John Peck - NERCA’s Evolving Vision - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with John Peck, co-founder of PB Roofing and the incoming 2025 President of the North East Roofing Contractors Association (NERCA). You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Intro: Welcome to roofing road trips the podcast you Journey across the of roofing from fascinating interviews with roofing experts on the Adventures will uncover the stories innovations 

Megan Ellsworth: Hello everyone mi name is Megan Ellsworth roofer coffee shop dot com and you are listening to a roofing road trip i am really excited cuz we have the new president of the Northeast roofing contractors Association John peck hi how are you 

John Peck: Hi I'm doing fantastic i love roofer's coffee shop i so excited to be on a podcast with you right now it's a pretty great day for me. 

Megan Ellsworth: Wow, oh, my gosh that's Awesome thank you. Wow. Let's start out with having you just tell us a little about you and your company 

John Peck: Yeah certainly so mi names John peck I'm the co-founder president of PB roofing we've been in business for about eighteen years and for probably like half of my time I've been working within the Northeast roofing contractor Association ive been putting about ten eleven years into the Association and i think it's a great Collaboration of a whole bunch of different people that I've grown completely found up so 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh that's Awesome we we've been attending that trade show for quite a few years now and it's a really fun one and you all just had your trade show in Atlantic City which is always a fun spot so we're happy to be chatting with you today so you're the incoming president for Twenty Twenty five of NCA what are some of your initial thoughts about taking on such a role you 

John Peck: Know hit when we're at the convention because someone had reminded me we've been we've been in Association for ninety seven years you know that that car some Weight with me you know there is a sense of responsibility that comes with the sequencing of the presidents in the past presidents gone back for ninety seven years really shaping the roofing industry especially in the Northeast you know and I'm a new jersey boy grew up in new jersey born and raised and the Northeast roofing contractor Association. Has such deep roots in the new england marketplace so for me you know i take that very seriously and i wanna make sure that it's completely inclusive for everybody so we've been working hard over the last years the ten plus years that I've been involved i wanna continue to make sure that we set the stage for the Northeast roofing contractor Association to have another ninety seven years the work we're doing today is gonna really help 

Megan Ellsworth: Ya that's Awesome. Wow en coming up a that's a huge deal how has your experience en the industry approach shaped your approach to leading NCA 

John Peck: I think its actually the lack of experience i have in the industry yeah 

John Peck: Som forty i had my business since for last eighteen years and you know if you do the simple math i think the lack of experience as having not been a generational roofing contractor having not grown up in the industry having no prior examples i think actually allowed to come into the Association with almost el outsiders look so when i walk into these meetings and these Conversations i tend its a bad because a las questions I'll listen to what everyone's saying and i mean I'll raise a few eyebrows I'll challenge the status quo I've been called a disruptor a way i guess it kind comes with the territory what i think it allowed the Association my involvement over these last ten years was the kind of question why are we doing this what makes sense for the future i continu to carry that into the executive role that I've been a of over the last six years so its really just about questioning not for the sa questioning but really asking. Okay, you know how are we evolving with the industry we are a ninety seven year old Association we should not act like we're ninety seven years old from our our inability to respond we should act like we're ninety seven years old because we can evolve continues to evolve 

Megan Ellsworth: That what a great answer i think that really honestly shows why you're in this role because that is so true learning from you never stop learning you never stop Gathering from others around you and think that's just that was a great answer <laugh> 

John Peck: You know i may we might have opportunity to talk about this concept but i think you just nailed it Megan right right on right on the na about the connection with those who also come up to the industry i always a gun i guess i don't feel so young anymore i was a young gun coming up coming up en NCA that connection with the individuals that are you know past presidents that might be twice my age or they have so much more experience ability to connect with them enamored with their stories how they where theyre going i mean that opportunity with the Association was to connect and and don lose that that memento moving forward esta community connection 

Megan Ellsworth: Ya yes i think that's why ncas has been so such a great Association for so long is that's such a tightknit community the Northeast cuz its i mean youre all next to each other you know knows easy to get state to state and you all are just a close tight like you said community and i think leaning into that is why NCA. Has has always been such a great Association 

John Peck: Totally 

Megan Ellsworth: I mean i wish sometimes i live in colorado and its hard to get you know to even sometimes the bottom or the top of the state in one day and so it's nice that you're so close to your neighbors and think 

John Peck: Think you colorado Impose it over the probably en like almost half youre saying a new jersey and we have a of our meetings and we have our trade shows up Northeast sometimes and i get it too its a four or five hour drive you can take a plane flight from jersey Boston and get there a sos to the bottom of our region lets forget our region ends in Delaware we have Delaware Pennsylvania all up to main now we're talking if we go from the tip of our Southern region en any r to the top of Maine and all the contracts in between that is quite a trip and going from new jerseys a multiple excursion for mes a four or five hour drive to to go to our events to ten thats we put in it so theres so much opportunity de proximities close and we have such tight knit communities within within NCA and the friends we've collected over the years so much more to come 

Megan Ellsworth: Ya ya so what are some of the stand out moments for you at this year's show that happened 

John Peck: Ya you know is this is the first year where i kinda i took my roofing contractor hard off for the the the event and i said you im gonna really just kind of explore it as the incoming president you know Association what i love the most about this year is the interaction you know for mí geek out a deion so when the their Solutions and they kind show us how it Works and how it can solve some of our problems also questions abouts driving their business challenges are they feeling about the event we had this year so i kind of get to wear that hat and it's really fun i nothings better theres something that really draws in people walking around the for to interact with the exhibit boot i mean por mí es competitive respond a challenge wanna get a one of a golf nowhere fun stop thats fan thats dos are the memorable experiences in there feelable and en the meantime todo que to meet doshi innovation within the products and driving you know where the industry needs to go 

Megan Ellsworth: Ya thats so true also dos are the experiencias bring people back the next year to you know to learn more even more and meet more people and other exhibit so that's so during the trade show you mentioned product demos i know theres a lot of you know innovative products technologies what trends or innovations did you see that you think are gonna make a big impact in the coming years 

John Peck: Ya you know i wish i was a Fortune in this so we can get ahead of it maybe there opportunity there when i walked the floor the convention i continue to go back to something that we said to me years ago at NRC convention you know what's the biggest challenge as a contractor in our industry and it's always gonna be continuing to have enough resources of labor to sustain the Growth that we have in our our construction industry so when i look at ex exhibit the vendors what i of notice think stands out for me en the short and term future es those continu manufacturers investing en equipment and Materials Offering labor Savings component of it we starting to get an increase in Battery technology which is gonna allow the Machines to move from it requiring multiple units we can kind house it within a safer environment and not have as many open flames Materials on the roof and i also think smarter tools as we continue decide ai revolution we have you know we have Machines that we call robots on the roof. 

John Peck: Oh, we're gonna use the robot we're gonna use a dog gonna use you know whatever the name might bem actually really waiting for these to become to have a computer learning component that they're gonna continue to help us augment our own ability and install roofing in a safer way as well so im seeing that theres theres theres there is a aside me that looks at it you know i wanna make sure that as a contractor Association we are still standing up for an understanding how we can enhance ourselves roofing contractors we don't wanna be in a position that we are kind of squeezing on both ends and i do wanna add this to it as well you know we are sometimes i feel we're the only little contractors we have you know very big corporate manufacturing on one side and we have very big corporate clients on the other side and generational roofing contractors where smaller mediums some of us are large and having the voice of the contractor being more than just the consumer of equipment and technology i think is important and that's a of the what I'm talking about in the core of what we need to continue to do on a national level for contractor Association on a regional level for the contractor associations and then even getting down to the state more levels 

Megan Ellsworth: Ya that's so true really being contractor led en en those contractors really are i mean leading the the Charge in the industry as a whole because we're all here to support the contractor right that's ya absolutely so how do you plan to build on what you just said through this year as president also build on the of this year's trade show ya 

John Peck: Know i trade show and we we have some greats with it you know pero i did get to get to the floor and talk and interact with individuals other contractors o exhibit you know sponsors and i get to have some private Conversations and we're trying to determine you know the what's working what's not working situation we we want the Association to to have a a Thriving trade show that is going to kind of engage our industry it's gonna bring contractors into the mix it's gonna bring exhibitors and innovation into the into the the Association you know we are we are in this chicken or the egg scenario within the Northeast contractor Association and i talk privately so I'll keep it kind of general but we're looking at our our our vendor base of course they wanna see more turnout everyone wants that more people walk in the floor we want we want engagement we want registrations and attendees and by all means we want that too and then you look at it from a contractor side they say well we wanna be excited we wanna have a reason to show we wanna see something that's new and different we wanna we wanna to interact and have a good time it be fun and not just come here and shake hands and see the same people so for all the successes we've accomplished we have to really look at that in those in those dialogues again i go back to that kind of retor question is you know what can we be doing differently maybe we try some things out to bring in you know a new a new structure of how we're going approach trade show something that continues to provide a level of excitement you wanna be able to look forward to say. 

John Peck: Wow NCA is gonna be in new jersey this year is gonna be in Connecticut next year it's gonna be en new england year that and i want people to look forward to just like we talk about with other associations 

Megan Ellsworth: Totally so so going off of that members really are the key to your success how do you think what do you think members will gain under your leadership this year 

John Peck: You know we may a ninety seven year old organization but we kind of young in the way that we're operating we are going through so many great enhancements we've we've invested tens of thousands of dollars into our marketing really rebrand Association so that people can see tremendos value en digital connection en sense of community within r. C. When i really look at what I'm gonna continue to try to do is i wanna provide the Association with a true vision you know we kind of can all say we want more members we want more engagement but thats great aspirational to talk about what es our real strategic plan you know how are we gonna measure ourselves against the success where are we going in the next five to ten years how are we gonna measure ourselves against that you know we're a four hundred member strong Association you know what's the what's the strategic plan that's gonna to get us from four hundred to a thousand and if you look at the whole entire Northeast and you see the quantity of roofing contractors a all different sizes and specialties and you talk about the states that we s almost too small the number you takes a amount of no we a five thousand associa you know that i potential ten ago i started getting involved to me there so much opportunity and so much opportunity to give back to the industry that has given me so much 

Megan Ellsworth: Ya ya. I love that i love that because i mean going back to the very beginning it the Northeast might seem small but it is a big territory lots of contractors en roofing professionals scattered throughout the entire region and i love that its not a bad thing to have lofty goals and i think that es 

John Peck: You know and you miss a little bit you still come a short 

Megan Ellsworth: Ya exact shoot for the moon and you land in the stars or something 

John Peck: Perfect 

Megan Ellsworth: No totally so i love that so with that you know wanting to recruit more members one of your main focuses as president is enhancing member benefits what are some specific initiatives you have in mind 

John Peck: You know there's there's a list of benefits we have an Association heres the weather providing you additional resources you know connections with professionals giving you the ability to curate a template for health and safety plan you know depending whats needed for you but when i look at the n. R. Beyond just enhancement of specific member benefits i really look at as you know okay here's the bullet points of the tangible things you're gonna get there's a series of intangible things that you just will not experience from the manual you're gonna get it from the connection with the legacy that has come before you with the other contractors that are in our ability going to our trade shows and connecting with you know you Megan and roofer's coffee shop and opening up our minds you know to to that experience any RCA needs to be that regional hub of connection and i had an analogy that innovative its kind of a story ive told myself over the years and i shared it with friends and colleagues you know when when i was starting as a contractor and i kind of empathized with other contractors that are starting out or maybe they're still kind Growing their organization when they are experiencing the roofing industry their industry to them es their call it their zip codes it's their zip codes and it's their local distribution their connection with the industry really exist with the person behind the counter distribution and we we have we have a duty to continue to connect our distributors the people behind the counters the distributors with industry experience what what's happening north you know going back to when i a con that my experience remember open up and you expand mind meet new people go to trade shows then you connect with other industry events then you're in peer groups and your all a sudden you're like. 

John Peck: Oh my goodness this roofing industry this massive multi tens of billions dollar industry kind makes so much more sens y sh it es a little bit more easy grass along that road just get to connect to connect ible the community need to continue Foster that Collaboration provider resources i want to make sure that the n. R. C es when the contractor's in trouble and something's going on don't they're having an issue in their business on a job site you know they have a resource they can go to to help 

Megan Ellsworth: Ya absolutely and i loved what you said about you know having the people behind the counter at the distribution sites get them involved get the janitor at the distribution you know involved get everybody involved because that just creates so much of a feeling of belonging and bringing everyone no matter how big or small into the community is so important and ya i love that so as we look at NCA Growing its membership what steps are you planning to make sure the Association is inclusive and welcome welcoming to all roofing professionals 

John Peck: Yeah two two things that come to mind and start the easier one cuz it sideways from our Conversation before we realized over the years of being involved en NCA we we trying to and connect ate other con we're trying to grow the membership and in that search and meeting contractors i found that i was meeting Residential contractors that were not affiliated RCA and it was and it was surprising to me over the years i realized that we are we have so much opportunity to increase and enhance enhancer connection in the Residential roofing space ya es a majority commercial roofing contractors and roofing simply just commercial roofing es much larger much larger scope than we realize those particular professionals that i connected with and brought them into the Association almost. Hey what can we be doing different so we're gonna continue to put steps in place to to drive and Foster those connections within our Residential contractor community there's tremendous amount of potential of Growth there and also en a lot of ways the resource available to them you know we can provide and the connection within within our roofing industry the other one Beyond that we had attempted it probably it was right around Twenty nineteen we were attempting me and some of my call my friends and colleagues you know we had representation from manufacturing from distribution other contractors we were forming and we did form an affiliate of the n e r. 

John Peck: C en new jersey and i through a little bit of searching we realized that you know new jersey used to have a roofing contractor Association. Ok en d phonek. Some over the decades and it was our goal to bring it back as an affiliated when you start try to become inclusive the does a great job a fifty foot we then need to take it from a regional level bring it down a little bit closer to the ground you get into specific jurisdictions and the states and the different laws and Licensing requirements and you start to have different Conversation so really it's about bringing back. La concept that we started and we ran into COVID which challenged everything we been we've been continuing to dabble in it so we're gonna continue to see us work at a regional level bring it down to that state level existing existing state associations create new state associations that are we can really be inclusive i think dos particular dialogues you have the ability to say local Conversations and then we can continue to build a bench we can build membership and we can continue to elevate from 

Megan Ellsworth: Ya i love that idea starting starting with state and moving from there i think that's really cool that you're bringing back the roots of that new jersey RCA i think that's really cool to wrap things up what message do you have for the roofing industry for those in the roofing industry that aren't members of NCA yet or any RCA why should they consider joining this year you 

John Peck: Know i got this question a few times over the years and recently at the trade show and my my answer you know get i the well what's in it for me or why should i join merca i get for the money i spend and i try to pivote because you know i them i return i you know do you outta your business y plan on Growing your business do you plan on maybe you to maybe trying to a succession plan do you to do you wanna generate more income do you wanna to hire better hire more people so i foot around them and i well you know the benefit you're gonna get from joining any r es what you it you only gonna to get out it what you into it so really what it comes down to is the best way to shape the future of your company and our industry you gotta be a part of you gotta be a part of so be a part of get involved in associate level get involved in the board get involved in your government and talking to your you know state representatives get involved in our efforts here in the con Association and you'll see what can really become working together 

Megan Ellsworth: That's beautiful and i completely agree get involved end state Association follow John's lead that that's so cool this has been fabulous im really excited to see where any RCA goes and i hope to join you all the trade show next year thank you so much for chatting with me and congratulations absolutely 

John Peck: Thank you so much for having. Megan my first podcast I'm excited to be on it this is fantastic and im looking forward to seeing you again and welcome you back at our trade Twenty six 

Megan Ellsworth: Y I'm so excited and seriously congrats it seems like you are really already filling this role perfectly so I'm just thrilled to see where you Guys go and what ends up happening this year everyone can go to the any RCA Directory on roofers coffee shop com to learn more find their website join get involved and also find information if you have questions there's contact information on there as well and i hope to see everyone on the next roofing road trip thank you so much John 

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