MIAMI – Roofing contractors from across the United States traveled to South Florida to be part of RC’s 15th annual Best of Success conference that began Monday morning at the J.W. Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa.
The unique roofing industry experience began with multiple events Sunday, including a workshop organized by National Women in Roofing (NWIR) that focused on how women can assert and articulate their ideas effectively in the workplace. Roughly two dozen women were treated to a presentation by Thea Dudley, of Pocket Protectors LLC, titled “Know Your Worth at Work (and how to leverage it).”
Dudley, who previously served as vice president of customer financial relations at SRS Distribution, presented eye-opening statistics about women in the workforce, including how women make up only 19 percent of c-suite executives. She said part of this stems from how, if someone doesn’t believe in themselves or their career goals, then they can’t expect others to believe in them.
“If you think of yourself as a product, whether you work for a company or yourself, you’re a product, and what you have to market is your skills and yourself and what you bring to the table,” Dudley said.
During the event, NWIR representatives announced the organization is rolling out a new program for members to become mentors or mentees. Members can update their profiles to list themselves as a mentor or mentee, and upon doing so, can search for a match using criteria like department or company.
A welcome party followed outside one of the resort’s tropical pools.
The formal conference drew hundreds of roofing contractors and other roofing industry professionals working in the residential and commercial fields to the resort’s King Ballroom.
RC Publisher Jill Bloom kicked off the event, reminding attendees of the event’s history and overall mission to help roofing contractors improve their businesses.
“The first Best of Success conference launched with 75 people, in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and wow! Look where we are today,” Bloom said while looking out at the crowd of roughly 500 attendees. “We go back and forth between the East coast, West coast and sometimes the central U.S., and peer-to-peer sharing is the foundation of what we do.”
Bloom also touched on recent inspiration provided by serial entrepreneur and business coach Jesse Itzler, who delivered the keynote address at the 2019 International Roofing Expo in Nashville. During his speech, Itzler talked about his experience of hiring a former U.S. Navy SEAL to live with his family for 30 days, which he later turned into a book.
“The stories he shared, and the life-changing takeaways from the experience truly made an impact and made me think about what we’ve done here at Best of Success for 15 years,” Bloom said. “What struck me from his book is you can do so much more than you realize if you just stretch yourself. I mean mental barriers we put on ourselves that we don’t even realize.”
Highlights from day one included sessions presented by Charles Antis, founder and CEO of Antis Roofing & Waterproofing of Irvine, Calif., who focused on the importance of giving back to the community his team serves, and how it helped their business excel. His and several other presentations from the conference’s first day will be available on-demand via RC’s live-streaming channel.
"We're moving into a different world, and it's a world of a currency that is different...the currency of the world is social good," Antis said. "It's critical that you get involved, be involved, it's so critical that you find that thing that fulfills you and go all the way."
On day two, National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) CEO Reid Ribble will discuss how the organization continues to make strides in uplifting the industry for roofing contractors big and small. Specifically, Ribble said he’ll update the audience on the NRCA’s ProCertification program’s first year, and continue to encourage roofing contractors to speak with a unified voice Capitol Hill during Roofing Day III next April.
Art Aisner is Editor of Roofing Contractor. Reach him at 248-244-6497 or aisnera@bnpmedia.com
