Communicate Simply

By Ron Lloyd, President

I have a friend who coaches for the New Orleans Saints football team, and one of his favorite sayings is "why must we complicate that which is simple?" I think about that saying quite often, and how it relates to business.

We install roofing material in exchange for money. . . period. Our customers pay us to install roofing materials. . . pretty simple, isn't it? Oh, if life were just that simple! Too often egos and struggles for power, or to have the "upper hand" ensue and "complicate" that which should be so simple. Is it really that important to be the smartest one at the table?

In Forrest Gump, Winston Groom created the ideal citizen for the modern world--a perfect idiot.

But there is a world of difference between being dumb and being wrong. Think of the most moronic things you have ever said. No doubt they fell mostly into the categories of "I hate you," "I love you," "I need another drink," and "I quit." These may have been unintelligent statements, but were they incorrect? Forrest isn't wrong much, either.

Now think about the most imbecilic things that have ever been done on earth- the Cultural Revolution in China, World War I, building our deep water port 30 miles north of town. Every one of them was done by smart people. There's a world of difference between smart and worth-a-damn, too.

We should never hesitate to listen to a fool about life because life is pretty foolish as far as I can tell. And the greatest thing about hearing from a birdbrain is that we can all understand what he's saying. Here's a quote from a well-known genius:

"The mass of the sun curves space-time in such a way that although the earth follows a straight path in four-dimensional space-time, it appears to move along a circular orbit in three- dimensional space." -- Stephen W. Hawking, A Brief History of Time

Can you understand that? Me neither. Here is a quote from Forrest Gump:

"Do not try to cut your own hair."

People outsmart themselves all the time, but you can't practice self-deception if you're so dull-witted that you always see right through everything you're doing. Or, as Forrest says:

"Some people like me, are born idiots, but many more become stupider as they go along."

Let us all try to simplify our lives so as to get along on a "base level," communicate simply, and be free from complications.

Our Commitment to Our Customers

By Max Ker

All of us at RR Roofing thank you very much for your business and friendship over the years. We certainly realize that because of you, we are where we are today. RR Roofing has and will continue to work diligentlyto keep pur prices competitive while providing you with a quality roof system and superior customer service.

As you are already aware, the cost of raw materials have gone up by incredible amounts. If we look back just a few years ago to 2005, the increases on commodity raw material are shocking.

• Oil has increased by 218%
• Steel has increased by 155%
• Aluminum has increased by 138%
• Polypropylene has increased by 125%
• Cedar products are at an all time high

Primary drivers for these increases are:

• Mill consolidations (Global)
• Strong global demand and price point
• Raw material input cost increases ( iron ore, coal, etc)
• Mill outages and raw material Force Majeure's
• Allocations in place, continuity of supply concerns
• Higher freight costs
• Weak U.S. dollar

From all indications, the cost of raw materials will continue to rise. Our suppliers are already announcing more price increases. As always, we will work continuously to keep our costs down and keep you informed of any price fluctuations.

On the Horizon

RR Roofing will be one of over 40 exhibitors at the Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce’s Kuleana Green Business Conference and Trade Show on April 29th. The Conference creates the opportunity for businesses to demonstrate how their products, services and operations contribute to the welfare of employees, customers, the community, society and the environment. The Expo opens to the public at no charge between 4 and 6:30pm at the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort.

The Building and Design Expo for Creative Living on July 18, 19, and 20 is another opportunity to come out and see the smiling faces behind RR Roofing while they present their products and services, along with many other businesses from West Hawaii. Save the date on your calendar and plan on visiting the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort this summer.

Getting to Know Monique Peacock of the Commercial Group

Three years ago, Monique Peacock joined The Commercial Group, her family’s business, from Century 21 where she was doing residential real estate sales and was one of the top producers in her branch.  She brings 13 years in the financial industry in Southern California to the company that specializes in commercial real estate. 

The Commercial Group has been specializing in commercial real estate, statewide, in Hawaii for the past 18 years.  They do exclusively commercial real estate which includes sales, leasing & commercial property management. They have a reputation of integrity, professionalism and superior service. Monique recently took over as President and Principal Broker for the company. 

Monique is a single parent who moved to Hawaii to be closer to nature and family, which she felt important to share with her 16-year-old son, who will graduate and go off to college next fall. 

Monique loves to be outside and spends as much time paddling, hiking and swimming with the dolphins as she can manage. She enjoys all kinds of food and music and would love to see the entertainment sector of Kona expand to a Blue’s Club.

Getting to Know Thierry San Juan of Tiki Tech Solutions

Thierry San Juan has rescued RR Roofing’s staff from the perils of technology on more than one occasion in the last year. His business, Tiki Tek Solutions, has evolved to encompass computer and network support, data recovery and forensic, web consulting and software training and tutoring.  He is the man to call when anything crashes, is out of sync or needs to run faster…and he’s mobile!

During years of service in corporate America, Thierry noticed that cubical calendars had one thing in common – magnificent pictures of the place people wanted to go on vacation.  An avid scuba diver, hiker and fisherman, he and his wife Rina, decided that they would make life happen instead of waiting until retirement. Applying Thierry’s diverse skill set to the small business climate in West Hawaii allows a budding business-to-business relationship to be cultivated. The best part of his job is seeing his services impact his clients first hand. Working for large software companies only allowed him to develop part of a product – sometimes never seeing the end result of his work. 

Originally from the south of France, Thierry started his move westward. He met his wife, Rina, in Oklahoma and they spent some time working in Denver where Rina was a supervisor for SkyWest. She currently works for United Airlines at the Kona International Airport. They have become quite popular with friends and family who visit more often than they did in Colorado.