Recap of the 2019 International Roofing Expo® in Nashville

By Roofing Alliance.

Summarizing what happened this year at IRE as we begin to look ahead to 2020 in Dallas.

We're sure you've heard the numbers by now. The 2019 IRE® in Nashville, Tennesee, had a record-breaking attendance of 14,295 roofing professionals.

Our dessert and cordials reception also had a record-breaking attendance with more than 240 members, guests, competition students and prospective firms. It was a great opportunity to mix, mingle and enjoy specially-created desserts and cordials. Click here for photos.

The IRE® Expo also was the largest in NRCA and IRE's history with 1,520 booths and 497 companies. Out of these 467 exhibiting companies, 38 were Roofing Alliance members. Our members were identified with a Roofing Alliance logo carpet decal placed along the perimeter of their booths, and members who also are partners in our Ronald McDonald Charities initiative were identified by a RMHC® logo.

Tuesday, Feb. 12, was the big day for the Roofing Alliance's 2019 Construction Management Student Competition. The five finalist teams from Auburn University, Colorado State University, Louisiana State University, Minnesota State at Mankato and the University of Florida gave the final portion of their projects—presenting their proposals to the judges as owners and general contractors for the Hilton Franklin Cool Springs Hotel, Franklin, Tenn. This was a design build project with fluid design documents and a fast-paced schedule. Each team was to provide evidence it understood the process and could keep up with potential design changes on the fly without sacrificing the quality of the final product. Each team needed to find a competitive edge in their estimate to beat the competition while maintaining a reasonable margin.

After hearing all presentations and conducting a 10-minute question-and-answer session with each team, the judges determined the winning teams. First place went to Maverick Roofing Co. from Minnesota State at Mankato; team members were Hunter Campbell, Shola George (alternate), Jon Harrington, Hunter Morsching and Chase Olson (team captain).

A few elements set the Minnesota State team ahead of the other teams, including a thorough understanding of the project; the presentation was well-prepared; the team was articulate and concise; the safety, quality control/quality assurance plans were well presented; and the team was prepared for the judges' questions and did a nice job answering specific questions. The oral presentation scores, combined with written proposal scores, determined its first-place position.

Colorado State University won second place for the second year in a row; team members were Code Ade, Mahoney Bajwa (team captain), Brenden Phelan and Dan Schouten.

As first and second place winners, both teams received team trophies and scholarships for their schools, as well as individual team member trophies.

We want to thank everyone contributing to the success of this year's competition, including the Construction Management Schools Initiative Committee members, team mentors, judges, faculty and, of course, the students for all their hard work! We look forward to our sixth competition and team presentations, which will take place during NRCA's 133rd Annual Convention and International Roofing Expo,® Feb. 4-6, 2020 in Dallas.

We are seeking a project for the competition. If you have a project in the Dallas area, please contact Bennett Judson.

The judges selected Tony Cento from the University of Florida as this year's Best Individual Presenter.

Congratulations to the 2018-19 Most Valuable Player Award Winners Bobby Ainsworth, Miguel Lopez, Brandon Reese, Drew Thomas and Jose de Jesus Zermeno who were recognized at the NRCA Industry Awards Ceremony and Cocktail Reception. Special congratulations to Brandon Reese, Korellis Roofing Inc., Hammond, Ind., who was presented with the Best of the Best Award co-sponsored by OMG Roofing Products and Professional Roofing magazine. Reese will be featured in a future Professional Roofing article.

Source: Roofing Alliance