The National Roofing Contractors Association’s 116th Annual Convention and Exhibit was held Feb. 11-14, 2003, in New Orleans.

The National Roofing Contractors Association’s 116th Annual Convention and Exhibit was held Feb. 11-14, 2003, in New Orleans, La. Next month’s issue of Roofing Contractor will contain a detailed account of what we did, who we saw and all of the new products we came across. In the mean time, here is brief overview of what you missed if you didn’t make it to the Big Easy for all the fun.

The festivities began on Tuesday, Feb. 11, with golf, tennis and sporting clays tournaments that raised money for ROOFPAC, the NRCA’s political action committee. The actual trade show began in true New Orleans style with a parade from the Hilton New Orleans Riverside, the main convention hotel, to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. NRCA President Don McCrory, president of Kiker Corp., Mobile, Ala., and his wife, Sandra, officially opened the event.

The opening luncheon on Wednesday, Feb. 12, featured a keynote address from former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Also during the Opening Luncheon, finalist and winners of NRCA’s annual Gold Circle Awards were announced. The Gold Circle Awards recognize NRCA members from around the world for outstanding contributions to the roofing industry in four categories: workmanship, service to the community, innovative solutions and service to the industry.

The finalist and winners of NRCA’s 2003 Gold Circle Awards are as follows: For outstanding workmanship, steep-slope the winner was James Myers Co. Inc., Beltsville, Md., for the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle project. Honorable mention went to Ruff Roofers Inc., Baltimore, for the Lovely Lane United Methodist Church project.

For service to the community, the winners were Furey Roofing and Construction Co. Inc., Providence, R.I., for the Sargent Rehabilitation Center project and Great Lakes Roofing Corp., Germantown, Wis., for the Survive Alive House University project. Honorable mentions went to Buckaroo-Thermoseal Inc., Portland, Ore., for the Jack, Will and Rob Kids Center project and Roof Technologies Inc., Harvey, La., for the Rebuilding Together™ with Christmas in April® project. The finalist was D.C. Taylor Co., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art project.

For innovative solutions, new construction, the winner was Chadwick Technology Pty. Ltd., Sydney, Australia, for the Adelaide Convention Centre Extension project. Honorable mentions went to Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal Inc., Wheeling, W.Va., for the West Virginia University's Life Sciences Center project, and Progressive Services Inc., Dover, Pa., for the Scranton High School project.

For innovative solutions, reroofing, the winner was Roof Technologies Inc., Harvey, La., for the Bourbon Orleans Hotel project. Honorable mention went to D.C. Taylor Co., Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the Cargill Crop Nutrition’s E-5 Warehouse project.

During NRCA’s Member Breakfast on Thursday, Feb. 13, the Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress presented its Most Valuable Player Awards to identify and honor outstanding roofing workers. The following are the 2003 winners: Jose Diaz, foreman for Denchfield Roofing Corp., Silver Spring, Md.; Michael A. Green, foreman for Van Winkle Roofing Inc., Roswell, N.M.; Glenn Headley, foreman for Centimark Corp., Canonsburg, Pa.; Mike Hoisington, foreman for John A. Dalsin & Son Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.; Stephen Kiebzak, foreman for Jos. A. Sanders & Sons Inc., Buffalo, N.Y.; Joseph K. Parent, foreman for State Pride Roofing of Florida Inc., West Palm Beach, Fla.; Rick Primmer, foreman for D.C. Taylor Co. Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa.; Jesus Rojas, foreman for Beldon Roofing Co. Inc., San Antonio, Texas; Charles A. Sauer, foreman for Vermont Roofing Co. Inc., Bennington, Vt.; and Larry Schuman, foreman for Tilsen Roofing Co. Inc., Madison, Wis.

In addition, NRCA awarded the Charlie Raymond Award to Rosemary Oldham, marketing service manager for GAF Materials Corp., Wayne, N.J. The award is given to the NRCA member who recruits the most new members during the calendar year. To earn this honor, Oldham recruited 10 new members during 2002.

Events on the last day of the show began with the National Roofing Legal Resource Center Breakfast, followed by NRCA’s member meeting and elections. In addition, NRCA’s Paddlewheel Luncheon Cruise featured a New Orleans-style meal and guided tour of the city from the Mississippi River.

Evening festivities included the ROOFPAC 1000 reception, and the Final Banquet, with dining, music and entertainment. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the industry’s most prestigious award, the J.A. Piper Award. This year, the award went to Stephen M. Phillips, an attorney with Atlanta-based Hendrick, Phillips, Salzman & Flatt.