Continued on page 4. Don Marks Receives OIRCA Award of Merit Chair’s Message Developing Tomorrow’s Roofers Today Page 8 Advancing Sustainable Roof Restoration Enhancing roof re-covers with embodied carbon analysis and innovative material choices Page 13 Daily Bread Fundraiser Building community in Ralph Jamieson’s memory Page 12 Award of Merit OIRCA’s 2026 Annual General Meeting This winter, Ontario’s roofing industry leaders and allies united for the OIRCA’s 2026 Annual General Meeting. ...Page 10 F or over 50 years, Don Marks has built a roofing career defined by sector leadership and advocacy. On Nov. 18, 2025, his work in Ontario’s ICI (industrial, commercial and institutional) roofing sector and his decades-long tenure as executive director for the Ontario Industrial Roofing Contractors Association (OIRCA) were recognized with the association’s Award of Merit. Launched in 2012, OIRCA’s Award of Merit was created to hon- our individuals who have made a sig- nificant contribution to the advance- ment of the association or the roofing and related sheet metal industry in Ontario. This is an apt description of Marks, whose time in the industry and in OIRCA’s big chair has left a lasting impact. Please return undeliverable copies to: 190 Attwell Drive | Suite 350 | Toronto, ON | M9W 6H8 190 Attwell Drive Suite 350 Toronto, ON M9W 6H8 “This is his last year with the association, and he’s been with us for 30 years. More than anyone, his dedication, leadership and long- standing service to the OIRCA deserve to be recognized, so we presented the award to him,” says Mike Godfrey, president and chair of the OIRCA Board of Directors. Marks’ time in the industry began in the early 1970s when he entered the sector as a technical sales representative for a promi- nent Ontario-based roofing prod- ucts distributor. The company was bringing its “single-ply” roof- ing system to market at the time, which was a new concept in ICI low-slope roofing. Marks became involved in all aspects of promot- ing the system, from calling on ar- chitects and roofing contractors to By Matthew Bradford working on jobsites to train roofers on how to install the systems and conduct final inspections of com- pleted applications. “That experience stuck with me, as I was always interested in the new technologies being introduced to the ICI roofing industry,” he says. Six years later, Marks struck out on his own, launching Guardian Roofing Products Inc. Once again, he played a key role in introducing new roofing systems and materials to the Canadian market, includ- ing helping bring Firestone Build- ing Products into Canada and later making the company a representa- tive and distributor for U.S.-based Carlisle SynTec Systems. With an eye for industry innova- tion, Marks also expanded Guard- ian’s product line by importing U.S.- OIRCA Chair Mike Godrey presenting Award of Merit to Don Marks.
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