Moving forward

This month, NRCA's 132nd Annual Convention and the 2019 International Roofing Expo® (IRE) head to Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 9-13. I urge all of you attending to take time to stop by NRCA booth 2523 for a chance to win great prizes (a Yeti cooler and portable grill, for example!) and learn more about NRCA's new initiatives.

One of those initiatives, NRCA ProCertification,™ will be front and center during the IRE trade show. This worker certification program is set to transform the industry, and NRCA will have staff and certified workers on hand in the NRCA booth to answer questions about how the certification process works and why it will help improve the industry's image. To learn more about NRCA ProCertification, see "Certifying the industry."

In addition, NRCA is encouraging all members (contractors, consultants, manufacturers, distributors and service providers) to attend Roofing Day in D.C. 2019 April 3-4. In 2018, the roofing industry sent nearly 500 industry professionals to Washington, D.C., to discuss issues of importance to the roofing industry with members of Congress. The 2018 meetings resulted in legislation favorable to the roofing industry, and this year, NRCA wants to make the event even bigger and more successful. More information about Roofing Day in D.C. 2019 will be available at the NRCA booth or you can visit www.nrca.net/roofingday.

Another new NRCA offering is The NRCA Roofing Manual: Membrane Roof Systems—2019, which provides updated best industry practices and technical information about the design, materials and installation techniques applicable to membrane roof systems used in low-slope roof system applications. This latest edition has a new format that assists with proper product and material selection. Also included are 205 construction details for built-up roofing (BUR), polymer-modified bitumen, liquid-applied, EPDM and other single-ply membrane roof systems. NRCA members receive free downloads of the publication; hard copies can be purchased. NRCA will have a hard copy sample available at its booth. To read more about the recently released volume, see "Maintain the membrane."

The start of 2019 marks the beginning of several great things for the roofing industry. I look forward to seeing many of you in Nashville and hope to see you in Washington, D.C., as well, for Roofing Day in D.C. 2019!

Ambika Puniani Reid is editor of Professional Roofing and NRCA's vice president of communications and production.