b'PRESIDENTS MESSAGEPASSING THE TORCHNEIL ROOK RCABC PresidentT his is my final message before my term asRCABC to be quite satisfying and enriching. Many PresidentofRCABCcomestoanend.of my fellow members are not aware that volun-Recently, I have been reflecting on the lastteering is a two-way street; you give your time to coupleofyearsandwhatwehavebeenhelp the association strengthen the industrys posi-through. The COVID-19 pandemic brought muchtion for our members, and in return, you receive a of the world to a standstill in its early stages, asvast array of knowledge from interacting with your governments and industries scrambled to meet thefellow roofing volunteers.challenge of a global health crisis the world had notI want to encourage members to consider volun-seen in more than a hundred years. Many expertsteeringforRCABC.Everyindustryassociation saw the pandemic as a short-term problem; however,is only as strong as the members who volunteer after repeated waves of the virus, we quickly learnedtheir expertise. There are positions on the Board that this would be a long-haul event. of Directors and other committees in RCABC that For more than two years, we dealt with lockdownsneed to be filled by new blood to keep our associ-and overwhelmed medical professionals. Companiesation fresh and dynamic. grappled with having their staff work remotely andIwanttothankthemanypeopleinRCABC the ongoing problem of staff contracting the virus.who assisted me during my termthe Board of A worldwide shortage of workers spilled into theDirectors,fortheirhardworkandcommitment, supply chain business and seriously affected accessand especially Past-President Murray Tysowski, who to products and services, as well as escalating priceshas given so many years of service to the associa-for literally all personal and business needs. tion and whose term comes to an end at the annual Iampleasedtoreportthatmanyofthesemeeting in December.concerns that seriously affected the roofing industryI also want to thank Bryan Wallner and his staff during the height of the pandemic have been onfor their exceptional work during some very trying the road to recovery over the past six months. Thetimes over the last few years. They have done an supply chain wait times have decreased substantiallyexcellent job of guiding the association through thewith the understanding that you still have to orderCOVID-19 period and returning to more regular things well in advance of when they are needed services,includingface-to-facemeetingsand and pricing has stabilized on many materials.training sessions. Wearenotallthewaybacktonormalyet;In closing, I would like to thank the membership however, we are moving in the right direction. Post- for their support during my term and look forward COVID-19issueshavearisen,suchasgrowingto seeing you at the RCABC Annual Meeting on inflationarypressuresandhigherinterestrates.December 3.However,theindustryandtheeconomyinB.C. are doing quite well, and from my perspective, the future is looking bright. Yours sincerely, As I finish my term, I want to talk about the issueNeil Rook ofvolunteering.IhavefoundvolunteeringwithRCABC President8 lROOFINGBClFALL 2022'