b'coveredallstatesandtheproblemsf acedbycontra:corsin eachareawere asdiversifiedasthecustoms,climate,anda~chite==~raldesignsfoundi.n thisl argecountry . Thelocalgrou9swouldbeaffili ated ;;iththe:;?.CAbutwithsmaller boundariessoastostrengthent heRoofingIndustry~!unitingRoofing Contractorst hroughoutth~Midwest withcoa~o~go~ls;toexcha~geideas inallfacetsintheoperationof good,legiti.;.ate =::;ofingconce::ns ,which wouldnot onl ybeaservicetotheroofingco:, ractorsinvolved,buta tservicetothe generalpublicaswell. TheM wasorganizedinitially ast heresult ofar oofingclinicRCA hel dinTopeKa,KansasonJanuary12,1951.7heha_,cfulofcontractors inattendanceagreedtohelp organizea.,associatio~t obekno.mas Midwest RoofingContractorsAssociation ,andt heini t ialmember:,hioconsistedof sixfirmsfromKansasandthreef ir=.sfro::i Nebraska.Initially, it wasagreed7:.hatthe mei:\'bershi;o fthenew;.ssoc.i.a: 2.onwoul\'ci.embrace thestatesofNebraska,Kansas ,Oklahoma,andthe~~ssouri citie:, a l ong the Kansas-MissouriBorder.R.B.Stevenson of TO?ekawaselectedto serveasthef irst President andbyDece::-ber27 ,1951,thefledgling A:,sociation boastec.thirty-threepaidmeroers,1ithr ecei?ts of$842 .00 andexpenditureso f$504.00,whichleft abalanceo=$338 . 00tobeginits secondyear. Attheendof1951,Car lForbesof WichitawaselectedPresidentand istheoldest surviving pastPresident oft heAsso~i ationin1977 . \'T\'heM~.CA\' ssuccesswasbynom;ar.sinstantaneo:!S.Itsgrowthsuffered in 1952whenmembershipdroppedto23andf urtherfal teredin 1953when its membershi?couldonly muster19.Anupsurgeoccirredin1954when ther a nkswereboostedt o38andwasfurtherstimulated .in 1953bya mebershiptotalling55.Sincethat yearme::-ber5hi?hasgrownsteadily. Fromthebeginning,conventionshavealwaysbeenanimportant part ofthelifeofthisorganizationthougha ttheearliestconventionsthere wasverylittleof educationalortechnicalcontent ontheprogram agenda. I tisthoughtt hatthesefirstconventionssi.-;;plyp:::ividedano:;:portunity forRoofingContractorsto gatherannuallyandexch~;gei deasinformally. OnD er1st of1956 ,theBoardo fDirectors authorizedtheemployecembmeP.tofBobLyonsasExecutiveDirecto~oft~aAssociation.M .Lyo~swas rfirst introducedt otheMRCAatthe1956Conventio:-.inKansasCitywhen, thenPresident,J.EdDaly ,askedhi:ntoaddresstte ;onventiononcertain legala:,pectsofcontracting.Uponhisacce?tanceoftheposition,Mr. Lyonssetaboutearningthe$3,000annualco~~ensationpaidhisl awfirm. Her ecommendedt hatt heMRCAi ncorporateundertheC-eneralNot- for-Profit LawofM ssouri.TheCer tificateofIncoroo::-ation andArticlesofIncorooirationwerefiledi ntheOfficeoftheSec~ecaryo=Stateo fMis:,ourion January29,1957 .TheArticl esofIncor?orationi=;osednogeogra?hical limitationonthemembership,the by-lawsmer elyp::-:ividingthat mem;:iers mustbeestablishedcontract.orsinthe11 midwasternEt.atesarea~"Overthe yearsourBoardhascontinuedto giveanincreasinslyflexibledefinition o fwhatconsti tutesthe"midwestern statesarea."OnJ uly25of1957 , throughMr.Lyons\'efforts ,theMRCAobtaine~itst axexemptrulingfro~ theI nternalRevenueService .It wasalsot heyeart hattheAssociation\'s Emblem wasadoptedandthelogohasr emainedunch~,;edthrought heyears. The1957conventionin Tulsa,Oklahomawasthef irs: oftheeducational -3 -'