Moving forward as a community

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn how WSRCA has built a community that pushes the industry towards a better future.  

Western States Roofing Contractors Association (WSRCA) was founded in 1974 by a group of professionals looking to work together to address issues that are unique to the  
Western regions of the U.S., such as the uniqueness of the weather climates roofers must handle. Today, that group has grown into a cornerstone of the industry. They have released a plethora of resources, such as technical bulletins, and host one of the biggest and most well-attended trade shows on the West Coast each year. In this episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Mike Wakerling, Joel Viera and Alex Ward stopped by the Coffee Shops™ to chat about the impact of WSRCA on their careers.  

Joel got involved with WSRCA in 2001 as the trade show coordinator with their charitable organization, the Davis Memorial Foundation. Today, he is their executive director, a position he has held since 2020. He explained that one of the things he loves about WSRCA is the community it builds, sharing, “We have a great team that works together to make our expo great for our exhibitors and attendees. It makes our membership worthwhile for our contractor members, makes volunteering your time and coming to a board meeting worthwhile for our board members...I think we have created a culture not only within the office, but within the association and within the volunteer ranks that makes it really enjoyable for everybody.” 

Mike was WSRCA’s president before handing off the role to Kris Hitesman for this upcoming year. He has been a part of WSRCA and their board of directors for over 15 years now. Outside of WSRCA, Mike owns General Roofing Company, which has provided installs and repairs for residential, commercial and industrial roofs in California since 1924. His first board meeting was with the Washington and Oregon teams and one of the biggest things he remembered was how welcoming and supportive everyone was. Another thing that struck him was the power of the work everyone was doing. He shared, “What most made an impact on me was when we went to the meetings, it was all business and it was how can we help the contractor? The idea was that if we can make our contractors more successful, then the association is more successful and so is the industry. We just want to make the industry better.” 

As for Alec, he started working with WSRCA in 2015 and is currently their director of membership and trade show. He cited this as the most life-changing job he’s ever had, “Before I started, I was out of work...It was the perfect timing for everything, that I got hired when I did. And the team I got here is awesome. And the board is great. All the members we work with, the associate advisors and contractors and everyone. It's a great industry to be in.” 

Read the transcript or Listen to the episode to learn more about WSRCA. You should also keep an eye out for the 2025 Western Roofing Expo registration, which opens in April 2025!