LETTER FROM THE CHAIRS
What an incredible month we have had here at NWIR. Our Mid-Year Board of Directors meeting finally took place in Denver last month. We held meetings in person and virtually to accommodate everyone joining in on the planning.
During this Board of Directors (BOD) meeting we:
- Met and introduced the Civica team, our new association management company.
- Worked through the transition process with the Board. (See below for “who to call” contacts)
- Each of our (9) Committees presented the years updated progress
- Voted on a few key issues
- Approved financials and proposed budgets for 2021
- Planning for NWIR DAY in Vegas April 12th
- And among numerous other agenda items, we collectively worked on the goals for 2021!
 Let me tell you we have BIG things planned for 2021. We are positioned with a strong board, strong volunteers and engagement is at the highest level we have seen for Women in Roofing. One stand-out statistic is the over 500,000 impressions we had on our recruitment campaign designed during the shutdown of most businesses to highlight our roofing opportunities as essential workers.
By bringing on a full management team to oversee operations, administration, and member support we can accomplish an even larger amount of programmatic goals. Be sure to tune into our LIVE Stream Annual Report in January to learn all the details.
 One of the things we are most proud of is the addition of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to the Board of Directors. Click on the article below to see the faces of the women who have volunteered to take on this task with fearless passion. Please reach out to these ladies and thank them for the work they are doing and will do for our future.
Renae Bales, KPost Roofing & Waterproofing
Jennifer Stone, Johns Manville; NWiR Co-Chairs
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MENTORING
Melissa Walker, Johns Manville; NWiR Mentoring Committee Chair
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Five Questions with Wise Women in Roofing: Mardee Billingsley
When you were starting out did you have a mentor, and if so was it, someone, you sought out or they found you?
My mentor was my immediate boss who was a manufacturing salesperson and I then reported to an engineer running our contracting business who then taught me most of my contracting knowledge.
How did you get into the roofing industry? Were you in something different prior?
I got into the roofing industry by working for one of Tremco’s customers and running that customer's roofing program. Tremco asked me to join their team to help support the customer directly from their side. I went to school to become a high school business ed teacher and then went to work for a packaging manufacturer in their procurement and manufacturing departments. Read more...
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EDUCATION
Maureen Greeves, Tremco/WTI; NWiR Education Committee Vice-Chair
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Mamas at Work: Real Talk About Being a Working Parent
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 Join us on October 27th at 12:00 PM ET for Mommas at Work: Real Talk about Being a Working Parent. We’ve gathered a panel of working moms to have an open and honest conversation about what it means to be a working parent in today’s day in age. We’ll be discussing work/home life balance, schedules, self-care, mom-guilt, and anything in between. Come prepared to ask questions and share best working mama practices. More details...
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Call for Submissions: NWiR Day 2021
Jennifer Stone, Johns Manville; NWiR Executive Committee Co-Chair
Save the date of April 12th for the 4th Annual NWiR Day!
We miss our roofing friends during these stay at home times.
The idea of gathering with all YOU women in roofing sounds like heaven about now! Let's start to think about NWIR DAY 2021 in Las Vegas. We are looking for both morning speakers and afternoon session leaders. No need to just stop at one submission. We also do not need perfection on this round.
So get those creative juices flowing and submit content ideas! Yes, you - not someone else, YOU!
Submit your ideas!
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE
Celebrating women and their accommplishments
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Ashley Barth as managing partner
 TNT Roofing Products, founded in 1999 by original owners Tom Dean and Tom Lawler, has always been grounded in delivering the best customer service and being the local expert for our customers and industry.
With those principles front and center, TNT has positively navigated two recent territory expansions. First was Northern Ohio and West Virginia in 2016 and most recently Tennessee and Georgia in 2019.
Due to these company expansions, continued growth, and with our customer service philosophy in the forefront, TNT Roofing Products is pleased to announce the promotion of Ashley Barth to the position of Managing Partner. In this role, she will manage and operate the markets in Kentucky and Tennessee.
The Tennessee Council is so proud of our member Ashley. Way to go!
Melody Reh leading specifier services
 Melody Reh is a new recruit to our roofing industry. She has joined Johns Manville as the Specifier Services lead in the Southeast Region. Melody graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design with an emphasis in Architecture. Previously Melody held roles in the Denver Metro area as an Architectural Designer with Studio 646 Architecture and as a Drafter with Peak Engineering. Thank you for helping Shape the Future Melody!
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COMMUNITY SERVICE
Susan DeGrassi, Antis Roofing & Waterproofing; NWiR Community Service Committee Chair
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November Gratitude
The community service committee and the Oregon Council is excited to share a fundraising opportunity with you. 30 Days of Gratitude Giving Box has the objective to collect food boxes that you share with your choice or worthy non-profit local organizations and distribute the week before Thanksgiving. Not only is this a simple, attainable outreach project but is also a great opportunity to involve yourself, coworkers and family members in contributing to your community in a meaningful way! More details...
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MEMBERSHIP
Christee Holbrook, Graham Roofing; NWiR Membership Committee Chair
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How can I get involved as an NWiR member?
Remember there are lots of ways to get involved in National Women in Roofing with or without being in a council:
- Participate in the webinars / Zoom workshops
- Write for the new NWiR Writers Guil
 d
- Join a council in your area or start a council in your area if there is not a council
- Join one of the national committees
(Communications, Community Service, Councils, Education, Events, Membership, Mentoring, Recruitment).
All of our us are looking for new and active members to bring fresh ideas to our committees!
- Participate in the Mentor / Mentee program
- Volunteer at NWiR events such as IRE, Roofing Day
in Washington
- Follow and be engaged on NWiR's social media
platforms
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MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS
Submitted by Denise Cantu, Beacon Building Products
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The Unmasking of National Woman in Roofing
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The Unmasking of National Women in Roofing kicked off on  October 1st with the topic of Mental Health Matters. With close to seventy people in attendance, it was deemed a huge success! Over the next six months, National Women in Roofing in conjunction with GAF and Optum will be rolling out monthly mental health topics as well as resources to help manage these stressful times. On November 5, the topic of discussion will be Mental Health Fundamentals for Managers. This will be a great topic for participants to help understand common mental health issues, how to introduce a model of intervention, develop strategies for managing staff affected by mental health issues, along with other topics. If you have an interest in being part of this committee or would like additional resources, please reach out to Jennifer Keegan, Delisa DiMercurio, Chelsey Line and Denise Cantu. Join us over the next six months for the Unmasking of National Women in Roofing. Let’s take the mask off and start having real conversations!! Register here
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COUNCILS
Karen Edwards, Casimir Group; NWiR Councils Committee Chair
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If you have been part of a successful council startup, consider joining the NWIR Councils committee. We meet regularly with councils across the country who are looking for guidance and support to get their own local councils established. Your insight and wisdom will go a long way toward helping others find success. If you are interested, please contact the Councils Committee Chairs at councils@nationalwomeninroofing.org.
Here’s what some of our councils have been up to lately:
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NW Seattle Council
Submitted by Brittany Wimbish
 As we enter the final quarter of what has been one of the most unpredictable years of our lives let us pause to reflect and in the midst of it all be mindful.
Who would have thought that in the last 9 months we would have experienced a pandemic which created a domino effect of loss of lives and financial difficulties? Then wrapped in that unsightly gift came along social unrest that changed the course of some of our lives. This has caused us to ponder things we have never thought we would have to ponder. Just when you thought 2020 was done, she said, “hold my beer” and then came the natural disasters. We saw storms and wildfires that devastated areas in our country that has left some of us literally gasping for fresh air. Oh, and don’t forget remote learning! I could go on and on about how this in of itself has become its own monster but those of you currently going through it, you know all about it.
I mentioned mindfulness at the beginning. Why mindfulness? Every one of us has been affected by something. Every one of us is currently fighting our own battles. Let us be kind to one another, let us be mindful and let us remember that nothing lasts forever. While in this moment we may feel like it’s never going to end, I can assure you it will. So, hang in there. Stay strong. Because we are #bettertogether.
Rae July
Chair
NWiR- Seattle
Upcoming Events
October 17th - 10am - 11am
NW Seattle - Pumpkin Spice in the Park!
Location: Chambers Bay 6320 Grandview Drive W, University Place
Come say "Hi", bring a dog, a kid(s), and a coffee! We miss you and would love to catch up in person (socially distanced). More info to come via our Facebook Page!
NWiR Tampa Council
Submitted by Christina Smith
 Member Spotlight: Jessica Stahl
Jessica Stahl knew from the age of 7 that she wanted to pursue a career in workplace activism. Jessica has a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from Clemson University and focused her research on workplace inclusion. Jessica’s company, Ignite Results, has clients across the country and she looks forward to growing her business in Florida. She is passionate about amplifying the voices of women in the industry and dealing with deeper issues like racism. Jessica’s goal is to bring change to the roofing industry one company at a time; changing culture, increasing diversity, and revamping the industry’s image. Read more here.
NWiR Tennessee Council
Submitted by Lynsay Walsh
 We had a great hybrid council meeting last week!
We had 10 people in person and also 2 laptops and 1 phone to increase engagement and improve communication with people joining virtually.
We gathered at a park, wore masks, kept our social distance and
had a great time networking in person.
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RECRUITMENT
Brenna Driver, Owens Corning; NWiR Recruitment Committee Chair
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Campaign Success
Our campaign to recruit women into the industry continues with over 500,000 impressions since launching over the summer. Check out these awesome careers in roofing and share with a sister, friend or neighbor! Read more...
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SPONSOR HIGHLIGHTS
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Coffee Conversations Continue to Bring the Roofing Industry Together
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RoofersCoffeeShop® has been delivering networking,
information and education since 2002. It is a website community “Where the Industry Meets.” Launched by Vickie Sharples to compliment her Roofers Exchange newspaper, the site soon became the place where contractors came to do business in the classified section,
to network in the forum, to stay up to date in the newsroom and to find ongoing educational resources. As a women-owned business, Vickie worked with a team of men and women including her husband Mick Sharples to bring
the roofing industry online. Read more...
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GAF Women in Sales Summit Recognized by Brandon Hall Group
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The Brandon Hall Group, a research and analyst firm focused on organizational excellence, recognized GAF for its unique and innovative Women in Sales Summit that provides networking and skills-building for women across its sales organization.
The one-and-a-half day summit provided an exciting new platform for GAF's dynamic group of women leaders to share perspectives about growing in a winning-culture, and learning new techniques to succeed in the roofing industry. Later this year, the 2020 GAF Women in Sales Summit is going virtual, with new programming and exciting keynote speakers. Visit www.GAF.com/careers to learn more about becoming part of the team at GAF. Read more...
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Sponsor Renewal Season Begins
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We launched our sponsor renewal process on October 14th. If you have previously been a sponsor, you should have received an email with information on our 2020-2021 benefits package. If you are considering becoming a sponsor, we would love to chat with you. Please contact Heidi Ellsworth at hje@ellsworth.us or Michelle Boykin at michelle@rackleyroofing.com to discuss how you can support the empowerment of women in the roofing industry and how NWiR can support your company. Details here...
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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Jennifer Stone, Johns Manville; NWiR Executive Committee Co-Chair
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DEI Committee and new board members
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: National Women in Roofing has added to our Board of Directors!
 Rae July
Business Development
Steep Slope for Chinook Roofing
Tacoma, WA.
 Jess Cress
Special Project Manager
Bone Dry Roofing Company
Bogart, GA.
 Meredith Marsh Shaevitz, MBA
Owner / Operator
Pitch Perfect
Oklahoma City, OK.
Rae and Jess are the Co-Chairs of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee. Meredith is the Vice-Chair for our new committee.
The committee's first task is to add a Liaison to each of our current committees that serve on the Board of Directors. This will ensure that we have an eye on empowering all women with every program we pursue. These three ladies are a passionate trio that will add a tremendous amount to the Board of Directors, National Women in Roofing and our goal of elevating our trade. Please congratulate them and the stellar volunteerism they represent.
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EVENTS, WEBINARS & VIRTUAL
MEETINGS
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NOTES FROM THE OFFICE
Ellen Thorp, M.A., CAE; NWiR Executive Director
The 2020 Annual Report is hot off the press and available. It’s a compilation of our accomplishments from the late part of 2019 through the summer of 2020 and our goals for the future. Check it out! It’s also available on the website under the About menu.
One of my responsibilities as the Executive Director is making connections with other associations that have mutual interests with NWiR members. Generally speaking, these are other associations in the roofing (and adjacent) industries as well as associations of women working in non-traditional or male dominated fields.
- I had the opportunity in mid-October to deliver some remarks at the Annual Meeting of Women In Code Enforcement and Development (WICED) an look forward to opportunities for engagement.
- Also in mid-October (that was a busy week), I had the opportunity on the NRCA Telephone Town Hall to give a couple of shout outs for NWiR. The first one was for the NWiR Recruitment Committee and our program to recruit women into the roofing industry; and the second was to respond to a question about addressing the labor shortage by referring listeners to our infographics on how to recruit women to work on the roof and in the field.
 Finally, as I mentioned in the September newsletter, the NWiR Executive Committee has contracted with an association management company to provide administrative, operations, and membership support functions. Our members shouldn't see any interruption of services and you will hear some new voices from Civica Management answering the phone. The Contact Us page on the website gives an overview of a few of the things that Civica staff can help you with, most often with a pretty quick turnaround.
Warm regards,
Ellen
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