North American Deck & Railing Association (NADRA)

the industry needed and providing quality service and programs where people can network. I believe we are now an overnight success, after 17 years, and we anticipate that to grow over the next five years to around 2500 to 3000 members that are true, evolved professionals within the industry. “Our membership is predominately in the U.S. with about 50 members in Canada. We also have some members in the U.K., Australia, and Spain and we’re trying to give them the information to help them but at this point we’re not set to go international because we have enough on our plate in North America. It presents a whole other set of challenges, dealing with codes in different countries and different languages.” BVM: What is the current mandate? Beaudry: “Our goal at NADRA is to be the absolute voice that sounds the common sense approach to code and to make sure that people can have affordable structures that will keep them safe out on their deck. Safety has become a large part of our mission, as every year we see the need to improve that. And it’s really just a matter of awareness. “It’s not just the wonderful new growth that’s happening in outdoor living, it’s the fact that we’re getting people to realize that their old structure needs to be improved or repaired or replaced. People need to understand that decks have a lifecycle and it’s important to have them checked and serviced. That’s given us an opportunity to educate where we might not have had the attention before. It’s finally being proactive rather than reactive. I’ve learned that if you educate and you inspect and you correct, we can reduce accidents and tragedies dramatically if people are just aware. That’s a big part of our goal – to keep people safe.” BVM: How has the industry been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic?