By Christian Hamaker
Nearly 80 building enclosure leaders—including IIBEC board members, chapter leaders, and sponsors—traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina, October 22–23, 2024, to attend the 2024 IIBEC Leadership Development Workshop, an annual gathering aimed at engaging chapter members and leaders in building and nurturing the work and mission of IIBEC at the local level.
“Chapters are the backbone of this organization,” said IIBEC President Robért Hinojosa, adding that “IIBEC is successful, in part, due to your efforts at the local level.”
Hinojosa was followed by IIBEC First Vice President Chris Dawkins, who stressed the connections made possible at the chapter level. “I believe this meeting will change your career because you’ll get to know your community better,” he said.
Strategic Plan Progress
IIBEC Executive Vice President and CEO Brian Pallasch then addressed the gathering, walking through progress on the current IIBEC Strategic Plan. “The purpose, vision, and values of IIBEC has been constant—to make IIBEC recognized as the leading authority in building enclosure consulting,” Pallasch said. “One of our goals is to have more people in the room. IIBEC is growing, but we need your help to grow.”
Pallasch pointed to recent ways the organization has promoted the value of membership, including through new member badges and credential badges, chapter membership drives, a rethink of IIBEC’s use of social media, and the organization’s new mentor program, Project Excel. He also stressed IIBEC advocacy, its growing number of partnerships with other organizations in the building enclosure space, and the importance of educating procurement officials on qualifications-based selection.
“As you build your chapters’ workplan for 2025, focus on IIBEC’s four strategic goals: value of IIBEC, advocacy, credentials, and knowledge transfer,” he said.
Chapter Resource Center
Several other presentations followed Pallasch. Tara Cottle, IIBEC’s director of regional and chapter relations, showed those at the workshop where they can find the new Chapter Resource Center on iibec.org and how to navigate it.
Steven Drennan, the IIBEC Chapter Development Committee Chair, spoke on chapter operations and told the audience to reach out to IIBEC’s region directors with any concerns they might have. “Region directors are your conduit to staff,” Drennan said. “Keep them informed.”
After a few presentations to the seated attendees, IIBEC Director of Education Kristen Kennedy and Manager of Marketing and Sales Arissa Cooper got the group moving, having them stand up and form teams to take part in a game of “Jeopardy!” game comprised of categories and questions about the resources that IIBEC offers to chapters and to chapter leaders.
RCI-IIBEC Foundation Development Officer Rick Gardner presented an update on the work of the RCI-IIBEC Foundation and RCI Foundation Canada, noting that chapters have “consistently been the largest donors to the foundations, both US and Canada.” He said the foundations recently gave out $30,000 in scholarships to eight students, and he highlighted the success of the foundation-supported 5th edition of Wind Uplift Pressures on Low-Slope Roofs.
IIBEC Region IV Director Jon Cannon showed the many ways chapters can accumulate points that go toward earning an IIBEC Outstanding Chapter Award while providing exemplary service to our members, and IBEC Director of Government Relations John Boling explained the importance of advocacy at the chapter level. “There aren’t that many of you, and many outside of the industry don’t know who you are. So we have to talk loudly,” Boling said. “If you don’t tell them what they need to do, who are they going to get it from?”
During an IIBEC Leadership Town Hall, Hinojosa, Dawkins, and Pallasch took audience questions to close out the first day of the workshop, which ended with a dinner co-sponsored by IB Roof Systems and Situra. (First-day breakfast and registration, as well as first-day lunch, was sponsored by Lightning Protection Institute).
Breakout Sessions
The workshop included several breakout sessions that allowed chapter leaders to discuss, on the first day of the conference, best practices for chapter education marketing and how to approach volunteer leaders with accountability issues. Day two breakout sessions focused on membership drives and how to engage students and local universities.
IIBEC Senior Director of Membership and Credentials Alec Jeffries highlighted IIBEC’s growth. “Membership is strong because we are not afraid to try new things,” Jeffries said. He showed a trend line over the last 12 years that showed substantial membership growth averaging 4% annually, and he said 615 new members have joined IIBEC so far in 2024—a record-breaking number. Then Heidi Arsenault, IIBEC’s manager of credentials, discussed IIBEC’s ongoing efforts to achieve accreditation through ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) for IIBEC’s CBECxP credential.
The event concluded with a lunch sponsored by Georgia-Pacific Gypsum LLC, which also sponsored breakfast on the second day of the workshop.
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