Matt Chriswell & Lisa Pate - FRSA's 101st Annual Convention and the Florida Roofing & Sheet Metal Expo - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Matt Chriswell and Lisa Pate of the Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Association (FRSA). You can read the interview beloW or listen to the podcast. 

Megan Ellsworth (00:00): Welcome to Roofing Road Trips with Heidi. Explore the roofing industry through the eyes of a long-term professional within the trade. Listen for insights, interviews, and exciting news in the roofing industry today. Hello everyone. My name is Megan Ellsworth here@rooferscoffeeshop.com. And you might notice that I am not Heidi here on a Roofing road trip over to Florida, chatting with Lisa Pate and Matt Criswell from the FRSA. So, hi guys, how are you? 

Matt Chriswell (00:33): Oh, fantastic. Thanks for having us 

Lisa Pate (00:36): <laugh>. Doing well. Thank you, Megan. 

Megan Ellsworth (00:38): Yeah, so glad to be on here with you both. Um, this is a special roofing road trip. Um, I'm virtually tripping down to Florida. I wish I was actually there. I'm sure it is. Great weather and nice atmosphere, but, so let's just dive, dive right in by having you both give us a little introduction of yourself and what you do at FRSA. 

Lisa Pate (01:00):
My name's Lisa Pate. I'm the Executive director of FRSA. I've been here for 38 years and basically handle anything that goes with our team that needed assistance, whether it be help with foundation seminars or convention expo, the magazine, I'm kind of the, the backup person to help everybody with their, their duties. 

Megan Ellsworth (01:23): Love it. Matt, 

Matt Chriswell (01:25): That's a tough one to, uh, follow. <laugh>. My name's Matt Criswell. I am the sitting president of the Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Association and also a contractor in Florida for Weather Shield Roofing Group. And then we have another one called Marathon Roofing and Contracting. 

Megan Ellsworth (01:41): Amazing. Wow. Very awesome. Okay, well why don't we go into the history of FRSA. Tell us a little bit about that. When did it start? How long have you all been around? 

Matt Chriswell (01:53): Last year was our 100th anniversary. Um, uh, the association was essentially started in 1922. There was a group of contractors that met in Daytona Beach, 12 of 'em, to discuss some of the issues that were going on in the industry. Some of those were ones that we still talk about today, but workers had to keep workers getting them. Workers' compensation was, was still alive back then. Unethical contractors or jack lagers and some union issues that we used to have back in Florida, which we don't anymore. So 1922. 

Megan Ellsworth (02:30): Wow. Yes. That's wild. We were at the hundredth year, um, trade show last year and it was so great. Daytona was a really cool city too. I had never been there, so it was very fun. 

Matt Chriswell (02:44): Fun. Fun is an understatement. Yes, it's, 

Megan Ellsworth (02:46): Yeah. Fun is an understatement. It was exhilarating. <laugh>. Um, so the association has been around for a hundred years, but how long have you all been doing the trade show? 

Matt Chriswell (02:58): So the trade show is exactly 100 years old. This year it'll be the hundred first. So since 1922 when the association formed, we've had an annual convention minus our little glitch for covid. 

Megan Ellsworth (03:11): Wow, that's amazing. Congrats. 

Matt Chriswell (03:15): I think it's a testimonial to what the industry believes in, what the industry thrives on and the special people that the, the affiliates or the uh, uh, manufacturers and reps that are inside of the, uh, industry. I think it's a testimonial to it. 

Megan Ellsworth (03:31): It absolutely is. I mean, I don't know, just off the top of my head, any other associations that are that old 

Matt Chriswell (03:38): Lisa? I don't think there is one. Is there 

Lisa Pate (03:40): Just NRCA? I think they're 134 years old and nationwide. We are the largest regional and the longest running regional show. 

Megan Ellsworth (03:51): Wow. That is really special. That's cool. I had no idea. 

Lisa Pate (03:55): We're awesome. We're excited about it. 

Megan Ellsworth (03:57): Yeah, you should be. Um, so the trade show convention is coming up in July, just about a month away. I know you guys are crazy busy getting all the final details sorted, but what's new for this year's convention? 

Matt Chriswell (04:13): Lions and Fire and big top tents. 

Megan Ellsworth (04:16): Whoa, <laugh>. No, I'm 

Matt Chriswell (04:17): Just kidding. None of that's, none of that's there. Um, you're safe still focusing on the issues that are important to our founders. So keeping our employees, getting them and retaining them is, is always a big, uh, big leap that we need to take. Workers' comp issues are still workers' comp issues. We still have unlicensed contractors this year though, we're really primarily focused on insurance changes and how they affect roofing contractors. This year, Florida's chief financial offer, Jimmy Pet Patronus will be attending our annual business lunch to discuss some of the issues. So that's, that's a really key driver for us this year. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, which is a really cool thing. Also, some of the concerns we're gonna have this year are the recent changes in the Florida's immigration policies. Although what that will look like is still up for debate and, and e e-verify it's still not down. But to talk about that will be FRSA's lobbyist. Chris Dawson. I don't know Megan if you've ever met Chris, but 

Megan Ellsworth (05:16): I don't think I have. 

Matt Chriswell (05:17): We'll definitely introduce you. He's a top-notch individual. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, he'll lead a discussion and provide us with some updates on some of the new legislation that's happening. And then, um, as always, we're Florida, so we kind of lead the charge in building codes. Right. So there'll be some building code changes that are gonna happen at the end of the year. So there'll be some seminars and some educational information on that stuff as well. Wow. Plus to boot a sold out show floor, at least more the capacity than we originally anticipated. 

Megan Ellsworth (05:54): Wow. 

Lisa Pate (05:55): Well, we sold out last year on the floor for this year, which is really exciting cuz we have never done that. So it was really great. And we went from 90 thou 5,000 square foot to 106,000 this year and sold that out immediately and had some exhibitors who had been with us for years, but didn't get a booth. So we carved out some space. We even got to the point where we sold our own booth space that exhibitors could get on the show floor and moved us into the lounge area. So it's, you know, it's a good problem to have. Unfortunately, we would've liked to have had more exhibitors there so that everybody in the industry could be represented, but it's, it's gonna be a good event. Our hotel room sold out in March of this year, which that's a first too. We, I mean, we opened them in February. They sold out in March with the largest room block we've ever had. All accounts that looks like it's gonna be a good convention expo for us. So we're again excited about it. Happy to be back at Gaylord, their first class resort and property. And our members seem to like that as well, so we're happy to be back. 

Megan Ellsworth (07:02): Yeah. Oh my gosh. Well this is such a great show. Um, it was my mom's first show, Heidi, uh, that she worked, you know, when she joined the industry. It was actually my first show that I worked. There's so much history obviously, so I'm so looking forward to July. Like it can't come soon enough. 

Lisa Pate (07:23): <laugh>, 

Megan Ellsworth (07:23): Since you know, you have all this history and everything, what are some highlights, some things you are proud to share from over the years? 

Matt Chriswell (07:31): Well, Lisa said it before, we're the largest trade association in the country. We have the largest, uh, what, besides NRCA, let's, let's note that we're the most successful convention and expo by far. We're actually, we're active at both the legislative and the building code level. So we make sure that change is enacted to each one of those Florida roofing contractors can, can abide by. We're, we're, we're part of that. We established a political action committee. It's really well funded and allows us to support candidates that support business friendly legislation. We're a well respected industry leader on so many levels, and the support that we receive from volunteer members is huge. And, um, part of our success, actually a major part of our success. 60 years ago, we created a self insurance fund to write workers' compensation insurance for the roofing and sheet metal industries. And during the nineties, Ford worker comp rate was at an astonishing $53 per 100. So 53% was paid into payroll. Through, through our effects we're able to get that rate lowered down to we're, now it's $10 for every hundred. So 10%. 

Megan Ellsworth (08:43): Oh wow. That's quite the difference. <laugh>, 

Matt Chriswell (08:46): Which is a good thing and a bad thing. Um, we could talk about that another time, but, uh, we just make sure that everyone pays into the worker's comp system and helps the, the level of playing field for legitimate contractors, which is one of the founding reasons that F R S A was, was established. Um, in addition to looking out for our industry, F R S A has been an instrumental in education, educating consumers about the importance of doing business with Florida license and insured roofing professionals. We support the elimination of assignment of benefits or what's known as AOBs, as many consumers are being harmed through the misuse of the unscrupulous contractors who abused and bastardized the system. 

Lisa Pate (09:31): And I will add into this, um, 86% of the roofing claims, um, come out of Florida for, uh, roof damage or hail damage, which is a huge, huge number, a good chunk of those, our fraudulent claims. So we were instrumental in working with our lobbyists this year to get that legislation changed through some of our, our members of Congress to see that there are fraudulent attempts out there every day. So, you know, that's something that we help police. Uh, unfortunately it gives our industry and those legitimate contractors kind of a black eye that we are constantly having to challenge and, and make. Right. If you will. 

Megan Ellsworth (10:18): Absolutely. No, yeah, absolutely. 

Matt Chriswell (10:20): And Megan, your mom and I have had multiple discussions on AOBs and insurance and, and mm-hmm. <affirmative> form and just the, it's not cyclical, it's a circular thing where Yeah. It just affects and touches so many other industries by kind of that nucleus of the roofing aspect being again, abused. It, it, it just touches so many, and again, we could, we could spend a whole segment on that, which I've told her I would. And back to some of the other things we've done 40 years ago, the F R S A established an educational research foundation to provide seminars, scholarships, industry specific research and to date. And we have over a 2 million endowment fund. So that's, that's a pretty Wow. That, that's a pretty awesome accolade for us. 

Megan Ellsworth (11:12): Yeah, that's huge. That's great. 

Matt Chriswell (11:15): What else? 50 years ago, um, we established the credit union to provide loans for roofing contractors. At the time when banks were not really writing loans for roofing equipment or to roofers. Today, we now offer roofing loans to consumers. We have online banking, we have shared banking, um, we write loans for vehicles at a better than competitive rate. We write c uh, CDs, short term and long term. And I, I'm, I'm happy to be, I've been on that board I think now for about eight or nine years. So I'm happy to be be on that credit union board. Let's see. Oh, I, this is a big one. Um, F R S A was able to build a new building three years ago, which we are 100% debt free on. So we own the land, we own the building. We are, it, it is us. Um, 

Megan Ellsworth (12:08): That's amazing. 

Matt Chriswell (12:09): Which is, which is great for our, our members and member services so that they know that what they're paying into now is not going to leasing a building or renting a building or, or paying for something in the future. It's, it's going to the, the bottom line of, of the association mm-hmm. 

Lisa Pate (12:25): <affirmative> and providing member services with that extra funding that we now have, which would've been spent on rent or a mortgage payment. Um, our building also has a training center and we've been fortunate that, um, we moved in during covid, unfortunately, and our training center was shut down for a while, but have opened it in the last year and just have had a lot of good response from people and vendors who have rented it, both on the contractor side and the um, manufacturer side that have come in for product demo or training sessions. So that we consider that a very good benefit for the industry. 

Megan Ellsworth (13:01): Wow. I had no idea that you guys did that. That is fabulous. 

Matt Chriswell (13:05): It's a great room, great setup. We can do demo days there. You can do, uh, continuing education. You can do new product specs, you can do local and, and state municipality permitting stuff. It can be used for a multitude of things. So it's got, it's got a really cool setup. And then one last thing I wanted to point out. The reserve fund that we have was established 30 years ago as an emergency fund with one year's worth of operating expenses in it today. We've been able to, um, to keep that and we've made it through the 2000, 2000, 2008 and 2009 recession. Um, and a and a pandemic without ever touching that money. 

Megan Ellsworth (13:49): Wow. That is incredibly impressive. <laugh>. 

Matt Chriswell (13:54): And, and I, I think I have to say that that speaks to the volunteers cuz as you sit in my position as president and you work yourself through the chairs, there obviously is no mm-hmm. <affirmative> monetary, um, uh, value to that. But it, it, it speaks volumes to the people that have been before me, and hopefully that will be after me, that have sat and crunched the numbers and worked the financials to make sure that we're not only offering the best member services, but we're also protecting the assets that we have and the, the employees that run the Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Association. 

Megan Ellsworth (14:31): Well, that is really amazing and I'm excited to hear. So we talked about the convention and the trade show that's, you know, coming up in a month. What else? Is there anything else that we should all be looking forward to from F R S A this year? 

Matt Chriswell (14:46): Kind of reiterate what we said up there, but it, it's always going to be focused on workers' comp rates. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> insurance changes, um, implementing, um, immigration reform, continuing education and, and really fighting for the men and women that are in the industry. Whether they're on the roof hammer nailing or, or, you know, mopping hot tar or in the desk working through distributorships and, and, um, manufacturers to research and develop products. That's just one thing that, that helps keep the Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Association, a top tier association and to my mind, just a, a caliber that's above everybody else. 

Megan Ellsworth (15:35): So we kind of touched on some of the seminars that are happening at the convention. Do you do seminars outside of the convention for people too Watch, like online or anything in the training facility that you mentioned? 

Matt Chriswell (15:49): So we're close to having our training manual done that will be distributing, I believe, this year. 

Megan Ellsworth (15:56): Awesome. 

Matt Chriswell (15:58): As far as seminars and training, ongoing education or continuing education, like I mentioned, those would be run by, uh, somebody outside of, of F R S A, but could be held at F R S A. The educational foundation this year selected just a massive slate of, of seminars for just about every level of participate that attends the convention. So you've got seminars on estimating, uh, single plot roofing system, tile roofing installation for workers, uh, seminars that focus on some of the new code changes for, for Florida building code since Florida has a more restrictive code than anywhere else in the country, I guess, fortunately or unfortunately, um, contractors need to know exactly what to expect when the bidding, when with bidding on a project over the next month. So our tile manual, our tile installation manual is co-owned by the Tile Roofing Institute, or t as most people know it. 

Um, and it referenced standards in the FBC or Florida building code that the seventh edition will also be launched this year at the convention. Um, and then we have 31 different seminars. Is that a final number, Lisa? Yes. It's, so we have 31 separate seminars from, again, uh, financing to, you know, some of the newest, uh, affordable building codes that are being enacted. So there's, there's a little bit of something in there for everybody, whether you're a, a, uh, upper level management, whether you're a mid-level manager, whether you're a foreman, whether you're a worker, or whether you're a specifier. We've got something for everybody. 

Megan Ellsworth (17:39): Ah, that is great to hear. I hope everyone that attends makes sure that they attend lots of those educational seminars because they are great. 

Matt Chriswell (17:50): Oh, Megan, they sell out. I mean, there's, there's, there's not many that, that have room in 'em. Yeah. It's not to say that they all sell out, but some, you know, some of those bigger ones like the tile ones and the Port building code and some of the, um, uh, the ones that, that, you know, some of the cottony guys put on are, are just, or I guess you should say Adams and Reese, they're just sold out because they're so daggone informational. Mm-hmm, they have so much infor info in there that they were so well attended each year. Mm-hmm. 

Megan Ellsworth (18:20): Well that's good to know. Everyone listening, you should register now. If you can register for those seminars and Yes, Lisa, go ahead. 

Lisa Pate (18:28): Part of what Florida requires is continuing education for our contractors and they've gotta have 14 hours every two years. So we have to put on a slate of seminars that kind of go through everything. We don't video and present them because they mm-hmm. <affirmative> by law have to sign in on a sheet that we have to prove that that's the person that's registering for the seminar. So we don't offer those, um, electronically or we don't record those seminars simply because the state has a lot of regulations on us as an, uh, a provider. 

Megan Ellsworth (18:59): Very cool. Well, I hope that they're not sold out yet and people can still register for those seminars cuz it is coming up a month away. Holy moly. 

Matt Chriswell (19:08): There's still avail availability. 

Lisa Pate (19:10): Yeah, it works out. 

Megan Ellsworth (19:13): Okay. And then we've come to our last question and that is, are there any promotions going on right now for contractors? 

Matt Chriswell (19:20): So we are not typically a coupon association <laugh>, so not really buy one, get one freeze, but from time to time we will put on a six month membership or something. So depending on what you are in the industry, whether you're an affiliate or or, or contractor, you can go into the show floor, stop by the booth, which will be in the lounge area, talk to Anna Torres and ask her to see if you qualify for any type of membership or a a any kind of perk that we're having at the time. 

Megan Ellsworth (19:54): Okay, great. Well, is there any last words you wanna add on the convention on, you know, celebrating 101 years for F R S A this year? 

Matt Chriswell (20:05): Well, as Lisa said, 38 years she's been here, I don't expect her to be around for another 38 years, <laugh>, but I do expect the association to be around for another a hundred years. So a lot of that testament goes to what Lisa has done for the association. We recently just had our cfo, Mike Reed, um, retire after 30 years. Lisa 

Lisa Pate (20:28): 31. Yeah. 

Matt Chriswell (20:29): 31 years. So there's not a lot of turnover when it comes to that, and that's been something that's helped us. So for me, I just hope that, uh, I'm around for at least another 40 of those a hundred years so I can see where the, the association goes. I, I have, um, no doubt in my mind that it doesn't get either stronger or better in any capacity. 

Megan Ellsworth (20:53):
I love it. Well, thank you both so much for joining me today on this very special roofing road trip. Everyone at RoofersCoffeeShop is so excited for the FRSA show in July, and we will be seeing you there live and in person. <laugh>, 

Matt Chriswell (21:07): You asked how the weather was in the beginning. We have had some of the most, I'm, I'm third generation, so I, I've never lived anywhere else, Uhhuh and I'm, I'm, I'm in the mid forties. Uh, we've had some of the best weather up until now. It is <laugh>. Honestly, it has been unbelievable. So I hope the cooler not so hot weather stays into July, so you guys can really enjoy it. 

Megan Ellsworth (21:31): Yes, me too. <laugh>. That sounds great. I was melting last year at <laugh>, at Daytona <laugh>. 

Lisa Pate (21:39): Luckily everything's indoor this year, so, um, they really, oh yeah, that's right. The hotel to the convention center and, uh, Matt is right. We've had the most beautiful weather, so we're excited about that. Um, and anybody who would like to register for the convention, the expo, there's no cost to walk the expo floor. If you're a roofing contractor, they can register@floridaroof.com and, um, get a badge ahead of time so they can just pick it up at our registration desk. 

Megan Ellsworth (22:07): That's awesome. You heard Lisa, everyone go and register. Go check it out, get into some seminars. Thank you again, both of you for joining me today and for everyone listening out there, thanks for listening to Roofing Road Trips and all the Roofers Coffee Shop podcasts and webinars. Um, you can find them@rooferscoffeeshop.com and don't forget to subscribe and ring the bell. We'll be, um, coming back to you later with lots more. So make sure to listen <laugh>. Thanks. Thanks Megan. 

Lisa Pate (22:37): Megan. Awesome. Take 

Megan Ellsworth (22:38): Care. Awesome. Thanks. Thanks everyone. Bye. See ya. 

Matt Chriswell (22:42): Bye-bye. 

Megan (22:45): Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave a review. Thanks for listening. This has been Roofing Road Trips with Heidi from the roofers coffee shop.com.