LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
It’s March so I ask myself “are we coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb?” Well let me tell you, NWIR is coming in AND going out like a LION! We have a fabulous March and I’m really excited to share it with you.
This month we will be engaging in the following:
- Women’s History Month. We have over 20 profiles of women to showcase. Be on the lookout starting March 10th. As you read the profiles, ask yourself, how are you making history?
- The week of March 7th is Women in Construction Week.
- March 8th is International Women’s Day AND…..THE OFFICIAL PROMOTION OF OUR NEWLY FORMED CANADIAN COUNCIL! (And don’t forget our New Zealand NWIR.).
- March 9th we are starting our multi-part conversation series with Lelia Gowland and NWiR Diamond Sponsors to build ourselves, our community, our companies and our industry.
- March 16th is a financial webinar coupled with data for women in trades.
- Additionally, we are promoting our “Roofing Is…” campaign. In March we are encouraging Roofing Is Celebrating Women, Roofing Is Recruiting and Roofing Is Technical Education, and we will continue to expand and carry this campaign thru NWIR Day on August 8th, in Las Vegas in conjunction with the IRE.
I encourage everyone to participate in our events above and/or join a conversation in our social media posts. Remember, we are better together.
Renae Bales, KPost Roofing & Waterproofing
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DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
Rae July, Chinook Roofing; NWiR DEI Committee Co-Chair
Jess Cress, Bone Dry Roofing Company; NWiR DEI Committee Co-Chair
Meredith Marsh-Shaevitz, Pitch Perfect Roofing; NWIR DEI Committee Vice Chair
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Roofing Is: Celebrating Women ~ Women’s History Month 2021
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 Every year since the early 80’s we’ve been celebrating Women’s History Month and during this unprecedented year, it will be no different. We celebrate women who’ve shattered glass ceilings and paved the way throughout history for many of us to have opportunities.
This year in honor of Women’s History Month, Roofing Is Celebrating Women. Let’s not just celebrate the women who are written in the history books but let’s also celebrate ourselves. The women in our industry who climb a ladder every day to get on a roof, the women who walk into a room full of men and get the job done, the women who are constantly overcoming obstacles in their workplace to be successful, the women who are behind the science of our roofing products, the women who are the first to own a roofing company in their towns or cities; the women who quite simply get it done! Read more...
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EDUCATION
Heather Estes, GAF; NWiR Education Committee Chair
Maureen Greeves, Tremco Roofing and Building Maintenance; NWiR Education Committee Vice Chair
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Technical Education & Resources
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 The Education Committee has embarked on an initiative to provide members with easy access to resources in and outside of NWiR for technical education. Topics will include areas such as metal roofing and metal edging, asphaltic systems and products, single-ply materials, fluid applied roofing, etc. Stay tuned to the NWiR newsletter and social media for monthly updates with upcoming topics! Read more...
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 EVENTS
Monica Pedrique Vornbrock, Marketing & DesignSolutions; NWIR Events Committee Chair
Brittany Wimbish, Fields Roof Service; NWiR Events Committee Vice Chair
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 The NWIR book club just launched 2021 with its second book reading, opening with a successful 1st meeting of a collaborative effort between NWIR & WIRE. Our second book selection; Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close Aminatou Sow is broken into two discussions. The first book club meeting was February 18, 2021 and the final meeting will be on March 18, 2021. Register today to be part of this great book.
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MENTORING
Kelley Caron, OMG Roofing Products; NWiR Mentoring Committee Chair
Kyrah Coker, National Roofing Partners; NWiR Mentoring Committee Vice Chair
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Wise Women in Roofing; Jennifer Keegan – GAF
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When you were starting out, did you have a mentor? Was it someone you sought out or they found you?
 The term “mentor” was never used in my career. However, early on I did have three men in particular that took me under their wings and mentored me – all 3 of them named Jim! While I didn’t report directly to any of them, I did work closely with them. They went well above and beyond the job description of having a junior employee working on their projects. I was provided a very strong technical foundation as well as opportunities to engage with larger project teams and clients. Read more...
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RECRUITMENT
Brenna Driver, Owens Corning; NWiR Recruitment Committee Chair
Paula Felix, Aspenmark Roofing & Solar; Recruitment Committee Vice Chair
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 The Recruitment Committee is excited to share some results of the Roofing is Recruiting Campaign momentum from 2020. In partnership with Roofers Coffee Shop we achieved over 500K impressions on our career boards in just a few months! This was purely from all of you within our network sharing our social posts within your social media platforms. We want to keep the momentum going and plan to continue the efforts into 2021 by sharing opportunities – watch out social media pages as we continue to share the links as new jobs are posted. Remember, if you are hiring you can post your open next career opportunity here. Thank you for your continued support!
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COUNCILS
Karen Edwards, Casimir Group; NWiR Councils Committee Chair
Christine Mockenhaupt, SRS Distribution Inc.; NWiR Councils Committee Vice Chair
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Here’s what some of our councils have been up to lately:
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 In honor of International Women’s Day we are excited to announce the OFFICIAL LAUNCH of the FIRST CANADIAN Council of National Women in Roofing. Working together, we are bringing the industry to a new level of excellence through, mentoring, networking, education and more. National Women in Roofing (NWIR) is a volunteer-based organization that supports and advances the careers of women roofing professionals, from the rooftop to the boardroom. Read more...
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NWiR West Virginia Council
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 The Wheeling, WV Council hosted the 30 Days of Gratitude after the holidays as the need continues in communities throughout the year. By taking a collection for the Youth Service Systems (YSS), the goal was to provide essential items for the local Winter Shelter. With the support of Sunbelt Rentals, and several local businesses, YSS received a truckload of items that consisted of over 1500 non-perishable food items, 100 pairs of socks, 200 personal hygiene items, and an abundant amount of gloves, blankets, and warm clothing. The contributions filled their storage areas to the point they overflowed! A special thanks to the Wheeling community for donating these essential items to provide the means necessary to continue YSS’s mission of creating a better future for children, families, and the community.
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NWiR Philadelphia Council
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After a successful council “launch party” in February 2020, the group has been radio silent. But we are trying to breathe some new life back into our chapter! In honor of Women in Construction Week (March 7-13), we will be hosting a virtual lunch titled “My So Called Roofing Life”. Please join us Tuesday, March 9th at noon EST as we share stories of how we all got into the roofing industry. Should be fun! Read more...
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 We need time to break away from everything. We need time to just “Wine Down” with “the girls”. We have been getting together virtually. The upside to this is it has afforded us the opportunity to include our other women of tenacity from across the country. We bring a wine glass and fill it with our beverage of choice (even water). We have found everything tastes better in a wine glass. This is a time to just be ourselves and really get to know each other. We talk about books, apps, family or anything that comes up. Read more...
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 The Oklahoma Council of NWiR would like to thank everyone who attended in person & virtually to our February CRM roundtable event. Our speakers this month were Susan Fye of Reroof America Contractors & Brooke Laizure of Whirlwind Roofing and Construction. They discussed their CRM platforms (Acculynx & Jobnimbus). We discussed best practices and tips for using the CRM platforms from actual users. We would also like to thank ORCA (Oklahoma Roofing Contractors Association) for hosting our meeting and Malarkey Roofing Products for being our lunch sponsor. We can’t wait to see you at next month’s meeting!
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 March begins Women’s History Month, and the Northern NJ Council rang in the month-long celebration of women in their virtual meeting held on February 25, 2021.
Council board member Maggie Nyk (PB Roofing) shared the history of International Women’s Day and the impact this day has had on her since her childhood celebrations in Poland.
Wendy Lucas (PB Roofing) shared milestones of prominent women who have shattered the glass ceiling in the national arena. Read more...
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 COVID restrictions were lifted just enough in MN for us to host our Cocktails and Conversation Event on February 19, 2021, at The Lookout. The council hosted an “Ask the Expert” roundtable discussion for members and potential members to ask other females in the industry how they handle situations or any advice they might have in working in a male-dominated industry. The discussion was dynamic and energetic. We had 29 ladies register for the event with 11 guests/potential members (we even had our 1st virtual member join us). The feedback received after the event was amazing and the women requested we do it again, only for a longer meeting time period!
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 Since 2017 the SoCal Council of National Women in Roofing (NWiR) has been a dedicated supporter of the Alexandria House and the great work they do to provide safe and supportive housing to women and children as they transition to economically stable and permanent housing. The SoCal council and friends refused to let a fire and Covid-19 stand in the way of their support in the shelter’s time of need. Read more...
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NWiR Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Council
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 Lady On The Roof here in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky and I have volunteered to build a council here locally with NWiR to help inspire others to get involved in attracting elite and passionate people, especially women, into this industry of roofing and exterior builds. We would like to begin this new council in establishing a committee of other women and men who also share this passion in this industry to help kick this council into it’s own placement here in Cincinnati/NKY. Read more...
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SPONSOR HIGHLIGHTS
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TAMKO Launches New Product
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 In 2021, TAMKO Building Products is moving through an exciting transformation – and NWiR members on the TAMKO Team are playing pivotal roles: Heritage Proline™ Series Shingles – Titan XT™ and StormFighter IR™.
In February, TAMKO announced it was launching a new series of premium architectural shingles specifically designed for the professional roofing contractor. The new Heritage Proline series is launching in March 2021 with two new advanced shingles – Titan XT and StormFighter IR. All of the Heritage Proline series shingles include a collection of innovative features, including reinforced common bond, expanded nailing zone, impressive high wind warranty and enhanced sealants and top coating. Read more...
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SHAPING OUR FUTURE
Celebrating women and their accomplishments
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 Chelsea Oesch was promoted to Marketing Director for Private Label of Beacon Building Products. She has over 10 years of experience in roofing distribution. Chelsea joined Beacon in 2015, starting in outside sales and transitioned to Branch Management. She is an influencer for RoofersCoffeeShop and is heavily involved in employee engagement and giving back locally. Congrats Chelsea!
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 Lee Lipniskis is a founding member of NWiR and also served a term on the very first NWiR Board of Directors. We are so delighted for her that she is joining Cotney Attorneys & Consultants, a Founding Sponsor and continuing Platinum Sponsor of NWiR. Read more...
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 Jami Spice, CSI, CDT was recently promoted as Channel Manager for Specifications. She has been in the construction industry for over 20 years and over a decade at Metal-Era. In her new role Jami is dedicated to assisting roof designers with prototype design, navigating wind uplift design and testing requirements, FM approvals and assisting with plan/specification review related to terminating perimeter edge metal and gutters. Jami is also a member of NWiR, Indiana Council, CSI and IIBEC.
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 NWiR DAY
Jennifer Stone, Johns Manville; NWiR Executive Committee Past Chair
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Save the Date for NWiR Day 2021
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 It’s been a year of frequent changes, but we haven’t had our enthusiasm diminished for the 4th annual NWiR Day, which is now scheduled for August 8, 2021, in Las Vegas. Our format will be a full day of education, mentoring, and networking while we empower each other as women in the roofing industry.
We will also have a presence at the IRE Virtual Edition during the first week of March, and we are excited about the opportunity to deliver additional content to NWiR members and the industry.
Stay tuned and we will see you soon!
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Call for Presentations for NWiR Day 2021
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The fourth annual NWiR Day will be held August 8, 2021 in Las Vegas (just prior to the IRE). To create an energetic and intuitive agenda that is responsive to the needs of women in the roofing industry, we are looking for your suggestions and contributions on best practices and important issues to empower women in the roofing industry. NWiR Day is not just another professional development conference; it is a time for women to engage in education, networking, and mentoring for the purpose of growing their careers and strengthening their businesses.
Our theme this year is: ROOFING IS: What is roofing to your companies? To NWiR, ROOFING IS: Resilient, diverse, financial freedom, recruiting, education. Read more...
Submissions will close April 1, 2021
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The Next Edition of the Market Index Survey for Reroofing
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 Thank you for your responses to the Market Index Survey. The survey had over 1300 respondents from a variety of roofing contractors and consultants about their business activity in the 4th quarter. No link to share for results, only respondents are able to see the results. Stay tuned for an email and social media from NWiR in early April so you can participate in the Q1 survey and see the results next time!
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Brought to you by our Diamond Sponsors, we welcome you to Join our live, interactive program on Joy Infusion–where we will laugh, connect, and have fun with Lelia Gowland!
As we look for the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, we’ll continue the conversations that have sustained us through the past year on topics like:
- Joy infusion in your career and workplace
- Negotiation strategies
- Antidotes for “Zoom fatigue”
- Building confidence and empowerment.
Through a blend of live, interactive virtual programs and engaging online courses, NWiR members will learn tangible strategies and get fresh perspectives.
Save the date for live, interactive virtual programs:
- March 9, 12pm CST: Joy Infusion: Laugh, Find Connection, and Have Fun; Sponsored by Beacon – Register here for the first virtual program
- March 30, 12pm CST: You pick!; Sponsored by Johns Manville
- April 13, 12pm CST: You pick!; Sponsored by Owens Corning
In each virtual session, the audience gets to choose the next topic in real time!
Online courses will be posted on April 20
- Confidence Boost: Tap into the Negotiation Strengths You Already Have; Sponsored by GAF
- Prep Like A Pro: Key Strategies for Before You Negotiate; Sponsored by TAMKO
- Success in the Room: Powerful Practices for During the Negotiation; Sponsored by SRS
- Manage the Feels: How to Navigate Your Emotions in Negotiation; Sponsored by Tremco
Sessions will be hosted by Lelia Gowland, a nationally known speaker, coach and author whose work has been featured in Forbes magazine.
*These dynamic sessions are only available to NWiR members.
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EVENTS, WEBINARS &
VIRTUAL MEETINGS
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Upcoming Webinars and Virtual Events
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NOTES FROM THE OFFICE
Ellen Thorp, M.A., CAE; NWiR Executive Director
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Roofing Is: Political. A chat about Roofing Day in D.C. 2021
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 I recently sat down with Teri Dorn and Deb Mazol from the government relations team in the NRCA’s D.C. office. Over the next three weeks, we’ll be sharing snippets of our conversation all about Roofing Day and about these two awesome women and how they became such great advocates for our industry with the federal government and Congress.
Check out this video about how Roofing Day came to be, what to expect, and a little teaser about the issues participants will discuss in the Congressional meetings.
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