b'Presidents MessageINCOMING MRCA PRESIDENTBob Poutre, MRCA PresidentW e had a truly successful Annual Expo this past October in Omaha. The YCC Casino Night was once again a huge success, entertaining members and raising funds that are then donated to our Foundation. The show floor was sold out, the membership meeting was great with many awards and distinctions earned and handed out. Our keynote speaker, Rulon Gardner, was fantastic and delivered such an amazing life story of challenges he has overcome.The Foundation Black and White Ball was also a very positive event, setting yet another record for monies earned from both the Live and Silent Auctions, as well as a challenge at the end of the evening that raised an additional $30,000.00 in donations. In all, $133,000.00 was raised that evening that will now be used for Technical and Research Development Grants and for our Scholarship Program.I am amazed every year at the generosity of our members, associate members and local contractors that come and contribute so much to this very important cause.Now, looking ahead to this year serving as the MRCA President, I must state what an honor it is to have been chosen to serve on the Executive Committee the past four years, and now to lead this great organization. A couple of those years were very challenging for all of us in this industry due to the COVID pandemic and then the supply chain crisis that followed. We have managed to persevere and at least most of those issues are now in our rear-view mirror.The Executive Committee met in December in Des Moines ahead of our January Board meetings in Scottsdale, AZ. We will be working hard to place our new members onto committees as well assigning Chair positions to fill a few vacancies. We will also be looking at and refining next years budget.Safety and Membership are two of the most important committees that are served by MRCA Board Members. This year we will be working very hard to continue bringing value to our membership through the work of the Safety Committee. We will also work hard on attracting new members, helping to broaden and strengthen our membership base. Our catch phrase of The Roofing Contractors Advocate will continue to define the work of the other committees as the year progresses. We will be looking for more issues to be addressed by our Technical and Research Committee as well as offering more member benefits from the Steep Slope, Architectural Sheet Metal, and the Business Management Committees.In closing I would like to invite all of you to St. Paul, MN for our 74th Annual MRCA Expo being held October 2123, 2024 at the St. Paul RiverCentre. It promises to be another great event. Bob PoutreMRCA PresidentRoof Tech, Inc.4 www.mrca.orgMidwest Roofer'