Raising the Roof at IRE 2025 - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Keenan Perry, Danielle Griffin and Wes Esquivel of SRS Distribution. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the recording.

Intro: Good morning and welcome to Coffee Conversations from RoofersCoffeeShop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth and we are here today for a great conversation talking about next year's IRE. I have to tell you, this is one of my favorite coffee conversations of the year because it gets you so excited about what's going to happen. We're doing it earlier this year because we want everybody to get ready, to get their reservations in place because it is going to be phenomenal in San Antonio this year.

So before we get started with our awesome panel, let's start with some housekeeping. First of all, this is being recorded and it will be available online at RoofersCoffeeShop and all the coffee shops within 24 hours. Please share it out to other professionals, to your company and friends and family, so that they all know what's happening too. Also, we have the chat open. So this is all about the conversation, so please, let us know who you are, your company, where you're at and throughout this as we're sharing information, ask questions, what do you want to know, what's going to happen? And we will answer those questions throughout. So let's get going.

Okay. First of all, I want to say a huge thank you to SRS who is the sponsor of today's Coffee Conversation. And as everyone knows, IRE would not be the same without SRS. So we are going to really get some great information on what they're bringing to the show this year, but I just want to say thank you for everything that they do throughout the whole year for this industry. And, speaking of SRS, we have with us today Keenan Perry from SRS. Keenan, welcome to the show.

Keenan Perry: Thank you so much for having me.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Hey, if you could, introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about what you do with SRS.

Keenan Perry: Yeah, yeah, so I've been with SRS for about five years, well just over five years. And for the majority of my career here I've been running our field marketing programming and event marketing for SRS. And of course that includes all things IRE, from the trade show to all of our other activation concerts and it's just going to be such a fantastic, fantastic IRE this year.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Now you have a little bit to do with that big XTV going around too, don't you?

Keenan Perry: Yes. We just kicked off the Roofing XTV tour last weekend, Texas A&M and Notre Dame, sadly not a win for A&M, but we're back at Atlanta on Sunday for our next tailgate and just so excited for this year's XTV tour.

Heidi J Ellsworth: It's great. We're mapping it, we're keeping it out there on the site so everybody can see where it's going to be and how they can get involved. But I have to say, I am also thrilled to have Danielle here from Informa. Danielle, welcome to the show.

Danielle Griffin: Thanks, Heidi.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Well, if you could introduce yourself and tell us what you do with Informa and overall with IRE.

Danielle Griffin: Definitely. Happy to be here. I've been with Informa Markets for about two years. I moved over from another division with Informa going into my eighth year, actually, I've been in marketing for about 17 years. And so you name it, anything IRE, marketing related I am involved with as well as with the entire team. And one of the things that I love the most about my role is that I get to work with wonderful partners such as you all, and learn more about the industry and see how we can continue to making our event even better each year.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Danielle, we love working with you and I mean, it's the highlight of our year and so thank you so much for everything. And, I am really excited to welcome Wes to the show. Wes, thank you for being here. Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what you do with SRS?

Wes Esquivel: Yes. So my name is Wes Esquivel and my main purpose and mission is to help the contractor accomplish their mission, their goals and financially your life. And so what I do is I come alongside the contractors to help them grow, whether they're a startup or a scale up, that seems to be our sweet spot. So it's basically learning and development, helping them develop processes and systems. And the most important thing, leadership development for them so that they can go to the next level. And that's in a nutshell what I do.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And you know what, Wes, one of the things I'm really excited about today is not only are we going to be sharing the messages about next year's IRE in English, but you're also going to help us share in Spanish. So if you could do your introduction in Spanish, that would be really awesome.

Wes Esquivel: Sure. [foreign language 00:05:46].

Heidi J Ellsworth: Love it. This is what we're talking about and this is what IRE is going to be all about. So let's just start with some overviews. And Danielle, let's just set some groundwork. Can you tell us what we should expect in San Antonio, what's happening, dates, all the good stuff?

Danielle Griffin: Sure, absolutely. So lots of exciting things that are in the works right now. One of the things that is exciting is that this year for IRE, we're taking over San Antonio. So we will literally be the only show in the Convention Center at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, February 19th through 21st and just one thing to note too is our show will be shifting this year. We shift from a Tuesday, Thursday to now this year it'll be a Wednesday through Friday. If you are interested in possibly extending your trip and seeing some of the great sites that there are to see in San Antonio, we also have some discounts for SeaWorld. It's a great city to visit, and so we're really excited about being back there. And you can be on the lookout. We'll have registration for attendees opening later this month, and for our exhibitors that will be opening early October.

Heidi J Ellsworth: That is great. And Keenan, what are some of the, I know I was lucky enough to be able to go and tour the space in San Antonio and it is phenomenal. I'm so excited about where the coffee shops are going to be set up, which is on the way to the Tailgater. So tell us a little bit about what SRS has planned.

Keenan Perry: Yeah, I mean, other than our booth space, we're going to have some educational seminars. As you mentioned, we're going to be doing our tailgate. Most of you are pretty used to seeing the tailgate right out in front of the convention hall, but with San Antonio and their hall set up, we're actually utilizing sort of an interior courtyard space for it. So it is essentially a purpose-built space for our Tailgater, and we're going to have live music, food, drinks and plenty of connections to make. So excited to see everyone there.

Heidi J Ellsworth: That is so cool. And I know that there is a huge focus this year on inclusive and bilingual registration that is going to be happening. Wes, the Para Latinos booth is always one of the biggest attractions and so awesome. Can you tell us a little bit about what is happening with that? Any new things or just overall?

Wes Esquivel: Yeah, so it's always popping. If you go to other booths, it's not as exciting. I'm not trying to be too competitive here, but we usually have a bottleneck in our hallway, where people love to network and relationship build. So network and relationship building is happening. We have music going on and refreshments, but then we also have the educational component where people will come up, vendors and different presenters to talk to the customer about how to grow and develop their business and their leadership capabilities. So we bring in the fun, but we bring in the education and then we also have the networking. So it's a win-win for everybody. What you'll see, not sometimes all the time, is people engaging with the customer. So everybody who's working the booth is trying to get your information and help you out with that information to try to see what you need to do to go to the next level. So like I said, our mission is to help our customers and people in the industry grow and develop and make more money, have fun and we give back by making it free.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. That is so perfect. So I want to kind of take a moment and talk a little bit about what has happened over the years. I am going to say it. I've been in this industry over 30 years now. I have seen so many changes from it being the NRCA show to the IRE, and I keep saying IRE and I'm sure everyone knows, but that's the International Roofing Expo.

But there's been a lot of changes that has happened. So Wes, as we're talking about this, let's talk about the Para Latinos and just what you've seen in the changes of attendance of the Latino community and really where we're at and where we've been.

Wes Esquivel: So when we started, it was new to the industry. One of the things about SRS and Para Latinos is we're disruptors. We don't do things the same old way that other people do it. And so as we've piloted three years ago and keep going, it's what people are looking forward to. But out of that have come out rich relationships. What I mean by that is that people from Chicago are networking with Dallas, San Jose, Newark and they develop these long-standing friendships and relationships within the contractor community.

Also, we've seen that when we do follow-up trainings, when we do follow-up, it's lunch and learns or whatever that is, some of those contractors follow us there because that's where they initially met us. And there is a difference, once again, I'm trying to be polite here. You might go through some booths where people are just talking to each other, and the customer just walking by, that doesn't happen here.

We bring you in. We'll see you walking in the hallway. "Well come on in. The party's over here." And then we engage you and talk to you. And the end result is that, just networking, relationship building and educating you so that you can grow your business. And that's the goal of it, that when you see the mariachis, when you see the Música Banda, because we even have concerts where the mariachis and Bandas come in. It's a place where we want our community, Latino community to feel at home. So they feel very comfortable. They're at home. You don't feel out of place. Not that they feel out of place in any other booth, but there they really find that taste of the Latino culture.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love that. Speaking of feeling like home, would you mind sharing that in Spanish also?

Wes Esquivel: Sure. [foreign language 00:13:36]. Motto. Make money, give back, have fun. [foreign language 00:13:38].

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. So Danielle, playing off that, we've had so many, I mean, I'm so honored to be on the IRE advisory board and we've had so many conversations about making IRE more inclusive. Can you talk a little bit about what you've seen in the progression of bringing in bilingual and really what's happened over the last couple of years, and the commitment from Informa to make a lot of this happen?

Danielle Griffin: Definitely. So one of the things is actually, I can speak to in the short time that I've been with Informa Markets, when I first came on board, we didn't have much communication in Spanish for our attendees. And so through working with our partners, we were able to see that this was an area that the industry really needed some support. What could we do to make our show to be more inclusive? And so we're really just continuing to build upon that. Last year, we actually had used partners to really kind of seek out what did that mean? What did that mean for this audience? And one of the things that we are happy to have this year is we're going to have actual conference sessions in Spanish. We are working to see how we can, looking at capabilities for translation services, we improved the registration on-site.

We had this past year that included Spanish as well as content that we are looking at this year. We'll have specific promotions that will be going out in Spanish, making sure we have specific information for this audience to make their experience a more seamless experience when they're on-site and making sure that they can find the information and resources that they really need to continue to grow their business or learn year-over-year and see the latest innovations because that's really what the show is about. And network with other individuals who can help make their quality of life and job more efficient when they get back from the show. And this is also an event too, where the content of this show has significantly grown. So not only are we really... We're not just a roofing show anymore. Over the years the focus has been roofing.

However, we are more and more now incorporating our exteriors products, trying to work with exhibitors to bring that to the show because we do have a good majority of our audience who is also looking at those products. So whether you do siding or doors or solar, those types of innovations and making sure that we're expanding our products, expanding the Innovative Product Showcase and making sure that we're able to really listen to the needs of the industry and to support it because without all of you and our partners, it would not be as successful as it is.

Heidi J Ellsworth: So much has changed. And I love the fact that the exteriors are there now. I mean, contractors are diversifying, so we need to be able to offer all of those things. And you guys have just done a great job at that. What are some of the other trends that you're seeing, Danielle, along with the exteriors? What are some of the other trends that you're seeing just on exhibitors and educational classes that are coming in?

Danielle Griffin: So each year we do put out a call for presentations and we take into consideration our survey feedback on all aspects, so we can make sure that the conference is providing the most up-to-date information for the industry. So one of those things being for exhibitors this year too, we're also looking at how we can get folks to be more set up like a matchmaking kind of system. And that will be incorporating our mobile app and having a capability this year where attendees and exhibitors can meet and set up meetings. And what that will mean is exhibitors can just go into their online dashboard and then an attendee can find them in the directory and set up a meeting with them. And the exhibitors were able to really set those parameters on when they're available and what they would like to connect on. So that's one of the other things that we are seeing that's very different this year that we haven't done in previous years.

Heidi J Ellsworth: That's cool. That's cool. Keenan, what are some of the trends that you're seeing that have changed over the years? I mean, there's just so much that I look back on before and even in the last five years, so much has changed. What are some of the things you're seeing?

Keenan Perry: Absolutely. So great segue into what we're going be showing at the show ourselves. So I think technology adoption is one of the key things here. And historically I would say that this industry has been about 10 years behind on its adoption of technology and innovation. And over the last three or four years, I feel like we've really seen a big push within the industry of innovation and technology adoption. So whether that is online ordering platforms like our own or CRMs, drones for takeoffs, the huge push throughout really every industry of AI, helping ramp up technology adoption. I think we're going to be seeing a lot of that this year, because truly it is the future of the industry. And as we see some of the newcomers into this industry, they see that they're just reaping the benefits tenfold, because they're outperforming their competitors because they're adopting these technologies sooner.

And I feel like with this push, it's brought us more into the... We're only lagging about three or four years behind trends now. So I think that's going to be a big piece of this year's IRE. Another thing like Danielle mentioned is solar. A lot of players in the solar game now. We have an exclusive partnership with Tesla. We are their only roofing distributor and we're already starting to stock some of their products in our locations on the West Coast. I know some of the other manufacturers, CertainTeed, GAF, all have solar products as well. And we're going to be rolling out with those in the near future as well.

So you're going to see a lot of that. I think that also talks about diversification of product lines on the contractor side. So Danielle, like you mentioned with exteriors, you see a lot of roofers starting to do exteriors, see a lot of siding and window guys starting to get into the roofing. You see the same with solar. I mean if you've got a solar installer, typically you got to redo the roof. So they're getting into roofing. Same with roofers. If you're going to be redoing a roof, why not upsell? And if it makes sense for the customer to put a solar panel or solar roof on, all right, you're now a solar installer. So there's all this diversification happening and I think expanding product knowledge and really just what you offer to customers can only help grow your business.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I think you're spot on when you're talking about technology and what's happening, there's going to be so many new, I mean every year there's new companies there who are bringing out such great technology. I know Roofing Technology Think Tank is going to have a class, it's going to be a panel of contractors talking about what technologies are working for them. Just having seen the classes, Danielle, there's a lot of technology-based classes to help the contractors along with some of the really tried and trues, I think of Rob Haddock and Metal. He always has one of the best classes and he's always there from S-5.

But when you're looking at, when we're talking about contractors and why they should attend IRE, I just have to note in the chat, Leanne just said, excited to introduce some new products at IRE and Leanne's with ATAS. So good morning, Leanne. This is the time, IRE. I mean we're working with so many different companies out there and we're already all talking about IRE and product launches and how you're going to do it and how we're going to ramp up ahead of time. What are you hearing on the exhibitor floor, Danielle, about just the excitement and what is the size? I think it's bigger than ever, right?

Danielle Griffin: Oh, actually and interesting, hopefully someone on my team is on the call and they can put the exact square footage, but I know that we are busting at the seams at San Antonio, so if you have not reserved your space on the show floor, now is the time. We are definitely about 90% sold out. Like I said, we will be taking over roofing. There will be roofers and exterior contractors everywhere in San Antonio, which will be fabulous. One of the things that we are hearing is, I guess on the exhibitor side, one of the exciting things too that we're going to have this year is, so last year we had, every year we have a sustainability contest. Informa is involved in sustainability efforts. I know I'm kind of jumping the gun, I know Heidi had this on our list.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Go, go, go.

Danielle Griffin: But one of the things that we do each year is you can participate as a sustainability. Look at that. Joy's on the call. Thanks Joy. We are actually about 95% sold out she just said in the chat.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Wow.

Danielle Griffin: Our sales team is out there rocking it and very happy. Their latest thing right now is they're getting out there with exhibitors and having conversations about the innovative product showcase and awards. How can you participate this year? Does that make sense for you? Have those conversations now, see what your opportunities are at IRE, especially, we have different options available every year. We're always looking at that, but really, we are just making sure that we get the word out about the sustainability competition. If you are interested in that, send us an email, we'll send you those details. But we look at doing that every year and we will share information on that. As far as on the website, the digital show guide, it's one of those things that we continue to make momentum on each year. Specifically, usually, we work with the city, so doing a of materials, working with the facility.

We do badge and lanyard recycling as well and recycling bins at the show. But this contest is something that's of interest usually every year. And we also will have the product innovation awards. We'll have signs in booths for those folks. And one of the things to highlight is if you're also in the competition this year, the innovative product showcase and awards, then you'll have a sign in your booth as well for folks to come vote. So there's multiple ways to get visibility at the 2025 event, whether it's the innovative product showcase and awards or you want to participate in our exhibitor sustainability contest or looking at different ways to share and get folks to your booth. So I would encourage you to have a conversation with our sales team.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah, and really, it is the time to launch those new products to get in the networking that goes through there. So Wes, as we're kind of talking about this, you work with so many contractors across the country, how important is it that contractors really take the time to and we know it's not cheap, there's some expense involved, but why should contractors really be looking at making this time to come to IRE and do the classes, go to the exhibits and everything?

Wes Esquivel: I mean, I had this conversation with them all. They say, here I am learning. And there are roofs out there not being made because a lot of their value, especially in the Latino community, is based around how much they produce and how much they install. However, as they move up and they scale up, they're not doing a lot of the tactical installation. They're having to be strategists, they're having to be learners, they're having to beef up their knowledge on the product and warranties and business development. So what I've seen is that we do a lot of great product knowledge, we do a lot of training, but what I've seen in dealing with customers is do you know how to work your cashflow?

Do you have a sales strategy or sales coaching capabilities? Do you know how to incorporate your administrative things in the office so that everything has a system and you're doing continuous improvement? If you don't take time to stop and educate yourself and learn, you'll be doing the same old thing. It'll be business as usual and you'll stay there.
I mean, you can't work your way out of a hole. You have to then come back out, take some time to learn and train and develop and contemplate and pick your head up. What am I doing here? What do I need to do better? Oh, look at that new product. I want to sell siding. I don't know how to sell siding. I don't know how to upsell it. I don't know how to install it well, I mean I can go out there and install it, but I don't know about the warranty, so I'm just going to stay away from that game. But if you make time to learn about the warranty, the installation process and how, then you can make more money, now you have a new line of business that you can do. So it's really important for us to push that. Now as a business owner, as a contractor, if you want to go to the next level, you have to pause, educate and train yourself so that you can scale up.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I think too, the networking, networking is so important, Keenan, I mean, this is the time. And to Wes's point, when contractors can meet their regional managers, they can meet the president of the company, they can build those relationships. Can you talk just a little bit to that? I mean, you guys do so much networking on the floor and also off.

Keenan Perry: I mean, truly that is why we do what we do. That is why we have all the activations that we have, whether it is the booth, whether it is the Parlatinos Lounge. That is why we go so big is because we want to encourage and foster all of these networking opportunities. So essentially the Tailgater is exactly that. It's, hey, you want to get off the show floor, the hustle and bustle if you will and go relax? Okay. We have a space for you to do that, but we still want to be able to foster those networking opportunities. So that's why we staffed Tailgater with folks from the field. And you're right, it could be a sales person from San Antonio that we have out there. It could be Dan Tinker, right? So you have total access to everyone within decision-making roles within the company. And of course we'll get to this later, but then at the end of the day we say, "Hey, come on out to our concert and see some live music and feel appreciated." Because we can't do this without our customers.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah. It is so great. I want to talk a little bit, oh, go ahead Danielle.

Danielle Griffin: Oh, sorry. I was just going to say even our staff look forward to the, every year, everyone's like, "Where's the concert? What are we doing?" And they love the fact that it's all going towards your Raise the Roof foundation.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And I tell you what, if you are all wondering out there, we are going to make an announcement at the end about that concert. But if you have questions or comments or thoughts on this, please add them to the chat. There's a lot of great stuff. I want to talk a little bit about everything that surrounds IRE just so people have that feel for the week. And I would be totally remiss if I didn't talk about National Women in Roofing Day and now it's days, but this year it's going to be on a Monday and Tuesday, which is because Danielle that shift in the week.

Danielle Griffin: That's right. It's going to be, we also have all of our programs that we typically have too that'll be taking place. So our 16th annual community service day will be taking place that week. And we also have the SRS tailgate, which everyone's looking forward to. We'll have our welcome party, which will take place on Wednesday, the Roofing Alliance student competition, always looking at ways to support students in the industry that's building clinics, exhibitor-presented seminars, demos, all the NRCA events and leadership training will be taking place as well.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah, it is a full week. And so if you start on Monday with National Women and Roofing, so I'm telling you, everyone out there sign up for National Women and Roofing, it is worth it. It is a phenomenal day. And then they also have some activities on Tuesday also, but Tuesday is the community service day and that community service day has been so popular and there's only so many people who can get into that community service day, right Danielle?

Danielle Griffin: That's correct. And so the community service day is usually ran by Brandy McElhaney, who is our senior conference program manager. And it's something she's very passionate about. And my understanding is every year we have the opportunity to make someone's life better through roofing and providing them with some charity work to get some repairs on their home. And one year, it was very, last year, it was raining, it was cold, it was challenging, but at the end of the day, it's a fulfilling experience. So I'd encourage you to sign up for that and if you have any questions, obviously you can reach out to us, but we really love everyone that supports that event for us.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah, I tell you what, it is so great. And so when you're registering, which is going to open at the end of the month, be sure to register early if you want to get into the community service day because there's only so many spots and it fills every year. Sells out, I guess sells out is not the right word, but fills up. And you mentioned the student competition. So workforce development I think is such a huge push in our industry and we've got some really cool things happening at IRE, starting with the student competition, which will be Thursday morning.

Danielle Griffin: Thursday from 8:00 to 11:30.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah, I'm so used to the old way.

Danielle Griffin: I know.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I know, the middle of the week and this is a chance we are going to have, construction management schools, universities, teams from around the country who compete usually four to five competitors. It is one of the most phenomenal events. You sit there and you're just inspired and you just know that we're in good hands with the next generation when you watch these teams present and bid, and it's going to be on a hotel in San Antonio that actually Belden Roofing had done. And so they are going to be competing on getting a bid and estimate and a plan for that. And whoever comes back with the best one wins. And then that's announced at the awards ceremony, which now will be Thursday night also, right Danielle? I'm pretty dang sure.

Danielle Griffin: Yes. Five to seven.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yes. Five to seven. But Informa is doing something different this year and it was your idea Danielle, and I would love for you to talk about what you're doing with SkillsUSA.

Danielle Griffin: Yes. So I was very excited to have the invitation to join the NRCA group at the SkillsUSA Competition National Competition, which took place this year in July, Heidi or was it June? In Atlanta, Georgia. And so what this amazing program really is it takes students from the trades and lots of other various programs that are hands-on and imagine they just fill, they come from all over the country, lots of them wearing these pins and they're super excited to exchange and work with faculty and advisors. And it's really one of those experiences that you can't quite grasp it until you're there to see it in person. And what it really, it was so rewarding to be there and to see all that goes into this and to see the next generation and how we can support the industry was just very, very rewarding while attending there. So IRE wants to support the industry and one of the things we're doing this year that's new is that we have invited the high school and college post-secondary winners of the Roofing competition, which took place at Skills USA to the International Roofing Show.

We want to show them what this industry has to offer, which is amazing opportunities and see them networking on the show floor, see the latest technology and products, maybe learn about something new that they haven't and bring their chaperones and just kind of give back to the community and really support. Because one of the challenges we all know in this industry right now is that skilled labor is a challenge, whether you're in roofing, contracting work across the board and we see this, we talk about this internally at Informa with our other events such as World of Concrete and it's an issue.

And so how can we support the industries to make sure that we're addressing this? And that starts with students sometimes, and we're very excited to have them at the show and see how this evolves because my understanding from the NRCA is that it was only a few years ago that they didn't have any representation from roofing at this event. And so it starts with all of us supporting the industry and what are we doing to evolve as folks are retiring and who's going to run our businesses and who's going to educate folks as we continue to grow our companies because that's a real challenge for some folks.

Heidi J Ellsworth: It's so true, and I think it's so great to bring those winners to the IRE so they can see it. And as we grow, and I think we've already kind of talked about this, but I just want to make sure that we really drive this home, is that there are so many opportunities for show floor demos, for hands-on, for Spanish educational classes. I mean, we're talking across the board whether you own your own business or whether you're coming, bringing your crews to really learn about these new products. And that's workforce development. That is what we're trying to do across the board out there. I do want to say real quick to Lily, thank you. We can't wait to see you at National Women in Roofing in NWIR days. And I didn't mention that there is a separate registration for National Women in Roofing, and so you do need to go to National Women in Roofing website to register for that.

So it is a little bit separate, but still Informa and NWIR are working so closely together to bring that to everyone. If you have any questions, be sure to get those in there. I can't believe our hour always goes so fast. So new things, Danielle. I want to kind of talk about what you've done to make things smoother and from past feedback of shows because there's going to be some people out there who are going to say, "I remember that one show." So I like to bring that elephant right out of the corner and put it in the middle. And what have you done around registration? It was so much better last year and I know you keep doing things. So what are some tips and tricks for people on registration and also what have you all done?

Danielle Griffin: Definitely Heidi. I think the big elephant in the room was 2023. Our registration process needed some improvements and we've really, really ramped that up with having a separate area last year for exhibitors, which is something that we will have again this year. One of the things we're encouraging folks too is we're looking at the nice thing about San Antonio that's a little bit different from Las Vegas actually, is that the hotels are super close to the venue. Everything is in really close walking distance. Where in Las Vegas, things are a little bit more spread out.

But if you don't, right now, for example, if you're an exhibitor or anybody, if there's a group of you that is planning to come and you want to get your rooms locked in, but you're not quite sure who exactly is going to be there from your team, from a staffing perspective, give us a call, shoot us an email, we'll get you in contact with On-Peak. They are our only vendor we work with for the international Roofing Expo to get your housing booked and get those room blocks secured so you can be in that location that you prefer.

While we have that, what that also meant is we had satellite registration at different locations. So in Las Vegas, some people may remember at the Westgate, we were able to process quite a few registrations on those first two initial days. So that is something we're looking at doing again this year. If you're the contact for an exhibiting company and you register and you'd like to pick up for all of your folks, as soon as you guys are doing your move-in and the registration is open, you can go ahead and grab badges for you and your team and then making sure that we have this information available to our Hispanic audience and what that process looks like and how we can improve that.

One of the things I'll encourage folks too is the mobile app. We're really pushing that. You can download the Roofing Expo app and once the program opens up for registration, you're able to pick your sessions. If you don't remember, it's tied to your registration. So you can actually very easily go back, log in and change that. But if you need any help at any time, we have a support system. But yes, we definitely look at the survey feedback, so we appreciate all of our attendees, whether it's the good, the bad, the ugly, we will take it into consideration and look at how we can improve the event year-over-year from conference program to show floor education through even just logistics of our event. So we appreciate that.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah, phenomenal job, phenomenal job and response. Keenan, first timers. So let's talk a little bit about first timers because there's a lot of people out there who are going to be watching this and are thinking, should I go? Should I not go? I think we've made that case that they need to go, but what are some of the things for a first timer attendee that they should really be doing and thinking about, looking at when they get to the show?

Keenan Perry: Sorry, I had to take myself off mute there. Expos like this are for first timers, it can be really overwhelming, especially if you don't know what you're getting yourself into. I think the resources that Informa provides and the IRE provides for customers new or returning are fantastic. Download that show app. It's going to have a directory in there that you can go through and see each of the exhibiting companies. And it's typically broken down by trade as well. So if it's roofing or exteriors or let's say there's some window folks there and that's what you're looking to hit, you can go in and find that information. I'm going to plug our booth. Please, stop by the SRS distribution booth. It's going to be one of the biggest ones there. It's a big house. You won't be able to miss it.

Heidi J Ellsworth: You can't miss it.

Keenan Perry: You can't miss it. And come, please, learn about some of our offerings. And then of course, you got to come to the tailgate. That is our XTV or extreme tailgate vehicle, and it's a more casual place to come and network and learn about the roofing industry or what we do here at SRS. I'm going to plug the concert once again, we'll get back to that, but we're announcing who's playing at that at the end here today and tickets are going to start going on sale, I want to say next week. So yeah, if you're watching this and you know that it sells out, go and get your tickets, please.

Heidi J Ellsworth: It definitely sells out usually.

Keenan Perry: It does, and there is a cost, but it is a donation towards our foundation, the Raise the Roof Foundation that helps support veterans in need. So it is truly just a fantastic cause. And if you're a first timer, just try and soak it all in. You don't have to hit every single exhibit. There are some fantastic exhibits to visit and seminars and classes. Honestly, it's such a big show that you wouldn't be able to hit it all anyways, so just more cannon fodder to come back next year as well if you missed anything this coming year. But really, just try and soak it all in and take everything you can out of it. If there's an opportunity to go to a networking event or an offsite event or a class that you're curious about but unsure about, go, because you never know what could be valuable to you.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Definitely. And Danielle, we are so proud, RoofersCoffeeShop, to sponsor the First Timers event. We've done this for a number of years. We're always out front welcoming people with a little gift and having so much fun.

Keenan Perry: Yes, thank you.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I know, we love it, but that First Timers event I think is so important for somebody who has never been because you're going to meet other people who haven't been before and you're going to be able to start getting that inclusivity. So talk a little bit about that and the welcome party and where it's going to be this year.

Danielle Griffin: Yes.

Heidi J Ellsworth: So exciting.

Danielle Griffin: Oh, yes, yes, yes. So you had mentioned surveys and how we take consideration, feedback consideration into mind. And so one of the things last year is Vegas is very spread out. This year we wanted to take the opportunity to make it a little bit easier on our attendees. So the welcome party will actually, first of all, usually what happens is we have the first time at attendee reception sponsored by RoofersCoffeeShop. Thank you. And they will be there to meet and greet. We like to also, sometimes we usually try to get some NRCA members there, so that way if there's any questions about membership, they're there to talk to you about anyone interested in that. And after that, it's like the first 30 minutes, hour. And then we'll have the welcome party that will kick off, and that's going to actually be at the convention center this year.

So it will be very easy for folks to just step off the show floor if they like, or maybe can run back to their room, come to the welcome party, network, mingle and then go out and see the sights of San Antonio. Enjoy the Riverwalk, go network with your friends. We also are very mindful that when folks are coming to the show, they're also there to do business. They're also there to see the city. They have lots of other things going on outside of the Roofing Expo as well. And so it's going to be tremendous. We're really looking forward that, and as Keenan had mentioned, one of the other great things about the exhibitor directory too is you can look up folks by, if you have a specific product interest, if you'd like to set up a meeting this year, that's something that's new. So especially for those first time folks, if they're looking to kind of really hone in their experience, planning is key. Bringing your team is key so you can divide and conquer because the show has just grown tremendously over the years.

Heidi J Ellsworth: So that's great advice. That's great. So Wes, we're going to have, I mean we are in San Antonio, Texas. We are going to have such a beautiful Latino culture at the show. The welcome party and the first timers is on the Riverwalk. I mean, the convention center is on the Riverwalk and when you go down there. But can you share just kind of that feeling of family and first timers and how they can, some of your advice for them on how to approach this show?

Wes Esquivel: Yeah, get to meet people. Ask them what they do. Listen, a lot. If you're a first timer, what I found that comes out of this networking is networking with the manufacturers, networking with the distributors, but also networking with other contractors that may be down the road from you and can mentor you. I've had people from Newark talk to a contractor about, "Hey, I'm just in retail. How do I break into the not commercial, but insurance claims." Or people who are in residential roofing who want to break into commercial. And so as you network with these other contractors, you'll find that they're very generous in giving advice and helping each other out, particularly amongst the Latino culture when as they help, all boats rise to the top. So take advantage of the other contractors that you meet there, listen and ask questions. And you'll find that you'll get a wealth of knowledge from the manufacturers, distributors, but also your peer mentors and coaches, those other contractors.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And I would love it if you would share that and the first timers event and all the things we just talked about in Spanish, so we can have that. We're going to be sending this out on social media.

Wes Esquivel: [inaudible 00:49:48].

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. Thank you so much. And I'm going to do a shameless plug myself, and I'm going to thank Danielle and the team at Informa. But RoofersCoffeeShop is going to be, when you walk into the convention hall, you take a slight right and you're going to see us in this awesome place, we're going to have a live soundstage, we're going to be having these Coffee Conversations during the show. We're also going to be doing interviews, and it's right on the way to the Tailgater, so you'll go right past RoofersCoffeeShop and then on down to SRS and registration. So I have to just say the convention center is just beautiful, and it's going to be so inclusive, intimate, I think as we go through that. So Danielle, thank you and the team for just really putting, being out of the box, very creative on space and really making it fun. No matter where you go, you're going to be seeing something really cool.

Danielle Griffin: That's the nice thing about our show too, traveling place to place. But we're happy to work with you guys and make it unique each year.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yeah, it's so fun. We love it. Okay, so, I think it's time. Keenan. Are you ready?

Keenan Perry: Yeah.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I'm going to turn this slide. Here's the big announcement right here first on RoofersCoffeeShop. Here you go.

Keenan Perry: Yes. Thursday, February 20th, 6:00 PM at the SB, which is just right across the street from the convention center. So a short walk. We are going to be hosting Whiskey Myers, Flatland Cavalry and Treaty Oak Revival for our concert this year. They are going to just put on an amazing show down in San Antonio. The SB itself is just a beautiful site for us to host this year's concert. It's going to look a little different than past years in that it's sort of an indoor/outdoor venue. So that's going to, yeah, it's going to open up a little space for some yard games. And yeah, so something a little bit different, but we are so excited to see everyone there. Like I said before, tickets go on sale, I believe next week, tail end of next week. So please look in your emails and look on RoofersCoffeeShop, look everywhere you can for that announcement and go get your tickets because it's going to sell out pretty quick. And once they're gone, they're gone and you might miss out. So we're excited to see everyone there.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I know we said this earlier, but I think it's worth saying again, this benefits the Raise the Roof charity. I know some years you have specific groups that you give back to for the concert. Is there anything like that this year?

Keenan Perry: There absolutely is. We're still in the discussion phases of who exactly that's going to be, but oftentimes we will bring up veterans who we are going to donate or we have donated money towards at the concert and just get to hear their stories. And it is truly inspiring. So look forward to that. We'll be doing our auctions as always, so some opportunities to give back and potentially win a trip or a guitar or a poster signed by the band. So yes, we're very excited about it. And of course, the fact that it is all in the name of giving back and raising money and having fun, it speaks to our whole ethos here at SRS. So it is the best event of the year for us, and we couldn't be more excited about it.

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. It is going to be so much fun, as always. And I have to tell you, we still have the playlist set list from the stage that we got from Joe Walsh and we bought at the auction. You never know what's going to be auctioned off that night. It's pretty fun.

Keenan Perry: It's true. Yeah, I think last year we were auctioning off drum heads from one of the drummers, so you never know what you can get.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And I have to say too, as we're talking about music, there is going to be music the whole time in the Tailgater tent down there. And in fact, we may be closing down RiversCoffeeShop for a little bit because Megan Ellsworth may be back on the stage there too. So thank you for that. And it's always fun.

Keenan Perry: Yes, yes. We love supporting the community and people have passions outside of work, so we want to support that as well. So always happy to support the community.

Heidi J Ellsworth: That is so great. Danielle, last thoughts, any last tips or advice for getting ready for IRE in 2025?

Danielle Griffin: Sure, definitely. So I would say go to TheRoofingExpo.com and you can book your hotel on our housing page there. Get that going. Get your block reserved. I know folks always have a preference. And if you don't know who's going, you can still work with our team to get your room block set up and plug those names in later and beyond the lookout. We will have registration opening for attendees here shortly, and next month for our exhibitors. And like I said, book your booth or have a discussion with our sales team to see how you can reach the audience that you need to or specifically our audience.

Heidi J Ellsworth: And I would say make a plan. That is the advice I will throw out there. Make a plan, because right now is the time to figure out, can you go to National Women in Roofing Day? Can you do community service? What are you going to do? Networking? What booths are you going to meet? Set the meetings. That makes for such a great experience as all these great panelists have said. Wes, last thoughts to the community out there.

Wes Esquivel: I guess I would iterate what I said earlier, make time, take time to train, educate, network, develop those relationships. I know there'll be things to be done. But the great thing is it's in the middle of February when everything is slow, so take advantage of this. It'll be the greatest return on investment, and you'll also have fun.

Heidi J Ellsworth: That is awesome. And can you take us away with that in Spanish?

Wes Esquivel: Sure. [foreign language 00:57:32].

Heidi J Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. And Keenan, real quick, can you type in the chat where the concert's going to be, just so people have that?

Keenan Perry: Yeah.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Yes.

Keenan Perry: I absolutely can.

Heidi J Ellsworth: Maybe not.

Keenan Perry: No I can.

Outro: Perfect. I'm going to say a big thank you to SRS for sponsoring this Coffee Conversations. This is, please share it out there, share it with people so that they can get all this information and know what's going on and how they can be involved. And SRS, thank you so much for all the great things you do around this. I do want to say the 19th, September 19th, we are going to be having a Coffee Conversations on succession planning. I am so excited. It's brought to us by Carol Consulting, Rich Carol, who is an expert in this topic and many others is going to be with other contractors who have actually been going through succession planning. Don't miss this one. It's going to be great. And all that information. Thank you, Keenan. Thank you Danielle is in the chat.

Of course, you can find all of this on RoofersCoffeeShop in the SRS and the IRE directories. Zack, thank you. Thank you everybody for being on today, and we will see you on September 19th for the next great Coffee Conversations. Thank you everybody.