Education and engagement at IRE 2026

By Jenny Yu.  

TRA Snow and Sun leaders discuss contractor conversations, booth activities and plans for the year ahead. 

TRA Snow and Sun has kicked off 2026 with a busy schedule, including a stop at the 2026 International Roofing Expo (IRE)! Ben Anderson, head of operations, and Mindy Dahlquist, business development manager, sat down with Karen Edwards at The Coffee Shops™ Sound Stage, sponsored by SRS Distribution.  

At trade shows like IRE, conversations at the TRA Snow and Sun booth often involve contractor education. “With snow retention, we've had questions like: what is this? Why would you want to keep the snow on the roof? How does this function? Are we wanting it to melt? Are we wanting it to fall off in smaller pieces? What is the goal?” Mindy said. “Being able to answer those questions for contractors is a lot of fun.” 

To add to the fun, TRA Snow and Sun set up a trucker hat bar at their booth, inviting attendees to decorate hats with a variety of patches. “They’re customizable,” Ben said. “People are having fun with all the patches.” 

The hats also engaged people who normally wouldn’t stop at their booth. “We've had a lot more conversations with contractors who would see snow and they'd be like, ‘Oh, I'm in Texas or I'm in Florida. I'm not going to stop here,’” Mindy shared. “With the hat bar, we've had that opportunity to talk to them about some of the other products that we manufacture that are not snow retention. That opens up other doors as well.” 

On top of representing TRA Snow and Sun, Mindy discussed her involvement with the National Women in Roofing (NWIR). “I am going to be the chair of the virtual council, and we are doing our kickoff call February 10 with Melissa Chapman of The GLO Group,” Mindy said. “It'll be fun to be able to kick off this council and really provide that support for women and men in roofing who maybe don't have a local council near them.” 

Watch the Soundstage interview and check out our interview at their booth to learn more about what TRA Snow and Sun is doing in 2026!