NADRA National Elections to be held at the 2014 NADRA Annual Meeting during DeckExpo in Baltimore on Friday, October 24th, 2014 at 8:30am.

Here is a list of the 2014 Nominees that are running and re-running for a position on the Board:

  • Kirk Hammond, Arch, a Lonza Company -re-running
  • Bob Lett, Wolf Building Products -re-running
  • Bobby Parks, Peachtree Decks & Porches -re-running
  • Rick Schumacher, LBM Journal -re-running
  • David Raught, Great Southern Wood  -re-running
  • John Burkhart, Westech -New Nominee
  • Chris Kollwitz, Viance  -New Nominee
  • Heath Bowman, Southeastern Underdeck Systems  -New Nominee

“Earning a seat on the NADRA Board is not a right to be earned, but a privilege bestowed upon a NADRA member by their colleagues to allow you to serve them and the mission of NADRA.” This is a position held by an individual, not a company.  This position is not to be taken lightly. If you stay in touch with NADRA Headquarters, then you are familiar with a little saying we have: “NADRA, doing things for the right reason… and having fun doing them!” We can’t do this without you!

Please join us for our 2014 Annual Meeting on Friday, October 24th at 8:30 am where you will vote for your new board.

NADRA Annual Meeting

When: Friday, October 24, 8:30am
Where: Baltimore Convention Center – Room 320 (map)
Description: We’re all in this together. Join us Friday morning, October 24th in room 320 for NADRA’s Annual Meeting. This is a great way to meet and get to know other members that belong to NADRA. Learn more & RSVP HERE

Below are a few bios for some of the nominees. 

Rick Schumacher, LBM Journal

Rick Schumacher brings 24 years of industry experience to his role as editor, publisher and founder of LBM Journal, the leading media company serving the lumber/building material industry. Rick is a long-time supporter of NADRA, and has served as a judge for the Deck Awards several times.

Chris Kollwitz, Viance

Chris has 40 years of building materials and lumber products experience ranging from retail store operations, sales and marketing management, product development, merchandising, marketing, public relations, design & construction, facilities management and procurement. Wife Melanie and father of 4 boys: Jeremy, Ethan, Ben & Trent

John Burkhart, Westech

John F. Burkhart is the National Sales Manager for Westech Building Products. He has been integral in shaping the sales team, product portfolio, and business strategy for Westech. John has over 18 years of fabrication and sales experience in the vinyl, railing and decking industry. Previous to working for Westech, John was part of the wholesale and production team for National Fence Systems of New Jersey. Over the past 14 years with Westech, John has been the northeast region’s sales representative, growing that market by $12MM and cultivating relationships with some of our top customers. As National Sales Manager, John has been able to expand Westech’s reach beyond the fencing channel and into the Lumber and Building Material market (LBM).

John served as an active duty member of the United States Air Force for nine years. He currently resides in Sparta, NJ with his wife and two children and is active in their schools as well as the community.  

Heath Bowman, Southeastern Underdeck Systems

Heath Bowman is the owner of Southeastern Underdeck and the developer of the patent pending Haven Underdeck System.  With 20 years experience in metal fabrication and over 10 years of experience with new product integration, Heath has developed into one of the top Underdeck company’s in the southeast. Heath spent the beginning of his career working for MASCO and IBP two of the building materials industry leaders.  It was here he grew multiple locations, added new product lines, and developed relationships with venders.  Being on the regional operations team also gave him exposure to the cooperate safety committee and was in charge of the implementation of those changes.

In 2007 Heath was introduced to an underdeck system product and decided to start Southeastern Underdeck because he believed in the concept.  After spending many years trying all the products he could get his hands on, seeing what he liked and disliked, as well as doing repairs on many problem underdecks, Heath was able to develop the Haven Underdeck system. Heath believes that the success of Southeastern Underdeck is the result of hard work and relationships that have been developed through NADRA, NARI, and the NAHB.  This not only brought them closer to customers but also introduced Southeastern Underdeck to the venders needed to integrate into the system.

Bobby Parks, Peachtree Decks & Porches

Bobby Parks is the founder and owner of Peachtree Decks and Porches LLC located in Alpharetta, Ga. Bobby has been in the deck and porch building industry for over 25 years and has been involved in the delivery of over 37 million dollars of residential and commercial deck and porch projects.

Bobby has written for Fine Home Building Magazine and is a contributing editor for Professional Deck Builder Magazine. He has conducted building and business courses at the Remodeling Show, Deck Expo, and Pool Spa & Patio Show and has spoken at the Principia Partners Conference and the National Sunroom Association Conference.

Bobby currently serves on the board of directors for the North America Deck and Rail Association and is the past president of the Greater Atlanta Georgia NADRA Chapter.