S2:E12 Coffee Conversations: IRE, What's Happening Now - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an interview with Brandi McElhaney and Shelby Snelson of Informa and the international roofing Expo. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast here.

Heidi Ellsworth:

Good morning and welcome to Coffee Conversations. This is part of RoofersCoffeeShop and my name is Heidi Ellsworth. I'm so happy to have you all on this bright, beautiful morning. And we are going to be talking about IRE, International Roofing Expo, today. And I have to tell you I feel like I had quite the coup in getting two of my favorite trade show ladies on the show this morning. We have Shelby Snelson and Brandi McElhaney from Informa or, as you know them, the IRE ladies.
So these two wonderful professionals in the trade show world are amazing. I've worked with them for many years, Brandi even longer. And everything you see in the past, in the IREs, in all of the shows, and all the education, these are the ladies who make it happen. So Shelby and Brandi welcome to the show.

Brandi McElhaney:
Thanks-

Shelby Snelson:
[crosstalk 00:01:05] Thank you. Thanks for having us.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Thank you. Coffee Conversations wouldn't be right if we weren't talking about IRE and what's happening because what a weird year. It was this time last year we were just coming back from Dallas, we were all exhausted because that was such a huge show, and then boom, nope we're not traveling anymore. So you've had quite the year of a lot going on, a lot of changes. So before we really dive into that I was hoping, Shelby maybe we can start with you, if you could introduce yourself and tell everybody a little bit about yourself, and what you do with Informa and IRE?

Shelby Snelson:
Sure. Well good morning everyone and thanks again for having me on. I'm Shelby Snelson, the show manager for the International Roofing Expo at Informa. I've been with Informa for over 13 years and I've been working on the IRE for a little over two years, been several times before that. I'm over general show operations, marketing, registration, housing, so just kind of all the things. And it's a wonderful show, I love working on it, and sometimes it's kind of surprising to people that we've got a team of about nine people in the office that do nothing but work on the IRE 365 days a year.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Wow. That's a lot-

Shelby Snelson:
That sure is. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I love it. Brandi can you introduce yourself?

Brandi McElhaney:
Sure. I'm Brandi McElhaney and I'm the senior conference manager for the show. I've been on IRE for about 16 years now and with Informa for about 18. So I handle all of the education for the regular conference program, as well as some show floor education. So I'm glad to be here, thanks for having us.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I'm so glad to have you. I have to tell all of you out there Brandi has put up with so much, in training me, over the years. On presentations, on me asking 10 million questions, "Can I present? How do we get in? How does it work?" And, Brandi, you've always been the utmost professional and you've helped us all so much to make that show amazing. Thank you for all you've done and do.

Brandi McElhaney:
Thank you. This is my favorite, you guys are easy to work with.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I don't know if everybody always thinks that but I'm glad you do. You know what? I think for everybody out there let's just talk, just for a second, about how this works. So Shelby can you talk a little bit about Informa and just who Informa is?

Shelby Snelson:
Sure. So Informa, we're a huge global company. We're actually the world's largest trade show organizer. And Informa, globally, produces about 600 events in a normal year. Brandi and I work out of the Dallas office. And the Dallas office has about 12 of those events, that we produce, out of the year. And these are large business-to-business trade events in the residential and commercial construction industry, so this is definitely our wheelhouse. Before Informa we were Hanley Wood and as Hanley Wood we purchased the IRE from the NRCA back in, I believe, 2006. So we've got longstanding history in the industry and working really closely together with NRCA.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That's the thing, a lot of people still are probably a little confused at times about where does Informa and the IRE ... How does it connect with NRCA? And, I have to say, I feel very blessed to be able to sit on your advisory board for the IRE and work very closely with Brandi. So Brandi maybe you can explain, or just share with everybody, how you all work with the NRCA and how that ... The great collaboration that we always see?

Brandi McElhaney:
Sure. They are on our advisory board panel, so we have about three or four members of NRCA on the panel, and we've been working with them for ... I personally have been working with them for about 15 years. And, again, this is my favorite industry and the people there are amazing. They're great, great partners. And it truly is a team effort, they're just ... Mark Graham, I know he's on here, he is my technical guru. Like anything technical I ask him. Reid Ribble is amazing. I mean, McKay, everybody ... Bennett Judson, oh my gosh, she is amazing to work with. 

Heidi Ellsworth:
Awesome.

Brandi McElhaney:
They hold their annual meeting at our show and some education as well, so we're just truly a team. Anything industry related they're our go-to people. It's an amazing partnership.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah, I love ... Well we all ... Love working with the NRCA, agree. Everybody there it just ... When we sit in those advisory board meetings, and I don't know if everyone knows out there, but a lot of time ... I mean, so much time goes into really making planning, the education, making sure that it's going to really help contractors businesses and that it's going to grow their technical business, everything that they need. And Brandi leads all of that up, working with Shelby and the team, and so it's pretty cool. It is really cool, when you get to finally see how it works in the backend because who knew?
So when we are looking at that, for this year, okay so now ... Okay. And before we dive into 2020/2021 I do want to remind everybody this is a Q&A, so if you have questions let us know. We're going to actually have a few special guests showing up on the show, so we're pretty excited about that as we go along too. But if you have any questions we can either bring you on video, we can bring you on audio, or I can just ask them. But this is the place to find out all the secrets, and everything that you didn't know, about what's going to be happening with the IRE virtual and live shows this year.
So, Shelby, let's start with IRE Virtual. It's next week. What can they expect? What's going to happen?

Shelby Snelson:
Sure. So we have selected a partner that has an amazing platform, it's AI technology based. And we selected this platform specifically because it focuses on networking and education, and those are the two things that we felt were the most important to convey to the industry on the virtual event. So if you haven't registered yet, and haven't taken a look at the platform, you'll see a variety of different things you can do on the platform. We've got scheduled meetings you can do with different participants. We have live drop-in meetings that are kind of similar to this, it's a Zoom-based platform. Brandi's going to talk a lot about the education, she's got a wonderful schedule planned. We've got fun events every day to keep it light and remind us that we do have a lot of fun when we're at the IRE, and we didn't want to miss out on that on this virtual edition. We've got a lot of manufacturers, over 50 that are signed up. And so we think it's going to be a great week.
Of course, it doesn't replace convening in person and we all wish we were in Vegas together this week but we think this is the next best option and we hope it's going to be a really good event.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I think it's going to be great. You know what? I was lucky enough last night to get a full tour of the site, and to go through the dashboard and look at everything. We have it up on screen right now, so this is really how you're going to be looking at the virtual IRE and it is really cool. I mean, you can make your own schedules; you can set meetings; you can go check out all of the really cool booths that are out there, including RoofersCoffeeShop. So yeah, it really is going to be great.
Brandi maybe you can talk just a little bit about the education. What's going on there?

Brandi McElhaney:
Sure. We are starting each day with a live event. Our first day includes Reid Ribble, he's going to give us an industry update; the next day is Mark Graham and a technical panel; and on the third day it's Trent Cotney and a COVID related legal session. So those are the three events that'll start live each day. The rest of the conference sessions are actually on demand. Well they're timed but they're technically available after that time passes, you can view them on demand, as well as 30 days after the show. So we have a host of business related topics, technical safety, legal, you name it. And we have our top speakers in there, so it's truly exciting. And, again, we can't wait to be there in person but this is the next best thing, so we're excited.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That is great. And I love the combination of live and on demand because I know ... I'm fortunate enough to be one of the speakers and we did all of the taping, and recording ... I'm not supposed to say video tape anymore because that's all. Just so you all know out there we're supposed to say record. And so we recorded our session a couple weeks ago, three or four weeks ago, so you had time to go through it. So I think you're going to find a lot of great on demand presentations on there. And, in fact, we have someone, a special guest here who I'd like to bring on, who's going to be one of the live presenters, so he didn't get to record it ahead of time but we have Trent Cotney. Trent are you there?

Trent Cotney:
I am here. Hey, there we go.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Hey.

Brandi McElhaney:
Hi Trent.

Trent Cotney:
How's it going? It's so great to be here. Brandi, Shelby how are you guys doing?

Brandi McElhaney:
Good, how are you?

Shelby Snelson:
We're good.

Trent Cotney:
[crosstalk 00:11:04] Heidi it's always good to see you. Heidi I just want to mention a quick story. So Brandi, I've known Brandi for a long time now, right? And every time I'm at IRE I'm inevitably running around just going from place to place or whatever it is, but I always see Brandi somewhere. And every time I see her I just smile, I just feel better and I know I'm going to get through whatever I got to get through. So Brandi I miss you. I'm looking forward to being able to see you again. So I figured I'd just say that because it's always refreshing every time I get to see you guys.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Trent I feel the exact same way. It's like, "Okay, everything's all right. We're going to be okay." Yeah.

Trent Cotney:
Right.

Brandi McElhaney:
I didn't know I was going to blush this morning.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Watch out, on these Coffee Conversations we do a lot of high fiving.

Trent Cotney:
Right.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Trent tell us about the live sessions, how that's going to work. I have to tell you I've been great ... IRE great job on social media and emails, and stuff. I've been seeing Trent's face more than normal even and so I'm excited to ... I'll be on there listening but, Trent, what's it going to be all about?

Trent Cotney:
I'm real excited about this because we are going to hit the big topics with COVID-19, we're going to hit contracts, HR, safety. But what I wanted to do was do it a little bit different, so you're not just going to hear from me, we've got a fantastic panel. So I've got Ken Kelly, Kelly Roofing, most of the listeners know who he is. I mean, just a great guy, leader in the industry. We've got Michelle Boykin from Rackley Roofing, same thing. And then we have John Kenney with Cotney Consulting. And what we're going to do is have this be a panel discussion, so I'm going to talk about a topic from my perspective, what I see from the legal standpoint, and then I'm going to go down and have each of them talk about what their experiences are.
We did a sort of dry run the other day and it's going to be good, it's really going to ... Because you're going to get ... You're not just going to hear it from me, you're going to hear what's going on in the real world. And I think everybody needs to tune into that because it's how these leaders of the industry, how they're basically handling all the different issues that come up with COVID-19. So it should be a good one. I'm really looking forward to it.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That's going to be great. You know Michelle's on right now, hello Michelle out there. And I love listening to Michelle speak. And the two of you talking, and Ken Kelly, oh my gosh. I mean, that whole panel you put together, Trent, amazing.
So I also know ... And I'm not sure if Roscoe's on or not but I also know Roscoe Green is going to be speaking with me. Roscoe's part of Cotney. So you have a number of people out there who are really going to be bringing some great information to the industry.

Trent Cotney:
Yeah, absolutely. I believe Roscoe's speaking with you, Heidi, right?

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yep. Yeah.

Trent Cotney:
And that's going to be a real interesting topic on diversity, technology, inclusion, all that kind of stuff. So yeah, it's ... I looked at the lineup the other day and I was like, "Wow, this is really great." I'm really looking forward to it.

Heidi Ellsworth:
It's going to be great. Well that's great. Well if there's any questions out there, I see Michelle just said hi, hello Michelle, be sure to ask them. Trent's going to be on here for a little while but Trent thank you so much. Thanks for all you do for the industry.

Trent Cotney:
Sure. Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That's awesome-

Brandi McElhaney:
And Trent I also wanted to give a shout out to you because I know your world has been upside down the last year and I appreciate you taking the time to do this session for us, and being here today.

Trent Cotney:
Hey, always my pleasure. I love doing it. It's fun and I think this one's going to be really exciting because it's not canned, it's going to all be fresh and just a conversation. That's what I think people are looking for, so I think it's going to be great.

Brandi McElhaney:
Awesome.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That's awesome. Great. Thank you Trent. Thank you so much-

Trent Cotney:
Thank you.

Heidi Ellsworth:
... for taking the time this morning. This is awesome.

Trent Cotney:
All right. See you guys, take care.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah.

Brandi McElhaney:
Bye.

Heidi Ellsworth:
So, Brandi, let's talk real quick to about ... And Shelby, both of you, about special events. We have all this education, which I mean honestly go through ... Everybody should be going through and picking their ... Signing up for their courses now. We're going to go through how to register at the end of the Coffee Conversations. But there are some really awesome special events. What do you have planned for everybody? Shelby do you want to go with that?

Shelby Snelson:
Sure. Well we have one fun session a day, we've tried to spread them out over the three days. On the first day we have SRS hosting a cigar and whiskey tasting. We've got a ... She's a wine and whiskey expert from the Today show, she's wonderful, and she's hosting for SRS. This is going to be a great session, we think it's going to be super fun, very interactive. And then the second day we have the National Women in Roofing hosting a virtual poker night with a live interactive poker group. Our team did a demo last week with the poker people, this is going to be so much fun. Everyone's going to want to join in on this one. Even if you don't know anything about poker, which none of our team did, we had a blast and learned a lot, and it was super fun and interactive. And then on the third day we've got the City of Las Vegas hosting a sessions and it's like a best of compilation from Cirque du Soleil. So lots of fun entertainment that's going on during the week, in addition to the business classes.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That's awesome. That's awesome. And I want to remind everybody if you have any questions about what we're talking about be sure to ask them, put them into the question box, Megan and I will get them out there. But we have another special guest. So Dave Brower with SRS, who you were just talking about, the whiskey and cigars, some of our favorite things, is here today. Dave welcome to the show.

Dave Brower:
Good morning. Thank you. Thrilled to be here with you all.

Heidi Ellsworth:
We are so happy to have you. So SRS it's always like, "What are they doing? What are they doing?" It's always so exciting. So can you share a little bit more? Shelby kind of teed it up for you but let us know what's going to be happening with our whiskey and cigars?

Dave Brower:
Yeah, love to. So we're proud to continue our support with IRE, we always enjoy going to the show, it's one of the highlights of our year. This year we wanted to do something a little different, especially with the whole virtual events that we're doing. So we're doing the Whiskey and Cigar Pairing, it's a virtual event, it's going to be a lot of fun. We're co-sponsoring it with Versico. And, as Shelby mentioned, we've got Leslie Sbrocco, who is from NBC's Today show. She's a wine and spirits expert, great person to listen to, very knowledgeable. And she's going to be discussing tips on how you can pair whiskey or bourbon with the perfect cigar, so it should be a great, great time. We're looking forward to it. And, as an added bonus, the first 200 people that attend the event will get a pair of whiskey glasses and a great cigar sent to their home. So we look forward to seeing how all that goes.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I got to go sign up. I love it, that is so cool. Well and you also are going to have a booth, right?

Dave Brower:
We are, yep. Yep. So a couple other things we're doing ... Well let me back up. With the virtual event, as part of the training, John DeRosa, who is well known in the industry and we're honored to have him on our team, John will be doing a presentation next Thursday at 11:00 Eastern talking about pricing strategies and how to help contractors with the pricing strategies, and especially in today's market. So a lot of valuable tips and everything that people can take away from that.
At the event, in August, we're thrilled to be there. Great it's going to be in Vegas this year, that should be an awesome time. But we're going to do our SRS IRE Concert, as we do every year. This year it's going to be at the House of Blues on Thursday August the 11th. And we're very excited to announce that we're going to have Darius Rucker and Little Big Town as our featured performers at that event.
The other thing that we're doing with this year's event is all the proceeds are going to be split amongst the National Women in Roofing, is one of our groups; the second is The Roofing Alliance, part of the NRCA; and then the third is our SRS Raise the Roof Foundation, which benefits veterans and their families, disaster relief, which we've had a lot of here lately, and then also women and children in crisis in local communities. So we're thrilled that the event still looks like it's going to be happening in August. And we're glad we were able to get the acts to come down and perform.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Last fall, when we were still kind of ... We've been trying to figure ... You guys, I can't believe how much, Shelby, you and Brandi have had to coordinate, and figure out. But I was lucky enough to have a podcast with Dan Tinker and talk about that concert, and talk about the proceeds. And I have to tell you I was just kind of jumping up and down in my seat when he told me because to promote, and to benefit, National Women in Roofing and The Roofing Alliance with diverse scholarships, and everything that Raise the Roof does, I mean, Dave that's just so cool. It's just awesome.

Brandi McElhaney:
Amazing.

Dave Brower:
Yeah, well we're very excited to do that. The National Women in Roofing, the board, will be on stage with us. We're going to introduce them, so everybody will get a chance to meet them at the show.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That is so cool. [crosstalk 00:21:17] Also I want to give a plug too, I don't want to go past, but anyone who has not heard John DeRosa speak you need to do it, you need to sign up for that class. I was lucky enough just to be on a webinar ... It's been a busy month. But I was on a webinar with John this week, earlier, and he's just such a great speaker, and such wisdom on sales and marketing, so really a great educational opportunity.

Brandi McElhaney:
He's one of our most popular speakers.

Dave Brower:
Good. Good. Yeah, we think a lot of him, so glad he could do that for us.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That is great. Well, Dave, anything else out there that we should be knowing about? I know that SRS is doing a lot across the board and I can't tell you how much we appreciate everything that you're doing.

Dave Brower:
Well we're all about the roofing industry, we're very excited to be part of it, we're excited to help advance things that are critical to the roofing industry, so we're excited for the show next week. I'm glad we were able to do both the virtual and the in person show, so I think it's going to be a lot of fun and we're here to support the industry any way we can.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Well, Dave, if you can stay on for a minute we're going to try something? I know Megan's in the background probably going, "Oh my gosh, what's she doing?" But let's see if we can bring Jennifer Stone on and while Dave is still up here. Megan, Jennifer are you there or Michelle Boykin? Two of the ladies who are the leadership of National Women in Roofing.

Jennifer Stone:
Hi.

Heidi Ellsworth:
So Jennifer I see a note here that you wanted to say something to Dave, so I thought, "Well let's just bring you on and have you say it."

Jennifer Stone:
I don't even know if I can get all my words straight. We are so thrilled that SRS has chosen National Women in Roofing to receive some of these funds, and just the dedication to diversity and education, and really looking at the things that are needed in our industry. I might get a little choked up actually, it's just it's so awesome. I remember too, when Heidi called me and told me about the call with Dan, and we were just all blown away. We're going to do really great things and we appreciate it.

Dave Brower:
You're welcome. Again, we're honored to do it.

Jennifer Stone:
Thank you.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Well we're going to be dancing at that concert. I tell you what, you're going to have a lot of women in there.

Jennifer Stone:
For sure.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I love it. Well-

Dave Brower:
Darius Rucker is really excited to be there, so it's ... When we had to move the concert we weren't sure we were going to be able to get him and he's like, "No, I'm coming. I'm ready to be there." So that's going to be a lot of fun.

Jennifer Stone:
Great.

Shelby Snelson:
Awesome.

Heidi Ellsworth:
So cool. So, Jennifer, while we have you here why don't you tell us about this poker party? I love it that the National Women are doing the poker part of IRE.

Jennifer Stone:
That's right. That's right. Okay, yeah, for sure. It was kind of teed up a little bit, but we can't be in Vegas together so we figured we'd bring a little Vegas to you until we can. So we decided to go ahead and work with the wonderful ladies of Informa, and team up to come up with this great idea. We decided poker was it, so you can [inaudible 00:24:39] to meet the ladies in National Women in Roofing and see if you can beat us at the tournament. We have some really wonderful prizes, so we'll be giving some prizes away, some things to our gift store, as well as Amazon gift cards and a couple other special prizes. So yeah, we're really excited. Come, join. There is some special instructions to join, so Shelby hopefully you'll touch that after. You have to sign up for registration, and then when you're going through and picking all your schedule, and your classes, that's when you can sign up for the poker.

Shelby Snelson:
Perfect.

Heidi Ellsworth:
We're going to go through that towards the end because yeah there is a lot of ... I was noticing, because I was signing up for everything, and we want to make sure that everybody gets through because it's going to be fun. I mean, that is-

Jennifer Stone:
It will be.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That is so cool. So, Jenny, while we have you here too, real quick, why don't you tell us about National Women in Roofing Day during the live event in August?

Jennifer Stone:
Okay. So National Women in Roofing Day is a go, as long as we can all meet together live. It is going to be August 8th. It kicks off right before the IRE show, so there's a day or two in between there, so it's August 8th. Last year ... Was it last year? I think it was still last year, I can't even keep track anymore. We had 350 women that joined us and it was just an electrifying day. We had TED talks in the morning, we're going to do the same type of session where we get to bring in rapid fire speakers in the morning. Then we have lunch where we can all connect and spend some time mentoring each other, and talking. And then we break out into sessions, in the afternoon, chalked full of education. We've had some wonderful submissions and things that we're going to bring. And we're really excited.
We also just scheduled another live Roof Walk. Last year we brought about 75 women up on a Roof Walk at the Convention Center. This year we're going to do the same thing in Vegas, so that'll be great. So those are two things that we want to make sure everyone saves the date, and marks their calendar, and joins us if they can.

Heidi Ellsworth:
So I have to tell you, Brandi you have done so much in the past for National Women in Roofing Day and just getting it all put together. You were there at the very beginning, the first one we did. Again, I know we keep saying this, but thank you for all you've done to make ... I mean, Informa has been ... I remember when Jennifer and I reached out to you the very first time, and we said, "We want to do this and this is our plan. What do you think?" And it was like, "Yes, we're going to do it. This is great."

Jennifer Stone:
That is [inaudible 00:27:22]. Other people have been like, "We're going to do this big day, we're going to get all these women together." There were some that were like, "How many women can you really get?" And Informa has always been excellent. Even working on this virtual one, we have these brainstorming sessions, it's such a collaborative, positive effort that we have together and I truly appreciate that. It makes our lives so much easier to be able to reach ... A lot of the women in the industry need to see the representation, and faces, and we love it.

Brandi McElhaney:
Well you guys make it easy. You guys are a great partner as well-

Shelby Snelson:
For sure.

Brandi McElhaney:
It's been a joy to work you guys. And watching-

Shelby Snelson:
Absolutely, we wish all of our partners were just like you guys, you're wonderful.

Brandi McElhaney:
[inaudible 00:28:10], we're not just saying it. It's true.

Heidi Ellsworth:
So one of the questions ... I don't want to put you, Shelby and Brandi, on the spot but I'm just curious if this is something you look at but how have you seen the increase in diversity and women attending the IRE in the last five to six years? Have you seen the increases coming through?

Shelby Snelson:
We have. Looking at our demographics there's definitely a shift in who's coming to the IRE and I think it could be, in part, to the growth that we've seen with National Women in Roofing. It's really exciting to see and it's a trend that we hope continues.

Heidi Ellsworth:
[crosstalk 00:28:52] Last year was 400, 500, Jenny I think, women at National Women in Roofing Day?

Jennifer Stone:
Yeah, we had about 350 that registered. And then throughout the day we had women came in and out then, depending on flights and stuff, so it was great.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. I'll always make the numbers just a little bit bigger, so we all have that. Sorry. But it was awesome. It was awesome and such a great day. And this poker party's going to be just a great way to start it off. So this whole idea of having our live, getting us all together, getting us excited, and then meeting up again in August it really ... I think we were all a little bit not so sure but Shelby and Brandi it seems to have some real legs. What are you seeing, registration-wise and everything that's going on, for the live show coming up next week?

Shelby Snelson:
So we've had a really good week in registration and we're expecting a really robust virtual event next week. This is obviously our first time to ever do a virtual event in this market, so everything's sort of unprecedented and we weren't sure what to expect. We're very pleased with the response by the industry, both on the manufacturer's side, as well as registration. We're expecting between 2,500 and 3,000 people next week to convene virtually with us, so that's exciting. It's an exciting landmark for the IRE's history and we're really looking forward to it.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Perfect. Well Dave and Jennifer thank you so much, we're so excited. Cigars, whiskey, and poker, and roofing, it all goes together.

Jennifer Stone:
Excited too

Shelby Snelson:
[crosstalk 00:30:29] Love it.

Heidi Ellsworth:
[crosstalk 00:30:32] Thank you so much. Have a great day. Thank you for being on, enjoy the rest of the show.

Dave Brower:
Okay. Thank you.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Thank you. So, okay, we talked earlier a little bit about NRCA and about the great relationship that you have, and that we have, that overall has really kind of made the IRE happen. So we have, actually, a guest on to talk, another one ladies. To come on and visit about what's going on from an NRCA perspective next week, so McKay Daniels is here, who is the COO of the NRCA. McKay there you are. Good morning-

McKay Daniels:
Good morning.

Heidi Ellsworth:
... welcome to the show.

Shelby Snelson:
Hi McKay.

McKay Daniels:
Great to see you. A long time listener, first time caller.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I love it.

McKay Daniels:
Yeah, it really is an exciting week next week. But before I dive into that, it was kind of touched on earlier, but Brandi and Shelby we do have such a strong great working relationship. And I've got to say these past two weeks or so you guys have really been in our thoughts, based in Dallas. You're not built for the Chicago weather that you've got out there right now. It looks like you've got your heat back, and water back, and stuff, so hopefully it turned out okay for you and your families but it was scary.

Brandi McElhaney:
I was homeless for a few days. I didn't have any water or Internet, so that was interesting. But yes, we're all back to normal and we're 80 degrees right now, which is crazy.

Shelby Snelson:
Yes, we're suffering-

McKay Daniels:
Oh well now ...

Shelby Snelson:
... from whiplash at this point.

McKay Daniels:
That's like a 2021 would you rather. Would you rather have water or Internet? That's a tough call.

Brandi McElhaney:
Exactly.

McKay Daniels:
That's a tough call.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That is.

Shelby Snelson:
It is.

McKay Daniels:
Yeah, from an NRCA's perspective, next week, we're really excited about it. The awards ceremony, that'll be taking place on Friday, is kind of the moment where we take a pause and really honor the pioneers and those that are doing leaps and bounds ahead of the pack, if you will, for the industry. And given everything that's gone on this year, you kind of touched on it at the beginning Heidi with COVID, and the drama, and the hardship that the country and the world's been through, really think it's important to take a pause and reflect on the good that has still happened in this year of darkness, if you will. And so on Friday at 3:00 Eastern we're going to be doing the awards ceremony.
And for those of you that haven't been to a live IRE before I'm excited about this because it's the opportunity to bring IRE into your living rooms. For those that maybe haven't been able to take time off and go to the live show this is a chance to get a feel for what it consists of, and hopefully then we can see you in Vegas in August.
But the awards on Friday, they're going to be a whole host of them. One of them is the Gold Circle Award, which it recognizes the companies that do a really amazing project or also then really do amazing work on safety preparedness. We've all been driving by, or see a really cool roof, and it's, "How'd they do that? That's not craftsmanship, that's art," or structurally, or technically really profound. And the Gold Circle Award seeks to honor those folks who really did amazing, amazing work in the past year. And that's at the company level.
Then there's award for the individual employees, the MVP awards, which just like the name indicates the Gold Circle is for the company, the MVP is for the employees. And there's two different metrics there as well. Every company, every crew, has somebody that does outstanding work in the office, on the roof, in the shop. And that's critical and vital, and we want to recognize that person.
But then there's also another component to the MVP awards, which is the person that does exceptional performance or other noteworthy work outside of the field, on their time off. We've all met those people, you come into the shop on a Monday and it's, "Hey what'd you do over the weekend?" And they rattle off, "Well I organized this fundraiser to raise money for laptops for inner-city kids who don't have Internet access," or something. And you just are inspired and awed by them because all you did is watch Netflix and maybe clean the bathroom. And so the MVP really seeks to give those folks who quietly, day after day, week after week, go and do that quiet, simple but hard work of giving back in the community.
And we'll also have the CNA/NRCA award for charitable involvement by companies. And, of course, the Piper Award that's kind of the lifetime achievement. It's NRCA's most prestigious award. And given the dynamics with COVID, and the fact that we can't all be together, which is ... It is sad. It'd be better if we could have that human interaction. I think we're really trying to make it a special afternoon for these awardees, for these folks to really get the spotlight that they deserve, and inspire each one of us that are watching to up our own game a little bit better and to remind us that there is a lot of good going on in this industry, so very exciting. Very exciting week and we're very excited about it.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I have to tell you, one of the things I love about the IRE every year is the awards ceremony and seeing the Gold Circle Award winners, the MVPs. When you see the MVPs up there on the stage it's just you're so proud, it's just such a moment. And so I think this is even though weird, and different than we probably want it, it's such a golden opportunity for everyone to see it and to really celebrate our great roofing industry. So can you talk about, and maybe this goes back to ... Brandi and Shelby I know there's a little bit different way to register for the award ceremony? So for people out there we want to make sure everybody's getting onto that. How does that work?

McKay Daniels:
Awesome, great-

Shelby Snelson:
Sure ...

McKay Daniels:
Go ahead Shelby.

Shelby Snelson:
Oh sure. Well we've got the awards on the platform, on the virtual event platform. It's listed under education and find the session, favorite the session to your calendar, and save the Zoom link. We've got the Zoom link that will take you directly into the awards presentation. So we just want to make sure everyone sees the session, gets it on their calendar, favorites it, and then plans to attend.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah, it's easy-

Brandi McElhaney:
Registration actually isn't required, so they just go on there and save the link-

Shelby Snelson:
Good point.

Brandi McElhaney:
... log in at the time of the event.

Shelby Snelson:
Yeah, pretty easy.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That is really cool. And McKay we also ... I mean, I know we kind of touched on it before but NRCA is also going to have a number of speakers, notably Mark Graham who just does an amazing job every year on education. There's a lot of issues out there this year, that people should be listening to, that are going to be brought to the forefront.

McKay Daniels:
Without a doubt. And yeah, you can always tell when Mark hits the road because my email inbox fills up with the, "Hey, great presentation from your team last week," and that type of thing. And IRE will be no different. COVID brought about a lot of new issues and new dynamics to wrestle with in our virtual remote world, like this, but also a lot of the same issues are still out there. And our technical department continues to get ... Actually call volume has increased this past year, not declined. There's a lot of questions and a lot of serious issues, and Mark and the team will be talking about them, and it'll be a great presentation.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That is great.

Brandi McElhaney:
Always is.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Brandi, yeah, just a few more on that. Isn't it one of the most popular presentations every year?

Brandi McElhaney:
It is, yeah. Helene Hardy Pierce, Stephen Teal, Dane Bradford, and Mark Graham. I mean, what more can you ask for?

McKay Daniels:
The all-star team.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I know.

Brandi McElhaney:
Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth:
It will be very ... I mean, that is one just not to miss. So good. So good. McKay thank you for taking the time, I know you have a lot going on over there and you guys are just ... I know how busy you are. This year of COVID has made us double, triple, quadruple busy it seems like.

McKay Daniels:
Amen to that. But, no, this is great. I wouldn't miss this and thanks for having me on.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Thank you. And thank you. And make sure, everybody, you get signed up for the NRCA awards, sign up for Mark Graham's presentations. It's going to be a great virtual.
So I wanted to kind of switch just a little bit from the virtual next week. And at the very end we're going to take everybody through the site and just double check to make sure everybody knows how to get registered. But I think there's a lot of questions out there, Shelby and Brandi, about August and the live, and what's going on there. So Shelby maybe give us just a little overview of what the plans are for August and the live IRE.

Shelby Snelson:
Sure. Well we are really excited to say that we are all systems go for August. The show dates are August 10th through the 12th. We know it's going to feel a little bit weird to be in Vegas in the middle of August for the IRE but we, at Informa, couldn't be happier to be reconvening finally. And we are making all the preparations, as we normally would for the show. We've got housing opening up in a couple of weeks, we've got registration slated to go live at the end of April, Brandi's working on our education program, and we've got exhibitors signing up, the floor's filling up like normal. So we know it'll be a bit smaller compared to our Dallas event, just with everything going on with COVID, but again we just couldn't be more excited to be doing an in person event again. And we hope everyone else is too and we hope everyone will plan to join us.

Heidi Ellsworth:
We're looking forward to it. We're working together with you, from RoofersCoffeeShop, because we want to do some fun special things while we're there in Las Vegas. How is the educational side going to work Brandi? Are they going to see the same presentations in August that they're going to see next week or how's that working out?

Brandi McElhaney:
Some of the same, only because there can be ... Especially like with the Trent session on COVID related issues, I mean, it's March so there's going to be new issues come August, so we're going to do an update on that. But it's basically going to be a combination of the same with some updates and some new content as well, so kind of a mixture of both.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Everything. So we had a question come in from Charles, Charles Antis, thank you. I'm not sure if Charles is still on or not, but he had a question about what's the plan for charitable ... You always do your give back day, service day, that's around the live. He wants to know is there anything happening next week around that or are there any plans already in progress for August?

Brandi McElhaney:
We are working on that. Actually just heard from Rebuilding Together this week and they are sort of back to normal. Previously they were limiting the amount of volunteers per house but they're sort of back to normal, with the exception of mask and social distancing, and stuff but so they're ready for us and we hope to do it again this year. It's my favorite day of the year, so I hope that we're able to do it. There's such a need right now too, so I hope-

Heidi Ellsworth:
[crosstalk 00:42:44] A huge need.

Brandi McElhaney:
... come together. Absolutely, yes.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I know we were talking about a little bit earlier, so what's the schedule? When do the hotels open? When do people start registering for August? Shelby how's that working?

Shelby Snelson:
Sure. So the housing hotel reservations piece is going to open first. We're pretty close on that one. I expect it to open in the next couple of weeks. We can start to book hotels at that point. We're working on registration now and we've got that going live in April, I believe it's the end of April. So just keep on eye on emails and our social media, we'll let everyone know when both of those are available, and just kind of go from there but we're getting close.

Heidi Ellsworth:
We're getting close. So now if you have questions out there, and you have any questions on logistics ... Because I have to tell you at least once a day, as I'm on calls talking to different people in the industry, they'll say, "What's happening with IRE? Do you know? Have you heard? What's going on?" So if you have any questions out there now's your time to ask them.
One of the things too, Brandi, that I see ... Jenny talked about the National Women in Roofing Day that's in August. Can you go through how ... And I don't know if you even have this yet but how that schedule would work? So we have hopefully the community day, National Women in Roofing Day, how is all that looking?

Brandi McElhaney:
Normally National Women in Roofing Day is held two days prior to the start of IRE, only because the next day ... The day before IRE is our Community Service Day and it used to be our gold tournament, which that's changed a bit, but then also the NRCA education is held that day, so we try not to compete with that. So, again, it's normally two days prior to the show and I think we're going to stick with that same schedule-

Heidi Ellsworth:
That's perfect ...

Brandi McElhaney:
... but we're still working on a lot of things, so-

Heidi Ellsworth:
[crosstalk 00:44:39] It's going to be here before we know it, it's so crazy.

Brandi McElhaney:
I know. Right.

Heidi Ellsworth:
And you just mentioned the training, I know that's a new thing that's happening ... Or I think it happened last year, they had it out in the tents where people ... Pro certification, where contractors could come in and do certifications or do training. Can you talk just a little bit about that?

Brandi McElhaney:
As far as I know that's continuing again for August. But, again, we're still working on some details. But as far as I know that's a go as well.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Okay.

Brandi McElhaney:
The NRCA is in charge of that. And we were working with them for the February show but stay tuned. I think that's going to work out. They're looking at some space on the show floor as well to sort of ... They're thinking about because of the heat, I think they're trying to do stuff on the show floor instead.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That makes sense. It's going to be hot. Be ready.

Shelby Snelson:
It's going to be hot.

Heidi Ellsworth:
But we'll be inside in the air conditioning. Hey, we just had a question come through and one of the questions was ... And Shelby I'm going to take this to you, is what are some of the safety precautions around COVID? I mean, obviously next week is virtual but when we're looking into August what are some of the safety precautions that you are putting in place? I know Informa does this with a lot of shows.

Shelby Snelson:
We do and that's a great question. So Informa's developed a set of safety, health, and wellness guidelines called AllSecure. We've got a lot of information about it on our website and it's just kind of our approach, Informa's approach, to how to do a trade show safely in a post-COVID world. So we're going to see things like physical distancing. Of course we're going to follow, and look toward, the state and federal guidelines. If there's a mask mandate we'll have to do masks at the show. We'll have hand washing stations, sanitizers. You'll probably see things like plexiglass or something at registration. Just whatever we can put in place to make people feel comfortable, and feel safe, to travel and be at an event you'll see those types of things at the show in August.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I know when we were working together and talking about that it was a lot about social distance, how far everybody's apart. And even in the booths making sure that there's wipes, that everything's being wiped down, and masks. So yeah, there's a lot.

Shelby Snelson:
There's a lot that goes into it. The cleaning's going to change. So we're rethinking all of the elements behind the trade show and figuring out, "Okay, now that we have this challenge of COVID what do we need to put in place to make sure that everyone's safe and healthy at the event?" That's the foremost thought.

Heidi Ellsworth:
There is so much out there that I was just looking ... Oh yeah, so Charles did have to leave but he did want to say that it's his favorite part Brandi, the Community Service is his favorite part. And they also said thank you about taking all your concerns for safety so serious and making this all happen for us. I mean, you ladies do so much.
We have another question that came in earlier and that was just really for contractors ... And maybe this is a good time we can bring that up because they're asking, "How do we sign up? How do we get involved with the live?" And then we've already talked about ... I mean, not the live, "How do we get involved with the virtual?" We've already talked about the live, that's coming so stay tuned. So I'm just going to pull this up on the screen for everybody and maybe we can walk through this Shelby?

Shelby Snelson:
Sure.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Just when people come in here they hit the register button, right?

Shelby Snelson:
Right, right. Hit the register button, for either show actually but definitely for virtual next week.

Heidi Ellsworth:
And this is TheRoofingExpo.com, it's the easiest-

Shelby Snelson:
RoofingExpo.com.

Heidi Ellsworth:
... one to remember. I just put in the and it comes up every time, it's so fast. I love it. And so you hit register. And then once you get into register?

Shelby Snelson:
If you've already registered for the platform you can hit the gray button on the right. If you're new and you just need to register for the virtual event you can hit that blue button that says register now, and it's going to take you to a really quick, brief registration form. After you complete it it's going to give you an automated link to access the platform and it's that simple.

Heidi Ellsworth:
It is that simple.

Shelby Snelson:
And you can immediately begin browsing the platform, looking at the manufacturers that are in the Exhibitor Directory, the products, the events that are taking place, the education, and start building your calendar and your schedule. The platform is very flexible and, obviously, it's designed so that we know people aren't sitting in front of their computers eight hours a day at our virtual event next week. So it has a calendar feature, you can block out times of the day when you know you're not going to be in front of your computer, and you can also block times when you know you will. And you can build your schedule, you can find meetings, send meeting invites to manufacturers and start building some networking.
And then another important thing to notice is the platform's actually open for 30 days after the event closes next week, so the show hours are 10:00 to 6:00 and that's the time when you really want to do all of your meetings. That's the whole purpose of the live events, is the live sessions and the scheduled meetings. After next Thursday the platform actually stays open until April the 2nd, so you can feel free to pop in, make sure you watch all those conference classes you might not have time to do next week, and continue to look at the products, and just get the most out of the platform and the content over the next 30 days.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Well and I think too one of the things to think about, from a contractor's perspective, is that now you can share all of these easily with everyone in your company.

Shelby Snelson:
Exactly.

Heidi Ellsworth:
And it's open until April 2nd, so if they see one and they're like, "This was just great, I need our safety manager to see this," they can get it over to the safety manager, or operations, or sales. It really opens up a whole new world of education.

Shelby Snelson:
It does, for sure. And registration, we've got a free code here that we're extending for free registration, and your registration to the virtual event also includes a free expo pass for the August show. It's a great value and it's a great opportunity to get all the folks in your firm a taste of what we offer at the IRE.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. And here's the code, right up here. This is free. You get on there, you get all this education, all these fun events, everything that's going ... I mean, it's just so much value. Brandi you were going to say something about the education and the companies too.

Brandi McElhaney:
I just wanted to say that it's important to note that for the live sessions those will be recorded as well, so if you're not able to log in at 10:00 AM Eastern Time each day they'll be available afterwards for the 30 days as well.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That is perfect. So for everyone, as you're looking at ... EXFR915. Not meaning to make everybody dizzy here but I want to take one more chance to really also ... When it comes to getting involved you have the educational, you have the special events, but you also have this amazing virtual trade show. Look at this booth, it's so cute. I want this in August too. It's great.

Brandi McElhaney:
It's adorable.

Heidi Ellsworth:
So really to be able to ... There's a whole Exhibitor Directory, you can by product directory. So tell us about this a little bit too Shelby.

Shelby Snelson:
So this is one of my favorite features of the virtual platform, honestly. I love the Exhibitor Directory, there's a lot of flexibility here for the manufacturers that are participating and building these virtual booths, and this is one of the really interactive features. There's some cool technology behind here, where attendees can come and visit a page like this, and actually drop a business card onto this page and it saves as a lead for the exhibitor. So there's a way that you can still connect, you can still get that interaction and that networking piece that you see on site.
During the actual show when you look at these, we call them contact cards, up above with each person that's registered for the event, under the exhibitors, you're going to see a little dot that says whether they're available, online, or busy. It's kind of like a Microsoft Teams aspect and it shows you their availability. And this is the feature where if you find someone online as you're browsing and you're like, "I would love to connect with them," you can simply do a drop-in meeting, and ping them right then and there on the spot, and have a quick little on the fly meeting.
So the platform is really based on that whole networking aspect and just fostering those connections, and keeping that networking piece alive. It's great technology, it's really intuitive and easy to use, and we've got a lot of resource materials on the website too. And our team is also available if anyone gets stuck or has questions we'd love to help answer those for everyone.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I can attest to that. I was on last night and I had so much help, and it really took me through it. And I have to tell you, I mean, it's so exciting. This inbox for the exhibitors, they will get your information. So not only do they get the drop in and the chat right there, where we're going to be monitoring it, but also I was just so excited last night when I saw Kendall Ekerson, my dear friend from Columbia Roofing, saying, "Hey, I want to get together. Can you talk to me next week?" So this really, I think, provides just ... I've seen a lot of virtual shows this last year, some good, some not so good. You guys really nailed it. This really looks great and I think it's going to be an excellent experience.

Shelby Snelson:
Thank you. We hope so.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I love it. So we are getting to the end of our hour but I just want to see, make sure if you have any questions ... Shelby and Brandi why don't you share a little bit about how to get ahold of you? If they're on this page or if they need help where do they go?

Shelby Snelson:
Sure. I believe there is a contact at the bottom of the page and we've got a great customer service team.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Right there, Help and Support.

Shelby Snelson:
Right there, there it is, Help and Support. You can also go through the IRE website and go through the Contact Us to get to our Informa team directly. We've got a customer service team through the platform that's helping us with the virtual event that's taking some of the customer service questions too, so you've kind of got two different avenues to reach out for help, but we're hear and willing for whatever questions you may have.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That is great. Brandi any last thoughts on attending, on what they should be doing, any suggestions?

Brandi McElhaney:
Not really. I'm excited about this. And, again, this is my favorite time of the year to be in person with you guys but this is the next best thing, I'm really excited. We have a great lineup so I hope people tune in.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I am expecting it. I think we're going to see a lot of people there. Well and you're already telling us the numbers are great. So I would really recommend everybody who's on this spread the word, let them know. I know I see a number of exhibitors on here and there are some great ways, that I learned last night, to just send out notes. I've seen it already [Kemi 00:56:15] where you can in front of attendees, attendees can get in front of exhibitors. It's probably, in many ways, going to be easier than a live show. So this is really your opportunity to make that connection online. I had someone last week say, "Don't say virtually, that's like it's not real." We are real, we're online. So as we go through this I encourage everybody to sign up, to spend some time on the site, and to enjoy all of the functions and special events. And as Dave said earlier, "Be the first one to sign up, and get those glasses and cigar." That sounds pretty great.

Shelby Snelson:
Very cool.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Now I did have one last question come up right before but it did say they'd registered yesterday and they had not been able to access the platform. So when that happens they just need to get to the help? And Shelby I'll connect you so that they know, this is someone on the show that we can connect. But how do people, like if they're having problems ... I know we said just go to Help and Support, and they'll help you get on?

Shelby Snelson:
Correct, that's the fastest way, or just reach out to us directly. So for this instance I'd be glad to take a look a that one and see, make sure that this person gets their link and can access the platform immediately. Sometimes there's a bit of a lag between registration and when that automated email comes through with the link, so we may just be in that time period but we'd be glad to take a look at it.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Also, check your junk mail. That happened to me-

Shelby Snelson:
Yes, great point.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah, junk mail, it's a bane of my existence.

Shelby Snelson:
Sure is.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah, it will get lost in there. Well great. Well ladies I have to tell you, as you well know, I've told you a couple times now, I really wanted you on the show and I am just so tickled that you've been here today, and that everybody sees you as we do, of being so extraordinary for everything that you do for the roofing industry. Thank you so much.

Brandi McElhaney:
Thank you Heidi, we appreciate it.

Shelby Snelson:
Yes, thank you so much. It's our pleasure and we're so happy to have been here.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Thank you. So for everybody who's out there thank you so much for being here today. Good luck next week with IRE, I know you'll do great, I know you're going to make great networking connections and hear some amazing speakers.
I want to invite all of you, two weeks from today, to come back here and we are going to have a special guest from Suprema but also past with the FM, who's going to be talking about very severe hail. And I have to tell you, very severe hail has been one of our top, top read articles on RoofersCoffeeShop in this last year, so this Coffee Conversation in two weeks is going to be amazing, very informative, so be sure to be here. And, as always, you can find all the Coffee Conversations under Read Listen Watch on RoofersCoffeeShop and you'll be able to get, not only the Coffee Conversations, but our webinars, podcasts, and all the other educational materials that we have out there. I want to say thank you again and have a wonderful day. Thank you ladies.

Brandi McElhaney:
Thanks Heidi. Bye.

Shelby Snelson:
Thanks Heidi.