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Letter from the Chair

NWiR at the IRE

I am so excited to see you in a couple of weeks in Dallas! As you know, NWiR has a significant presence at the IRE, which is detailed on the NWiR website. From Community Service Day, to the ROOFPAC event, attending the education sessions, a NWiR booth at the expo, and attending the special events; we’ll be there! Wear your NWiR pin and look for others doing the same. Here's where we will be participating:

 

NWiR Day on February 2nd

The executive committee has been hard at work putting together the content for NWiR Day 2020 "Driving Your Success". It has been an extraordinary experience to work with the speakers and hear from the women in our industry as we develop the education for the day. The theme of the day is focused around "Driving Your Success" and we'll have everything from hands on demos to headshots to education. We will learn together as we navigate this road on career development in the roofing industry.

Registration info is posted at here. Plan to travel on February 1st as we are starting bright and early on February 2nd in Dallas. 

NWiR and ROOFPAC "An Evening in the Lone Star State"

Part of our presence at the IRE will include supporting the civic engagement of women and the roofing industry at “An Evening in the Lone Star State” scheduled for Monday, February 3rd at 4pm – details here. A donation to ROOFPAC is requested for attendance at the event and it is a lot of fun in addition to supporting an important cause. The NWiR executive committee will be attending and we hope to see you there!

 

Education at the IRE

Professional development and continuing education is so important, whether you are at the beginning of your career or looking at retirement. Join many NWiR members and attend the International Roofing Expo. A code for a discounted superpass and free entry to the expo hall is available at here.

If you've already registered for NWiR Day, be on the lookout for an email coming on Monday next week. It will contain information about headshots, a roof walk on the Omni only for NWiR members, a detailed agenda of the day, and more!

Jennifer Stone, NWiR Chair

Johns Manville

N.E.W.S. Winners!

The NWiR Mentorship Committee has selected the following two women for the 2020 NWiR Day and IRE N.E.W.S. (Network of Educating Women Scholarship).

We would like to thank the 70+ women who applied. Our committee took the time to read through each application and discuss as a group. One thing we all agreed on is that this industry is full powerful and impressive women!

Please, make sure to update your profile pictures on our website before NWiR Day at IRE in Dallas. If you have questions about updating your profile please visit the webpage.

The Membership Committee exists to empower women in our industry by encouraging membership as a means to connect women to other members and resources available for career growth. If you are interested in serving on the NWiR Membership Committee, please contact Christee Holbrook . 

WHY ROOFING?

Come see us at at NWiR Day on February 2nd and record a selfie video on "Why Roofing." We will have a station set up so come and share a quick video on what drew you to and keeps you in the industry. Look forward to seeing you at NWiR Day!

Time for New Years Resolutions!

Jennifer Keegan, GAF; NWiR Education Committee

What will you do in 2020 to continue to build your professional success? Become more engaged in the industry? Give back? We can help!

Whether you're looking to diversify your resume, be part of an inspirational team, or maybe develop a few new skills, the Education Committee can help! Perhaps you're interested in hosting a webinar? organizing a panel discussion? building and strengthening your leadership skills? Join the Education Committee! 

Interested in Championing any of these efforts?

We need a few good women...and men! Honor those resolutions and nominate yourself or someone by messaging the education committee.

Female-led Training Team to Teach Hands-on Repair Class at NWIR Day

Deidra Johnson is a Center for the Advancement of Roofing Excellence (CARE) Regional Training Manager at GAF serving Texas and the Ozarks. At NWIR Day, she and five other women from GAF will be using their roofing skills to train other women how to make basic repairs on a roof following a storm or weather incident. 

The class description states that the class “will train attendees on how to conduct basic repairs on their shingle roofs, which will include making and installing a temporary tarp to keep water out until the weather cooperates and you have time to make repairs. Attendees will have opportunities to put on their work gloves, fabricate a tarp and make repairs.”

Learn the details on this training and register for NWiR Day on February 2, 2020.

Travel Safety: Initiate Responsible Excursions for the International Roofing Expo

Jennifer Keegan, GAF; NWiR Education Committee

Before we head off to Dallas to celebrate our 3rd annual NWIR Day and meet up with colleagues, customers, and business partners at the IRE, let’s look at our travel practice and identify ways to enhance our personal safety. Here are some tips to help us Initiate Responsible Excursions before heading to the International Roofing Expo.                   

If you have educational content to share with NWiR, send it to [email protected].

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Susan DeGrassi, Antis Roofing; NWiR Community Outreach Committee

She Builds, Meals of Love, Food and Coat Drives and More! Many councils were actively supporting their communities this year and are to be commended for their contributions towards lifting and supporting women and their families by addressing housing, shelter, food insecurity and more. We are starting the 2020 year with a conversation at NWIR Day, and our first meeting is February 12th. We welcome new and returning committee members and anyone interested in a topic we are covering at one of six conference call meetings in 2020. See the attached schedule and contact Susan DeGrassi to be added to the meeting(s) or for more information.

MENTORING

Melissa Walker, Johns Manville; NWiR Mentoring Committee

In 2019 the Mentoring Committee established an option online for members to select if they wanted to be a mentor or mentee allowing individuals to seek each other out. The introduction of mentoring blogs was also created for members to start the conversation on various topics this committee wrote about. We are excited to see the feedback on other topics to cover in 2020, such as dress attire, simple roofing acronyms, and how to hand/diffuse harassment. The year started off with NWIR Day and not only leading the Speed Mentoring, but also creating tailored agendas for each winner of the first ever NWIR Day/IRE Scholarships. 

This group is already jumping into NWIR Day and all that’s involved. I would personally like to thank this committee for donating their time and energy to help execute what we did in 2019. 

COUNCILS

Karen Edwards, Casimir Group; NWiR Councils Committee

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.

Here’s what some of our councils have been up to lately:

NWiR Northern New Jersey Council

Submitted by Erica Sherman

NWiR Northern NJ Holiday Party and Upcoming Event: The Northern NJ Council gathered on December 17th to celebrate another great year together. Despite the poor weather, we welcomed our new Board Members, shared memories of the past year, and held a White Elephant gift exchange with the theme of empowering women for the gifts. This past year featured several great events with larger format meetings discussing Work-Life Balance and Discovering Your Keys to Success, and group activities like making mozzarella and throwing axes. Our council has grown and accomplished so much, and is excited for new opportunities in 2020!

We’d like to thank our Board members from 2019, and welcome our new and returning members for 2020:

Chair: Lynn Picone

Vice Chair: Erica Sherman

Secretary: Eilleen Troia

Treasurer: Christine Mockenhaupt  

Membership Chair: Chantel Torres  

Events Chair: Maggie Nyk

January Meeting on Engagement and Equity Solution: We're kicking off 2020 with an exciting and educational meeting on Wednesday, January 22nd! Gain inspiration from the Structural Engineering community and their survey results on Engagement and Equality. As they are grounded in construction and a male dominated industry, there are many similarities to be found between our organizations. The survey received responses from over 3,000 practicing structural engineers and covered various topics including career development, pay, and work-life balance. In this session, we will share information from the SE3 committee, and discuss key takeaways to improve engagement and retention in our profession.

Food and beverages will be provided for all attendees. To offset costs for this event, we are asking members to pay $10 and non-members to pay $20. We will send out payment information following your RSVP. Looking ahead at the rest of this year, now's a great time to join National Women in Roofing if you haven't already!

Event Details:

Wednesday, January 22nd

6:30-9PM in East Rutherford

Visit the Northern New Jersey Council page to RSVP.

NWiR South Florida Council

Submitted by Karen Jordan

Your Thanksgiving Giving — Feeding Single Mothers and their Children with Circle Enterprises and The Sheridan House: Thank you for all your donations! With your help, we raised over $2800. In partnership with Circles Enterprises, these donations allowed us to provide 300 single mothers, affiliated with The Sheridan House, a turkey for Thanksgiving, as well as provide all the "fixins" for the entire Thanksgiving meal to 100 of those families. The turkeys and groceries were distributed on Saturday, November 23rd at the Sheridan House as part of a half-day event that included a sit-down breakfast for all moms, the opportunity to "shop" for clothing in The Sheridan House boutique ( all clothes were donated and provided to the mothers at no charge), receipt of their Thanksgiving groceries, and a car wash.

For more information visit the South Florida Council page.

NWiR Tennessee Council

Submitted by Liz Tipping

The NWIR Tennessee Council & Tennessee Association of Roofing Contractors will be hosting a cocktail hour at the TARC Mid-Winter Conference on Friday, January 17th at 4:45pm CST at the Milennium Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville.

Visit the Tennessee Council page to RSVP to Liz Tipping by January 16th.

NWiR Tampa Council

Submitted by Bridget Wilson

Holiday Party brings creativity and sisterhood:  The Tampa Council had a great turn out at our holiday get together this month! 17 members joined us to make our own candles at the Candle Pour.

“The experience is different from anything I have ever done. It was fun and a great way to start the Christmas season,” Lorinda Castillo of Cardinal Roofing. We were given clipboards and pens and started smelling our way to our candle concoctions. The staff was attentive and educational as they guided us through the proper way to balance the scents, we all chose. Mixing the oils and then adding it to the hot wax was like being a scientist as we had to continue to stir the wax and avoid losing our wick(s). The ladies had fun creating their own candle names as well. Puns intended all around. Some were named “Rosemantic Christmas, Yummy Man, Eliana’s Candle, Christmas Caramel Apple, Yummy Cocktail, Ricks’ Radiance, It’s Lit on Christmas, Seaside Citrus, Esta Encendido”. After the fun, we all went to the Wine Exchange for food and wine. It was a great night and we toasted Dawn Holsinger for her hard work and dedication of the Tampa Council and all she has done to ensure our success. Thank you Dawn! 

Visit the Tampa Council page for more details and upcoming events.

NWiR Oregon Council

Submitted by Leah Lemmons

On November 20, 2019, the Tennessee Council joined together at ABC Supply Company for a presentation by Owens Corning. Karen Codiano presented valuable information about their company’s products, such as shingles, insulation, and composites. The members enjoyed lunch and learning about the types of shingles and the testing required for a certified Owens Corning Shingle. After the presentation, volunteers experienced the strength of the “SureNail” shingle design. Being awarded “2019 Women’s Choice Award,” Owens Corning allowed the Council to view different color, layers, and durability of their products. This valuable presentation will help our residential roofing contractors be confident about the quality of shingles they are putting on the roof.

Visit the Oregon Council page for more details and upcoming events.

Meet Ray July and Meredith Marsh-Sahevitz

We have two members to profile to start off 2020. Meet Meredith Marsh-Shaevitz, Owner Pitch Perfect Roofing & General Contracting. She has spent eight years in the industry. We also interviewed Ray July who has been working with Chinook for five years. Each talk about their time in roofing, accomplishments and

We would like to thank everyone who nominated a WORLD AWARD candidate. We received 37 outstanding nominations for our first-ever award! 

We have reached out to all of our nominees to provide us with their photo headshot so we can acknowledge each nominee at NWIR DAY 2020. We can't wait to introduce them to you.

Many Generations, One Workforce: Leading a Multigenerational Workforce

This is the first time in the modern age that five generations have been in the workplace at the same time: traditionalists, baby boomers, Generation X, millennials and Generation Z. It’s also a time when more women from multiple generations are in the workforce, especially in industries like roofing and contracting. ABC Supply brings us this insightful article to explain the pros of having so many generations working together and how to navigate this situation in your workplace.

Upcoming Events

The newly created Events Committee is looking for women to join the committee. Please contact Melissa Mulligan if you're interested.

Are you speaking at an upcoming industry event? If so we want to know about it and share that information with our members. Email the information to Communications Committee Chair Anna Anderson .

NOTES FROM ELLEN'S DESK

Ellen Thorp, NWiR Executive Director

NWiR and ROOFPAC "An Evening in the Lone Star State"

Civic engagement is an issue I feel passionately about, and political engagement started for me at a young age when I served on a gubernatorial campaign at age 16 as a youth representative. There are many ways to engage in the political process and one way is through supporting a Political Action Committee or PAC; like NRCA's ROOFPAC for example. Part of NWiR's presence at the IRE will include supporting and attending “An Evening in the Lone Star State” scheduled for Monday, February 3rd at 4pm. More details are on our events page. Please join the NWiR Executive Committee and members and attend; hope to see you there!