Publishing a periodical always brings with it the exhilaration and agony of deadlines so being pushed for time is nothing new. Working on two jobs in addition to my life with the wonderful Kay and the rest of the family always keeps me busy. But this was a particularly interesting and somewhat rewarding week for me.

Publishing a periodical always brings with it the exhilaration and agony of deadlines so being pushed for time is nothing new. Working on two jobs in addition to my life with the wonderful Kay and the rest of the family always keeps me busy. But this was a particularly interesting and somewhat rewarding week for me.

Sometimes it is good to just stop, smile, and savor the small victories.

In my “real job” in wholesale roofing distribution I spent much of the week working on budgets. This is when one of my weaknesses turns into a strength and I get to have some fun. My weakness is sometimes losing sight of what is going on in front of me because I am constantly looking down the road. Well, that is what budgets are all about. All that thinking and plotting is put into an action plan called a budget and it is fun for me to work through it.

Last Saturday was spent working on a feature story that I have been wanting to write for several years. It turns out that the timing was good as the product being reviewed has just been re-introduced in a much improved version. The feature (somewhat) tells the story of OnLink™ by MetalForming, Inc. of Peachtree City, Ga. Read about it in our September issue.

You would think writing a feature would be pretty regular but I only do four or five a year. It is good to get into the weeds to learn about a company, a product, system or trend. The real challenges is to come up with the fewest words to get right to the point of how a solution benefits some or all roofing contractors.

We received results back from a survey during this same week: 150 roofing contractors weighing in on the topic of safety. Tom Watts drew the assignment of presenting the survey in a feature article. With the help of our safety experts providing some analysis and color commentary I think it will highlight some of the challenges faced by the roofing industry as OSHA and the insurance industry continue to raise the bar on safety.

Tom is also quarterbacking our Website redesign. This is the fourth or fifth major redesign of our Website since it first went up back in 1995. The new design is powered by software that will allow us to take better advantage of the latest technologies to deliver graphic, text, audio, and video content faster and better than ever. Look for the new RC online in October.

Last, but not least, a bit of self-promotion. This week was the official beginning of my fundraiser for the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Haiti. In early November I will join with Habitat for Humanity's Carter Work Project to build 100 core homes in Léogâne, Haiti, near the epicenter of the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake.

The 400 volunteers traveling to Haiti for the project are raising $5,000 each to fund the trip and construction of the first 100 homes and many more homes that will be built in the near future. To learn more about the project and to help me raise the $$$ follow this link (and share it with others!): www.habitat.org/cd/cwp/participant/participant.aspx?pid=24257590

Click here to listen to the “It Was an Interesting Week” podcast.