b'President\'s Message Texas Awaits You Steve Little, MRCA President Greetings! As I travel the country, itexciting totheourcontractorsexperiencing this year. More isseesuccessfellow roofingare than% of contractors with whomconnectedhaving their bestinyears, although workforce shortages 90 I haveareyearmanyand tothetheirwoes.unusual weathersummer government regulations continuebe attop oflist of1hethis pastalso played havoc onofbut, as always, Midwest roofinghard Lo exceed their clients\' expectations. allus,contractors worked September was a busyindustrysuch as the National Roofing Legal Resource CenterAustin, TX, and month, witheventsin Roofing Contractor\'s BestSuccess inIsland, FL.Boththese industry events delivered important, timely ofMarcoofinformation bringsMRCA from contractors and industry experts alike-whichme to the65th Annual Conference, which v-.\'ill happen Decemtheinandboothan ber 10-12 atGaylord Texan Convention CenterGrapevine, TX. Preregistrationexhibitsales are atall-time high, andanticipates a great everyoneevent. 1he conference speaker lineup includes keynote speaker Ricardo Gonzalez, founder and CEO ofwho will Bilingual America, discuss the integration ofinto today\'s contractors\' businesses. Greg Hayne, CEO ofwill e)JJlore Latino cultureRoof Management, whatbest service departments arenowadays, how anddo it, andgrow in size and thedoingwhy theyhow toprofitability (see You Should CareService"our "WhyAbouton page 11). We will be holdingfifth annual Presidents\' Forum, which brings together leadingsuppliers to discuss the mostconcerns of ouralso are excited to announce theof industrypressingindustry. Welaunch "WomenRoofing" as a newandAuction has been combined inMRCA initiative. The MRCA Welcome ReceptionFoundalioninlo one event on opening night. Midwestthatpresidentsthis In the August issue ofRoofer, I announcedMRCA would celebrat its pastand their spouses at year\'s conference. However, after further consideration, we have decided it would be best to do this inCily, the birthplace Kansas ofMRCAwhere we will hold next year\'s Annual Conference. and Finally, I\'mto report thatbeits association managementeffective1, 2015. The AssoexcitedMRCA willchangingteamJanuary ciation Office (TAO) team, led byPope, Valerie Dahlberg, and Rachel Pin1ms, \\\\\'ill manage MRCA andMRCA Foundation. Bobthe TAO will be atyear\'s conference to meetandthe transitionourteam. thismemberswork throughwithcurrent On behalfthe Board ofandwantthankourand ofDirectorsExecutive Committee, ItoLouise Ristau,executive director,her entire MRCA staff, as well as Markprincipal ofManagementtheir hard workdedication over Engle,AssociationCenter, forand the5 years to rebrand and modernize MRCA. As is evidencedourand governance, we are pastbyMRCA publications, website, toMRCA tostageprominence. readylaunchits nextof The nextsident\'s Message will bebyincoming president, LarryofLandMetal, Pre writtenourMarshallMarshall RoofingSheet Glenview, IL, whose companyinItbeeninvigoratingsuch a great recently celebrated 100 yearsbusiness.hasanyear leading group ofcontractors, associate members, andofin today\'s world ofandchallenges. I MRCABoardDirectorscontractorassociate to thankourcommittee membersworkdedicationmaking wantall ofvolunteer leaders andfor their hardandtoMRCA the go-to place for industry resources. Itbeenhonor servingyourwe meetconference, be safe and profitable! hasanyou as2014 president. Untilat Steve Little, presidentcoach and head KPost Company, Dallas, TX steve.little@kpostcompany.com 4www.mrca.org- Midwest Roofer'