BLAZING A TRAIL

LINDY RYAN MAKES HISTORY AS NRCA’S FIRST FEMALE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
When Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail,” he was persuading others to have the courage to traverse unknown territories and lead the way for others.
Since 1886, when NRCA was established, association members have elected 124 presidents to lead the organization. Every president had the courage to guide NRCA through unchartered terrain and challenges, and each president left a legacy as unique as each man who served his peers and industry.
This year’s president, now called chairman of the board as a result of a change to NRCA’s bylaws, already has blazed a trail by being elected to a position that—until now—only has been held by men. For the first time in 129 years, NRCA has elected a woman, Lindy Ryan, senior vice president of service and leadership development for Tecta America Corp., Sanford, Fla., to serve as its chairman of the board.
“I think it’s awesome,” says Kelly Ryan, Lindy Ryan’s sister and office manager for Tecta America Central Florida. “I know Lindy being the first woman president will make a positive statement in what is considered a man’s world.”
Ryan is honored to have been selected by a committee of her esteemed peers as the first woman to represent the association, but she doesn’t want her gender to define her term: “I’m a little bit awestruck that five of my peers, who happen to be men, nominated me for this position. I am truly honored, and I do mean truly honored, to be the first woman to represent the association at this level. But I really try to separate the female thing as much as I can because I don’t believe the challenges are any greater than they would be if I were male.”
JUNE 2015 PROFESSIONAL ROOFING 23

by Chrystine Elle Hanus