied; we are simply trying to keep track of interest!

We have talked to so many lovely ladies within the last few weeks who already have or who will soon be establishing NWIR Councils in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona; Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; and Bothell, Washington. And, we recently heard from additional ladies in Utah and Michigan who are gearing up! If you are from one of these areas and wish to be involved with these new Councils, OR if you’d like to start a local NWIR Council in your area, please volunteer. We’ll be in touch in mid-September to put you in touch with a toolkit to get you started!

We look forward to all that’s ahead! Please feel free to reach out to me at any time!

“Behind every successful woman is a tribe of other successful women who have her back.” – Anonymous

Meet your education committee by reading through the following information. To learn more about their journey, please join our up and coming webinar series!

Shelly Duhaime currently chairs the Education Committee for National Women in Roofing. Shelly has managed the risk of over 75 Roofing Contractors across the country and has held an insurance licensed in 45 states. She is the architect behind two of the country’s most successful Roofing Industry Captive Programs! The programs are very successfully returning substantial reductions in claim dollars and incidents per man hour worked.

Heather Davis is the Marketing Manager at Metal-Era, Inc. She has more than 20 years of experience in various marketing roles and she has a family full of roofing professionals! She started her “career” in the roofing industry in high school, working for her dad’s roofing company as a helper and warehouse assistant.

Thea Dudley is the Vice President of Financial Services & Customer Care at Guardian Building Products. She has over three decades of work experience as a credit and collections officer. Thea has worked tirelessly in the building industry to champion education, presenting seminars and webinars for many groups in the roofing industry.

Heather Estes is the Materials Scientist at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. She has more than 10 years of experience with asphalt chemistry, analytical chemistry and laboratory sciences and applies that knowledge to roofing and building materials. Heather works with different codes and standards committees to keep the technical side of roofing up to date.

Jennifer Keegan is the Northeast Regional Manager of Building Sciences group at Intertek-ATI. She has 18 years of experience as a building enclosure consultant and has investigated and analyzed failures of building enclosures, designed repairs, provided construction administration services, performed condition surveys, and completed design peer reviews of residential and commercial facade and roofing assemblies. She also sits on the board for Women in Construction Conference in the mid-Atlantic area and chairs the waterproofing subcommittee for ASTM D08 -Roofing and Waterproofing.

Lorna Mendez is the Field Recruitment Specialist at Flynn Group Companies. She is new to the roofing industry and is looking forward to participating in events, as well as learning from other women in roofing industry. Lorna is responsible for sourcing and assisting in the selection of field staff for US positions.

Hannah Safren is the Northeast Representative for Polyglass. Shortly after graduating, Hannah’s Dad, Richie Safren, sucked her into the wonderful world of Independent Reps. Under his guidance, Safren cultivated the basic skills and knowledge needed to thrive within this competitive trade!

Mallory Payne, Committee Chair

The Mentorship Committee is excited to announce Jill Bloom as one of the 3 speakers at NWIR’s Mentoring Circles Event at the MRCA. Please read more about Jill below and join us at MRCA.

Jill Bloom is a results-driven media executive, focused on helping clients navigate through a sea of exciting and ever-evolving media options to promote their brands. As Group Publisher for Roofing Contractor, Walls & Ceilings and ARW/WC Architect, and proud creator of Best of Success, she thrives on connecting people in this amazing industry and sharing their success stories. During her 17 years in roofing, Jill’s built a legacy of helping others foster relationships that strengthen companies, enhance careers and propel the industry forward.

IBHS Research Scientist Lends Hand to Women in Roofing Industry

Often found inspecting asphalt shingle damage by looking down the barrel of a microscope, Heather Estes, materials staff scientist at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), keeps herself busy while analyzing various hail, wildfire, high wind and wind-driven rain tests at the IBHS Research Center.