Fostering community at your local tradeshow!

By Emma Peterson. 

Learn about the importance of industry tradeshows and what they can do for you. 

Tradeshows are one of the most fun and informative places to be in the industry. In this episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Megan Ellsworth sat down with Justin Shirley from State Roofing and Roofing Contractors Association of Washington (RCAW). Justin is the current RCAW president and is the VP of operations at State Roofing, “which is one of the largest residential roofers of Washington state since 1968,” he shared.  

Justin loves the industry tradeshows, he explained, “I've been in roofing for 30 years and been going to tradeshows for 30 years and I never get tired of them.” He keeps going back to these shows because he loves the sense of community that is fostered at them. He emphasized the power of local tradeshows, saying, “Local vendors and business owners talking about what's relative in the Pacific Northwest, what's going on, what's involved, products in our area and people in our area that represent you, it’s amazing.” 

This sense of community is what he and RCAW foster at their tradeshows. Justin explained, “We have been doing the tradeshow on and off for years since the early 2000s.” This event, while not annual, is something they make sure to host every few years as a way to connect the industry. With each year the show has grown a bit more and Justin describes it as a rallying point for the industry members in the state. He elaborated, “It just sets a great mood for the year to start off and see everybody, see people you haven't seen for a while, meet new people and what you can talk to them about and maybe incorporate in your year coming up in the roofing season that maybe you didn't think about.” 

Read the transcript or Listen to the full episode to learn more about what tradeshows can do for you!