NSA Conference ’24 – Charleston, SC

• John Chan of Durable Slate shared slate roof experiences he’s encountered in the city of Charleston.
• Rick Damato followed with a history of his visits to past NSA conferences complete with a slideshow of each one.
• Jared Ribble from the NRCA created lively discussion on the Procertification program and how to reach the next generation of slate roofers.
• Industry stalwart Trent Cotney of Adams and Reese spoke about the state of the roofing industry and keeping contractors up to date with the finer points of contracts and provisions. Presentation
• Tom Stortz finished with an overview of the NSA and how it is currently interacting with members. Presentation

Walking Tours

Lunch was had at the Limited hotel and the afternoon was filled with 2 walking tours to the Nathaniel Russell and Aiken-Rhett House museums. This gave perspective to Charleston’s history and what life was like living in the 1800’s. It also gave time for NSA members to catch up and enjoy time spent together.

Below is a quick recap from Roofer’s Coffee Shop from the conference.

• Jason Lucas of Clemson University outlined the Roofing Alliance program to qualify future roofers.
• Graeme Millar, current IFD President, followed with a rousing look at slate roofing in the UK.
• Bob Williams of Newmont Slate shared the QwikSlate system, Jon and Connor Hill of Greenstone Slate showcased the SlateTec system, and Morgan Cathey of ReadySlate gave the pros and cons of their lightweight slate system.
• A panel of slate experts (Bob Raleigh of Renaissance Roofing, Clay Heald of New England Slate, Robert Allen of Baker Roofing, and Jon Hill of Greenstone Slate) answered industry specific questions such as combatting synthetic “slate” and areas of growth such as cladding. Brian Chalsma of the Roofing Company moderated the panel.

Dinner Cruise

The day ended with the membership and standard committee reports and association elections. Let’s welcome Bob Williams of Newmont Slate as a new NSA Board Member. To keep the balance of the board number, past NSA President Bob Pringle stepped down. We thank Bob tremendously for his efforts.

The conference ended with a group dinner cruise across the Charleston Harbor. A big thank you goes out to all that participated. The total people exceeded 65 and we hope that we can see 100 in 2 years at the next conference. The growth of the industry relies on active participation. We hope you enjoyed the experience as much as we did.

If you have pictures, comments, or stories to share from the event, please email info@slateassociation.org.