Looking back at the 2023 Western Roofing Expo (WRE)

By Emma Peterson. 

In the time leading up to the 2023 WRE, Heidi J. Ellsworth sat down with Joel Viera and Alec Ward from the Western States Roofing Contractors Associations (WSRCA) to learn more about the expo and its history. 

As Heidi prepared for the 2023 WRE in Paris, Las Vegas, she got the chance to record season 5, episode 56 of Roofing Roadtrips® with Joel and Alec from WSRCA. Joel has been the executive director of the WSRCA for 22 years. He has worn many hats before this role, including working as the “membership and the foundation coordinator raising funds for scholarships and the expo, all various roles with the expo.”  

In his current position, Joel works across the entire expo, overseeing “the association, the volunteers, the staff, just make sure everything's running smoothly.” Alec is WSRCA’s director of membership and trade show. He explains his role, saying, “Most of my job throughout the year is just helping manage the exhibitors, getting them signed up for booths and just helping through the process of getting to the show and doing it successfully.” 

The 2023 WRE is the most recent in a history of expos that goes back almost 50 years now. The first expo was in 1974 and showcased a small collection of contractors who were trying to address unique issues faced by the roofing industry in the Western United States. It has grown far from there, as Alec explains, “it's become this almost 200 company-wide thing that we have going on with the show.” Joel chimed in, noting that it’s one of the biggest industry expos, “This is number 49.”  

Even as the WRE has grown from its roots, it is still a community gathering. Alec describes his favorite part of the expo as reuniting with people that became “members back when I was just starting out eight years ago and seeing them continue to come. Same with the companies too. We have these small companies that joined the show and just watching them grow. That's my favorite thing.” Joel added that he loves the educational side of WRE, stating, “I'm always really proud of the educational offerings that we offer. We have 26 seminars over spanning over two days.” 

These seminars are not run at the same time as the trade show floor, so attendees could find both education and community at WRE. Other fun aspects of the conference included the Roofing Games, a test of athleticism, and the Roofers Feud, which is a trivia competition.  

To find out even more about the WRE, Read the transcript or Listen to the episode!