b'MRCANews Highlights Abound at Successful MRCA Annual Conference Inspirational. Engaging. These are awords that attendees used to describe the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA) 63rd fewAnnual Conference, held last December 5-7, at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, TX. More than 700 commercial and residential roofing professionals, industry partners, and roof consultants, specifiers, and building officials gathered for 2of outstanding educational sessions, ashow floor with more than 80 supplier companies displaying their products and services, and daystrade enjoyable networking events including the MRCA Welcome Reception and Silent Auction and the Young Contractor\'s Council (YCC) HappyIn Hour. addition,were on hand to honor several members of the association as theypresented with prestigious industry awards. "Overall, attendeeswerethis year\'s annual meeting was productive, informative, and gratifying," said 2012 MRCA President Randy Adams. Wednesday, Kicking off the conference was the well-attended MRCA Welcome Reception and Silent Auction onDecember 5, which gave attendees the chance to relax and catch up with old friends, network with colleagues, and meet new members. The event raised more than $40,000 for the MRCA Foundation. The Foundation supports educational and professional development programs, industry research, and provides scholarships to individuals pursuing ain construction management or afield. "We were thrilled with the success of the silent auction and greatly appreciate the degreerelated generosity of our members and friends in the industry," remarked Adams. "Supporting our industry and funding significant research and education programs are some of the most significant goals of MRCA." MRCA attendees spent Thursday morning in educational sessions including "Field Performance ofBitumen :v!.embranes,"siReflective ModifiedPredent\'s Forum (perspective on the state of the industry),Forum: Making the Transition from Manager to Leader,"with Building Envelope YCC"Working Consultants," and the "Mock OSHA Trial PartI." \ith Thursday afternoon began with the NlRCAAwards luncheon where four outstanding members of the association were presentedseveral honorable industry awards: James 0. Mccawley Award Mark Graham, associate executive director ofsmices, National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), Rosemont, IL, was honored with technical the distinctiveQ. MccawleyThis award, the most prestigious honor given by MRCA, is presented to an individual in recognition of his or JamesAward. her devotion to the roofing industry. This award was first presented in1969and is aof the association. "The Mccawley Awardis long-standing tradition given to individuals like Mark who have a history and longevity of making outstanding contributions to the roofing industry and roofing community," said Adams. Graham, amember of the roofing industry has worked tirelesslyinform professional roofing contractors of technical issues that longtime,to directly impact their bottom line. He has contributed to International Green Construction Code and ASTM meetings and provided his expertise as a member of the IvlRCA Technical&Research Committee. MRCA IMPACT Award This award was presented to KCompany, Dallas, TX. The IMPACT Award recognizes an MRCA member company for contributions made to improve Post the lives of others through philanthropy or communityat aor national level. senicelocal James0.McMawley AwardFormer MRCA President Randy(left} presents(above) Heidi Ellsworth ofgleview Technologies RecipientAdamsEaMark Grahamthe Industry Innovation A to(below) Aileen Struble, Tyler Lea,Brent Mcfarlin wardand Mike Budenbender ofRail Systemsof K Post Company Premier 6www.mrca.org- Midwest Roofer'