Celebrating 100 Years of Excellence in Florida Roofing

By Evelyn Witterholt. 

FRSA President Joe Byrne discusses the long history of roofing in Florida and why joining the FRSA is a must for Floridian roofers. 

Since 1922, the Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors Association (FRSA) has been a shining example of a roofing association that takes pride in their professionalism and integrity amongst members. Although much has changed over the years, the association’s pride in maintaining a strong work ethic lives on.  

The association recently held their 100th annual convention at Daytona Beach. FRSA President and Owner of Byrne Roofing and BRI Roof Consulting, Joe Byrne, spoke with us about the convention and what it means to be an FRSA member. Much like FRSA, Joe Byrne has had a long history in roofing as well. He began his roofing career in 1969 with a roofing company that soon evolved into BRI Roof Consulting. Today, he is now the 100th President of FRSA and feels blessed by the title. 

FRSA Convention took place in the same city that the original organization meeting took place 100 years ago.  Although the Ocean Center and Hilton Resort served as host venues for the event, FRSA VIPs met for breakfast in the location of FRSA’s first meeting, the Clarendon Hotel. Today, the hotel is known as The Plaza Resort & Spa but contains some of the original architecture where the group posed for pictures. While the style of attendees is much more laidback these days, the passion for roofing is still just as prominent.

When looking back at past convention photos, Joe stated: “The pictures, I love them because they show you the convention, everybody's there with their suit and ties and the ladies with their dresses...It was a gathering of all the manufacturers and the suppliers and the roofers. And they were all trying to do the same thing back then that we're doing today.” 

What sets FRSA and Florida roofers apart from other members of the roofing industry is their leadership in licensing practices. In order to be a professional roofer in Florida, a license is required and part of having a license means roofers are familiar with all codes and regulations. Florida is prone to major storms which can wreak havoc on roofs and homeowners deserve a roofing contractor who knows what they are doing. 

“You start having all these ‘storm chasers’ coming in from out of state and when they come in, they don't really know our rules, regulations or codes,” Joe said. “One of the things that I tell everybody is I will get my executive director to send you a list of all the licensed contractors in your area that you can choose from because we have many, our organization has the best and the brightest.” 

Learn more about FRSA in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.floridaroof.com.   

Listen to the entire podcast to learn more about FRSA and their longstanding history in the roofing industry. 

About Evelyn  

Evelyn works as a writer for RoofersCoffeeShop and AskARoofer. When she isn’t writing about roofing, she’s either at the gym lifting weights or curled up on the couch watching a movie.