ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Roofing Alliance, the foundation of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), announces the opening of the Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship Program for the 2022-23 academic year.

Accredited Post-Secondary Institution Scholarship

The Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship Program is open to employees, their spouses and their dependent children of roofing industry companies who plan to pursue careers in the roofing or construction industries. The program is named for Melvin Kruger, a former NRCA president, a former Roofing Alliance president and CEO of L.E. Schwartz & Son Inc., Macon, Ga., who is recognized not only as a great industry leader, but also as a person who has devoted much of his life to the cause of education.

The $5,000 scholarship award for this category is renewable for up to three years of undergraduate study if recipients meet eligibility requirements. Applicants must be:

• Full-time employees of a roofing industry company or their spouses or dependent children. Employees must have a minimum of one year of full-time employment with their companies as of the application deadline.
• High school seniors or graduates who plan to enroll or students who are already enrolled in a full-time undergraduate course of study.

Scholarship recipients are selected based on academic record; potential to succeed; leadership and participation in school and community activities; honors; work experience; a statement of career goals and aspirations; and an outside appraisal.

Accredited Career Technical Education Scholarship

The Accredited Career Technical Education Scholarship is designed to help those who are seeking a professional career inside the roofing industry and are attending a vocational or technical trade school. Those careers include but are not limited to roof system and sheet metal installers/fabricators, crane and equipment operators, foremen and superintendents, warehouse and inventory specialists, and other roofing trade specialties.

This Accredited Career Technical Education scholarship is not designed for those careers that require a four-year undergraduate degree. There will be a maximum of five recipients who will be eligible to receive a $1,000 award that is not renewable, but winners are eligible to apply again the following year.

Diversity Scholarship Program

New this year is the Diversity Scholarship program, which is open to African Americans, Hispanic and Latinos, Asian and Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Indigenous, LGBTQ+ and multi-racial students. All female students are also eligible regardless of race or ethnicity. Any other students who come from backgrounds that would add to the cause of diversity, regardless of race or gender, are eligible to apply, including applicants with physical, mental or other disabilities.

Employees, their spouses and their dependent children who are pursuing a construction science education at either an accredited post-secondary institution or an accredited vocational or technical trade school are eligible to apply. Each recipient (up to a maximum of three) is eligible to receive a $1,000 award. Awards are not renewable. However, students may reapply each year they meet the annual renewal requirements.

“We have been able to support 139 students with $960,000 in scholarship awards,” said Dave Lawlor, national sales manager of ROCKWOOL and current president of the Roofing Alliance. “These funds not only help the students but represent a contribution toward ensuring the future of the roofing industry. Contributions to the program are always welcome.”

To learn more about the Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship Program or to download the application, please visit www.roofingalliance.net or contact Alison L. LaValley, CAE at alavalley@nrca.net. Applications must be postmarked by 3 p.m. (CST) no later than Jan. 31, 2022.

MCLEAN, Va. — Submissions are being accepted for the 2022 North American Copper in Architecture (NACIA) Awards. Architects, designers, and sheet metal contractors are encouraged to submit projects completed in the past three years in the U.S. or Canada that feature copper architectural elements.

The NACIA Awards honor building industry professionals for their exceptional use of architectural copper in both new construction and in restorations, particularly in projects demonstrating copper’s versatility and beauty.

“The NACIA Awards is our yearly opportunity to put copper’s durability, sustainability and adaptability on display, showcasing why it is a clear choice as a building material,” said Larry Peters, CDA’s architectural applications specialist. “Every year since the awards program launched in 2008, we have been wowed by the innovative and impressive ways that copper is incorporated into building and restoration projects. We anticipate a similar level of excellence in 2022.”

Past NACIA winners have included both new construction and restoration projects and have ranged from educational facilities and historic government buildings to private residential homes and religious structures. Copper has been incorporated in a variety of ways, including ornaments, roofing, panels and screens, and other applications.

Judges will evaluate all submissions based on system design, integration of copper alloys, craftsmanship of installation, excellence in innovation or restoration, and green/sustainable building strategies. Winning projects will receive a citation and a copper plaque and will be featured in media outreach, promotional materials, and showcases within the copper industry.

All submissions are due by Feb. 28, 2022. To learn more about the NACIA awards program, including a gallery of past winners, visit the Copper in Architecture Awards Page.

STAFFORD, Va. — The Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) announced it has secured Shawn Van Dyke as keynote speaker for the SprayFoam 2022 Convention & Expo to be held Feb. 28 through March 3 in San Antonio, Texas.

A construction business expert, coach and author, Van Dyke will present "All-Star Creator: How Employees and Employers Create a Culture that attracts Top Talent.” The session — at 8 a.m. on March 2, 2022 — is designed to provide attendees with a framework for attracting and creating an all-star team amidst the skilled labor gap. Van Dyke’s keynote will be held at the largest annual U.S. event dedicated to spray polyurethane foam.

“This keynote is expected to pack the house,” says Rick Duncan, executive director of the SPFA. “Shawn Van Dyke is a widely respected construction business expert and author and his session topic couldn’t be more timely. The spray foam and construction industries are both experiencing a deep labor shortage and attracting quality talent and assembling effective teams is top-of-mind with everyone.”

Van Dyke authored two books: "Profit First for Contractors" and "The Paperwork Punch List." He believes construction business owners should be as good at business as they are at their craft. After 20-plus years of owning and operating multiple construction businesses, this became the impetus for his development of a system-by-system framework to help construction business owners grow in a purposeful, profitable way. He now works with construction business owners, executives, and managers globally. Van Dyke is also founder of the Built to Build Academy^®, which creates confident construction business owners through business training and coaching programs.

“The construction industry has done a poor job of giving up-and-coming generations a reason to pursue construction opportunities as well as a clear path for doing so,” says Van Dyke. “My session is designed to give company owners and employees ideas for building a culture that attracts talent from both within and outside the industry.”

Visit the SPFA at www.sprayfoam.org for more information.

The Roofing Alliance has revealed seven teams of college students that will compete in its 2021-22 Construction Management Student Competition.

The Student Competition, now in its eighth year, invites students to create both a written and oral proposal for a roofing project. Five finalists will present their oral presentations at the 2022 International Roofing Expo on Feb. 2 in New Orleans, with the winners announced at the National Roofing Contractors Association’s Awards Ceremony and Cocktail Reception that same day.

The teams are:

• Bradley University, Peoria, Ill. – Nicholas Williams, Adam Sienkiewicz (team captain), Adriana Diaz, Victoria Urbanczyk; faculty coach is Souhail Elhouar; team mentor is Doug Duncan, Nations Roof LLC, Villa Park, Ill.
• California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Calif. – Nick Reeves, Chance Giessinger (alternate), Claire Peters, Nathan Horst (team co-captain), Steven Zheng (team co-captain); faculty coach is Jeong Woo; team mentor is Rudy Gutierrez, Shell Roofing Solutions, Chino, Calif.
• Clemson University, Clemson, S.C. – Jackson Davis, James Goodwin (team captain), Allie Stark, Declan Fay (alternate), Walker Moseley; faculty coach is Dhaval Gajjar; team mentor is Will Fort, Bone Dry Roofing, North Charleston, S.C.
• Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo. – Kendall Carter (team captain), Dylan Smithwick, Mackenzie Voshage and Jackson Wathen; faculty advisor is Nicholas Rubino; team mentor is Kent Nelson, Front Range Roofing Systems LLC, Greeley, Colo.
• Minnesota State University – Mankato, Department of Construction, Mankato, Minn. – Zach Ayers, Brianna Peterson (alternate), Brock Reese, Andrew McGinnis and Kyle Mickelson (team captain); faculty advisor is Brian Wasserman; team mentor is David Endres, Schwickert’s Tecta America of Mankato LLC, Mankato, Minn.
• Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas – Kyle Cahill, Blake Bocchino, Canyon Martine, Kyler Hardison (team captain), Alexia Palomares (alternate); faculty advisor is Larry McGinn; team mentor is Mark Standifer, King of Texas Roofing Company LP, Grand Prairie, Texas.
• University of Florida, Gaines, Fla. – Avery Tyndall, Ansley Spofford (team aptain), Ryan Freeman, John Zielinski; faculty advisor is James Sullivan; team mentor is Rob Springer, Springer-Peterson Roofing + Sheet Metal Inc., Eaton Park, Fla.

This year’s project is the Four Points Sheraton Hotel located on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. This roofing project consists of work on approximately 18,000 square feet of five levels of roof over a structural concrete deck. Given its location, project logistics will be a huge challenge for the students to overcome, as will the safety of workers and hotel guests.

The teams submitted their written proposals in November, and the five finalists will be announced in January 2022.

The first place team will receive trophies and $5,000 L.B. Conway scholarship for the winning school. Second place receives trophies and a $2,500 Fred C. Good scholarship for the winning school. Two students will be recognized as best presenters and receive American Express gift cards.

For more information about the Student Competition, visit the Roofing Alliance website.