b'A Message f rom Valerie Pope, ORCA GovernmentAf fairs Liaison Welcome to the Ohio Roofing Contractors Association?s special Government Affairs Issue!For the last twenty-three years I?ve enjoyed taking ORCA members to the Statehouse and to the US Capitol to help them participate in the legislative process.It is one of the highlights of my job for sure! Watching business owners realize the power they have to impact the regulatory environment that they operate in is rewarding and important work for the industry.Elected and appointed officials need real world advice from real live contractors in order to have the information needed to make and enforce good public policy.It is impossible to expect that an elected official could be an expert in every field and they really do value constituent input on issues that impact your business. From coffee shops to cocktail parties, shooting events to golf outings we have found many ways, large and small, to connect members with their representatives. That is what it takes.Many moments of connection, relationships established, and real dialog on the issues.I have testified many times at the Statehouse over the years on diverse industry issues from preserving strong public competitive bidding to retainage, prompt pay, and licensing. Many of your colleagues have joined me in that unique experience to advocate for the roofing industry too. With the sage counsel and serious legwork of our lobbying team, Chris Sinagra and Paul Kudlak, we have spent the last few years focusing on commercial roofing licensing and you would be astounded at how much education we have been able to do with the members of the Ohio General Assembly on the roofing industry.The overwhelming bi-partisan passage of the Commercial Roofing Licensing Bill inthe House last session gave us just the momentum we need to take off strong in this session to see the passage of the bill that so many of you have worked hard to see become law.This edition of the newsletter is designed to lay out for you all of the issues that ORCA is monitoring on your behalf as well as give you an overview of how the process really works. (I don?t know about you, but it?s been a LONG time since I was in high school government class!) It is also meant as encouragement for you to get involved in the process as well! Please reach out to me if you are interested in ORCA helping you to set up coffee or a shop/job tour with your local elected official.Consider a contribution to the Political Action Committee (PAC) so that others can continue to attend campaign sponsored events on behalf of the association ? or let me know if you would like to attend these local events personally! We are here to support your participation in this important process!The mission of ORCA is simple: with everyone doing a little, we can accomplish a lot together.ORCA is proud to be the only Ohio association that exclusively represents roofing contractors, but it?s YOU and your business that make the organization and the industry great!Help us tell the real story of roofing contractors and be the voice of this industry in Columbus and in Washington.Sincerely,Valerie PopeORCA Government Affairs Liaisonwww.ohioroofing.com 2'