RCS Influencers celebrates its sixth year of giving back to the roofing industry.

RoofersCoffeeShop®, celebrating 20 years as the award-winning website where the industry meets for technology, information and everyday business, announces the 2022 RCS Roofing Influencers.    

RCS Influencers contribute thoughts and wisdom monthly through interviews, videos and articles on RoofersCoffeeShop concerning pertinent industry and roofing topics. The Influencers represent all facets of the industry including contractors, associations and industry service providers. Their insights are recognized in a special category on the site called RCS Influencers.   

“We have been committed to sharing the thought leadership of our RCS Influencers since 2017,” states Heidi J. Ellsworth, president of RoofersCoffeeShop. “Each influencer brings a unique perspective to issues that are of importance to roofing contractors and the overall roofing industry. We are thankful and appreciative of their willingness to share their insights.”

We are proud to announce the following 2022 RCS Influencers: 

1. Anna Anderson – Art Unlimited 

2. Charles Antis - Antis Roofing & Waterproofing 

3. Julissa Chavez – SRS Distribution, Inc. 

4. Trent Cotney - Cotney Construction Law 

5. Kendall & Chris Ekerson – SA Roofing 

6. Heidi Ellsworth – RoofersCoffeeShop® 

7. John Esbenshade, Jr. – National Roofing Contractors Association 

8. Rudy Gutierrez - Shell Roofing Solutions 

9. Tammy Hall – CFS Roofing Services 

10. Mike Hicks – Hicks Industrial Roofing 

11. Joe Hoffman – Hoffman Weber 

12. Rae July – Chinook Roofing

13. Danny Kerr – Breakthrough Academy 

14. John Kiesel – Imagine Technologies/Division 7 Roofing 

15. Wendy Marvin - Matrix Roofing and Home Solutions 

16. Mandy McIntyre - 1st Choice Roofing 

17. Arty Molinari – Tremco Roofing & Waterproofing 

18. Mike Pickel - Texas Traditions Roofing 

19. Ashley and Seth Pietsch - Integrity Insurance & Bonding Inc 

20. Camila Santander – ASA Roofing 

21. Greg Serevetas – USA General Contractors  

22. Marty Stout - Go Roof Tune Up 

23. Curtis Sutton - Rackley Roofing

For more information on the 2022 RCS Influencers, meet them here. Download the Top 20 insights from our 2021 influencers eBook here.

About RoofersCoffeeShop 

As an award-winning website and online community, RoofersCoffeeShop is committed to being a roofing professional advocate by supplying consistent information, education and communication avenues for all roofing professionals, and especially contractors, while promoting the positive growth, education and success of the roofing industry overall. Visitors to the site continue to find excellent opportunities for sharing information while participating in important ongoing conversations concerning new technologies, safety and the overall roofing trade. From the rooftop to the board room, RoofersCoffeeShop is “Where the Industry Meets!” For more information, visit www.rooferscoffeeshop.com.

By Lauren White, RCS Editor. 

Industry experts share how businesses are coping with shortages of material and labor amidst price increases and recommendations for how to navigate these uncharted territories. 

We’ve all seen the signs, “Help Wanted,” “Now Hiring,” “Signing Bonus Offered,” the list goes on. It’s no secret there is a labor shortage in the roofing industry, but it has now spread to numerous industries, causing a trickle-down effect that’s wreaking havoc across the nation and the supply chain. As we continue to navigate the Coronavirus pandemic, many companies are struggling to maintain steady operating hours, find and hire workers, not to mention keep repairs and projects on track. Over the past few months National Women in Roofing (NWIR) and the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) have hosted webinars and Town Halls to help shed some light on this current way of the world and how they and others are managing during these challenging times. 

Many companies have been affected by employee and material shortages. Laptops can’t be built because metal isn’t available, restaurants are closing an extra day because they don’t have staff, items are stuck on barges on the coasts and in the ports because there aren’t enough people to unload them and shelves and warehouses are without product. 

Everyone is doing what they can to find materials for their projects, from small companies to large operations. There aren’t enough raw materials and workers available to manufacture crucial products for the current demand, leaving companies without sufficient inventory for their customers. Manufacturers are having to tell customers who place their orders now (in October) that their materials could be in stock anywhere between the end of the year or as late as February or March 2022, if all goes accordingly. On top of these extremely long lead times, prices have increased dramatically, sometimes being three times more expensive. This has been difficult to navigate and communicate to not only the contractor but the homeowners and building owners. 

NWIR Oregon Council webinar  

So, what have the experts shared as strategies to use during these times?  Members from the NWIR Oregon council had these recommendations: 

1. Stay in front of the customer – Educate clients on the volatile situation up front.  Transparency is key for a win-win situation for you and your customers.  Provide online resources for customers so they know this is a real situation and don’t think you’re taking advantage of the circumstances.  Members from NWIR suggested sending a letter with your bid explaining the unpredictability of pricing and materials in the industry. 

2. Add wholesale prices to bids – Showing customers that your wholesale costs have increased might help them understand why their project bids are increasing too. 

3. Provide budget numbers – Instead of showing fixed pricing, use current market prices for bids and note that these materials will be charged at market price once delivered, which could mean a price increase or deduction. 

4. Communicate!  Be honest and upfront with contractors.  Provide date changes for deliveries.  

5. Be flexible and willing to pivot - Many companies are finding alternative ways to get products delivered and are even giving customers the option to pre-purchase materials and store them at their home or facility. They are also offering customers options for alternatives, such as temporary roof systems or switching to a roof system that will be available sooner than the system originally bid. 

6. Document everything in writing – Even if you have a conversation over the phone, follow up with an email documenting that you had the conversation, summarize the key points you discussed and what you did or didn’t agree to, that way you’re covered if anything goes awry. 

7. Take a partnership approach – Work with your client as a team by providing alternative options for roof systems, materials or project timelines. 

NRCA supply chain summit 

NRCA CEO Reid Ribble, CNA Underwriting Director Erin Cook and NRCA VP of Technical Services Mark Graham provided an overarching explanation for the supply chain challenges. Between the coronavirus pandemic, the Texas shutdown due to the ice storm and severe weather events, manufacturers weren’t able to get the materials needed to produce products FIX.  For this reason, facilities haven’t been able to run at full capacity, resulting in this severe backlog we’re experiencing.  Panelists recommend: 

1. Engaging legal counsel – It’s important to look at and understand your options and know you are covered legally should something happen.  A free half hour consult with Trent Cotney can help you make sure you are protected. 

2. Be aware of reduced SKUs – Many manufacturers are decreasing their SKUs, or individual products available, especially in the residential market; instead of having 25 options for a particular shingle, there’s now four or five.  In doing this, manufacturers can keep producing what they have materials for at full capacity. 

3. Check your insurance - Erin Cook suggested talking to an insurance agent/broker concerning: 

   • Personal property limits – especially if you have more materials in stock in your field/warehouse now than you normally do 

   • Installation floater limit 

   • Extra expense coverage – this provides coverage for expenses that go above and beyond your normal coverage 

   • Inflation guard on your property policy  

The panelists agreed that looking back, 2020 worked extremely well given the circumstances. Mark Graham noted, “This year is an entirely different dynamic; we’re dealing with material shortages, price volatility, a little bit what we saw last year but nothing to the magnitude we’re seeing now.” 

NRCA Telephone Town Hall 

2,774 roofing industry professionals tuned in to a Telephone Town Hall put on by the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) and moderated by NRCA Chairman of the Board Rod Petrick. He was joined by seven executives from the industry including: 

• John Altmeyer, executive chairman of GAF Commercial Roofing 

• Jamie Gentoso, president of Firestone Building Products 

• Josh Kelly, senior vice president of OMG Roofing Products 

• Nick Shears, president of Carlisle Construction Materials 

• Joe Smith, president of Johns Manville Roofing Systems 

• Brian Whelan, executive vice president of SIKA North America 

• Trent Cotney, CEO of Cotney Attorneys & Consultants and NRCA general counsel 

Each panelist shared a brief synopsis of the struggles their companies are facing amidst the current shortages. Key takeaways from this Town Hall included: 

1 - Tariff trouble  

The supply chain has been struggling since tariffs took effect in 2018, shutting down the steel supply from China, which is responsible for approximately 50% of the steel for the U.S. Many companies started sourcing steel in the U.S., but there isn’t enough capacity to support the demand, thus adding to the strain on the supply chain. Josh Kelly with OMG Roofing shared that they’re currently working with 19 different suppliers of steel worldwide, doing everything they can to get steel from every corner of the world to meet demand.  

In 2019, tariffs on Canada and Mexico were eliminated, which helped the supply chain start to get on track, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and everything changed – people started working from home, companies had to stop production to implement safety protocols and the supply chain suffered again. 

2 – Legal guidance 

Trent Cotney shared that there are certain questions that cannot be answered given the concerns. He also mentioned that general questions are always better than specific because everything can change in an instant. Some things to avoid discussing are: 

• Specifics on current or past prices 

• Gross or net profit margins 

• Stabilizing prices 

• Cash discounts or credit concerns 

• Controlling sales or production 

• Deals with anticipated wage rates 

3 – Extreme weather 

The severe weather events that have hit the U.S. in the past couple years have caused significant ripples in the supply chain. The Gulf region is the largest processing center for petrochemicals in the world. These chemicals are a main component in many roofing materials. The ice storm in Texas, in addition to tropical storms and hurricanes in the Gulf region have limited the industry’s ability to source these high-quality chemicals. 

4 – Trucking struggles 

Ports are seeing bigger backlogs than they’ve ever experienced; while it used to take seven weeks to get an order delivered, it now takes 24 weeks. And when severe weather hits, facilities are shut down, rail cars are held back and an overall backup occurs. Therefore, air freight and tanker trucks are in great demand because ships and railways are so slow and unpredictable. 

5 – Getting everyone on the same page 

Education and communication are key in circumstances like this. Rudy Gutierrez, president and CEO of Shell Roofing Solutions, shared that contractors in the field are receiving inconsistent messaging and asked where to turn for updated information to take to jobsites. There are many resources available on www.nrca.net/legal and Trent shared that NRCA is currently working on a white paper that will be online and can be distributed. 

6 – Working when they can 

Regular facility shutdowns are scheduled to provide necessary maintenance to equipment and for safety reasons. While they’re typically scheduled throughout the year, many facilities are choosing not to put anything on the calendar for a couple reasons – the first is to keep up with demand, the second is because many facilities have performed the necessary maintenance and routine checkups when they’ve been shut down. This has allowed facilities to operate at full capacity when they do have the materials they need. 

Throughout all of the webinars, meetings, Town Halls and day-to-day conversations, one thing has remained true, “We’re all in this together.” This may be the way of the world currently, but Brian Whalen said it perfectly, “We have to find better ways to navigate this nightmare of a situation, together." 

Stay up to date with the latest roofing industry news when you sign up for the RCS Week in Roofing e-news.

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an live interview with Wendy Marvin, Charles Antis, Greta Bajrami, Mandy McIntyre and Rudy Gutierrez at IRE 2021. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the webinar. 

Heidi Ellsworth:
Welcome to Coffee Conversations Live. We're going to have a possible echo in our ear because we are really doing something way out there. Not only do we have our panelists, but we had two online. We're looking down here at the conversation, at the laptop, sorry. Coffee Conversations. We are doing it live at the National Roofing Expo, and we are talking to everyone who is right now on the floor. Can you see this? Look all over the floor. I see contractors walking by. Then we are here with our RCS influencers who are contractors. Yesterday, we talked to distributors and manufacturers. Today, we're going to talk to contractors. I'm going to have everybody introduce themselves, and we're going to work away, so our team is going to introduce with their name, their company, location and I'm going to make sure we don't have the echo. Okay. Hold on one sec. Go ahead, Wendy.

Wendy Marvin:
Okay. I am Wendy Marvin. I am the CEO and owner of Matrix Roofing, and we are located in the state of Washington down by Portland, Oregon.

Charles Antis:
Thanks, Wendy. I'm Charles Antis, and I am the founder and CEO at Antis Roofing and Waterproofing in Irvine, Orange County, California. We service the HOA market from San Diego on down.

Greta Bajrami:
Hi, everyone. My name is Greta Bajrami. I'm the owner and founder of Golden Group Roofing, and we're located in Boston, Massachusetts, and we service the greater Boston area.

Rudy Gutierrez:
Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Rudy Gutierrez, and I'm president and CEO of Shell Roofing Solutions Group in California.

Mandy McIntyre:
I'm Mandy MacIntyre with First Choice Roofing. I'm the Operations Officer here, and we are located in Cleveland, Ohio. We're a commercial and just getting back into residential after dropping residential last year at the worst time, now that we can't get commercial materials, but we also specialize in historic restoration and preservation.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Excellent. Thank you, Mandy. Thank you, Rudy, and thank you all out there. What we're doing is, we are starting now with really hearing from the contractors on what they're seeing. I want to start with Wendy here and I want to talk to Wendy. We have folks from all over the country, as you can see. What's happening in the Pacific Northwest?

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah. Pacific Northwest, we're starting to see the impact of the shortages. I think we were living a little bit of the surplus that they had out there. We're back down to pretty much black or gray and anything that is any color mix and it's not manufacturer specific. It's anybody. We're seeing significant delays up to three to six months for deliveries. We have a really good relationship with our distributors, so they're helping us source not only from their company, but from other companies. I think that's a big takeaway, to try to keep those relationships fresh and good because yeah, they can be your ally. Yeah.

Then we're starting to see a shortage of the other weird things that have come up, like plastic. Nobody seems to be talking about that, but plastic fence and different things, and so we're starting to see shortages in that and silicone is what we're hearing is coming down the road, too, now.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Your coatings.

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah. Well, and your pipe fittings in your residential, just there's all kinds of applications for that. We're feeling a little unsettled, just in what we're doing. We're getting all these jobs. We're booked into October, November right now, but are we going to be able to service them? We're trying to get resources available and keep them in house while we can.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. The market's not slowing down, but the materials that we have, demand here, materials here. That's a huge gap in trade.

Wendy Marvin:
Manufacturing is trying to keep up. I think our GAF rep said a couple of weeks ago that they were 4 million squares short already.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Wow.

Wendy Marvin:
[crosstalk 00:04:21] I'm thinking pretty sure he said squares. I think that's just indicative, is they're just, they can't keep up.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. Charles, what are you seeing down in Southern Cal?

Charles Antis:
We see the same thing. We see the same thing wherever we look, however, I'm feeling it a little differently because we're in a drought and we don't have the big rush. A lot of my friends in companies across the country, they're, affected a lot more. For us, we're watching this, and we noticed that, like plywood, if you go into our warehouse, we have a huge warehouse. It's like 8,000 square feet. It's three stories high. We just have stacks and stacks of plywood because we don't want to go pay $75 a sheet for it when we could lock it in for $30, which we have. There's a lot of things that we've had to guess on. We've guessed and we've gone wrong in the past, but I think right now we're being blessed for guessing.

It's not just in the plywood. It's not just in the roofing product, but we see this everywhere. I live in a place that I have access to 13 pools. They're all closed. You know why? There's no chlorine.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah.

Charles Antis:
Suddenly, there's no chlorine. If there's chlorine, any roofing product, or one of those other elements, we will hit another disruption. I think we have to learn to be really flexible and go back, which we'll speak more on today, but you mentioned, Wendy. It all comes down to the relationships. If you have solid relationships with your manufacturers through computers, you will find a way to get material. It comes down to relationships and how you build them.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah, that is. You know what? It's so important, too, because I think that homeowners, using the chlorine example, homeowners or consumers are figuring out that there's shortages. It's not as hard a conversation, but Greta, what are you seeing in the Northeast?

Greta Bajrami:
The same thing. It's been a great year and we've had demand. There's never been a demand for roofing than this year, but at the same time, the flip side of that is that for the first time, we are in trouble where we don't know if we're going to be able to accommodate a certain client based on the selection. We're trying to push people towards grays and blacks. When it comes to color, we're not sure if something's going to change along the road. For the first time ever in my company, we don't like to put deadlines on projects and we have to change that, right? We had to put out on bids and then put deadlines on those bids, something that we'd never done before, but it was a new world that we had to be a part of.

I think one thing I keep speaking about, and I hope the manufacturers hear me, is that I think although price increases are necessary, you have to find a way to do it tastefully, because we are going to speak for the lot of the sales team that come to me, is that they're getting a little bit torn in between all these price changes. They're losing a little bit of stability out there when they're proposing, where they don't know if they should go a little higher, if their commissions are going to be impacted, if they're going to be able to, if they're going to lose a proposal altogether. That's my concern at it all. My concern at it all is, how do we continue? How do we bring supply up, but in a way so it allows people that sell this product and are part of this industry, not to be the sole impact?

Charles Antis:
Wait, that's brilliant. That's brilliant, putting a fuse on the signing of the contract. Not only can you regulate material, but you'll actually improve the chance of closing that sale. I'm going to borrow that, if you don't mind.

Wendy Marvin:
Can I also throw out, one of the things Greta said that we haven't talked about yet is this constant increase in pricing. Most distribution centers run pricing, and this is a little insider knowledge, but run pricing on a tiered system. Right? Top tier one is typically your entry level piece, and then they lower the tiers as you've been with them longer. It makes sense because we're less of a credit risk. You know what I mean? As you go forward, but with this freight train of pricing changes, you really have to have somebody on top of watching your pricing so that the PO that goes to them is actually what you're being charged, because I can tell you over the course of the years in 14 years in business, I've found more than $150,000 in errors.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Wow.

Wendy Marvin:
It isn't a small thing. Right now, when this is changing so fast, you need to know what date the change is, and then you need to watch the POs as they come in and the bills as they come in and make a match for POs.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Make sure they're not going in at that newer price. Exactly.

Rudy Gutierrez:
Yeah. Yeah. I'm not that far from Charles and his business. The challenges are the same, but I think with what Charles said, Wendy said it as well, communication. Pre-planning is very important. We've had more conversations with distribution as of late than we've ever had, including our manufacturing reps. I think getting ahead of the projects are very key. Getting as much information upfront from our client has been also key. You may have to be forced to think out of the box, like staging materials in your warehouse like Charles did.

Yeah, we've had to get creative. We do have some challenges, particular in the area of the end of third quarter, middle of fourth quarter, where maybe the materials aren't going to be available. Projects are getting pushed back a little bit further out. There are some challenges out there, but communication has been the very key factor here.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. That's what we've been hearing a lot here, Rudy, at the show is how important communications is. As Charles said, and Wendy, everybody, your relationships. Mandy, what are you seeing in Ohio?

Mandy McIntyre:
Well, I think we are experiencing just the same thing that everyone's been talking about, the material shortages and all the trouble with that. Obviously, communication is key with customers and with suppliers. I think with communication, it's also setting those expectations with your customers, being upfront with them that we're getting ship dates of February 2022 right now. We are relaying that information to our customers and just being honest with them, but then it's also an opportunity too, to do some maintenance contracts, do some repairs, to get them by until they can replace the roof, offering alternatives such as coatings or maybe a re-roof if they don't necessarily need a tear off.

As far as our contracts with our customers, we can't do any LDs right now. We do have clauses in there for MVPs, material, escalation, protection clauses to save us because some of our orders, our price is not solidified until it's delivered. Those are a lot of the challenges, but it's an opportunity to be creative and to help the customer at least get by until we can replace that roof.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Mandy, I have a question for you because you do a lot of alternative high end residential roofing, or a historic building. I was in your shop, the slate and the copper, so impressive.

Mandy McIntyre:
Thank you.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I know a lot of people are looking for alternative products. Are you seeing it across the board, even with slate and copper?

Mandy McIntyre:
Well, copper is always a commodity that goes up and down a lot just because it's copper. With tile, we're fortunate in Ohio, we have Luissi, which produces tile about three hours south of us. That hasn't really been an issue, and we have had some historic projects that wanted to do a roof replacement in certain sections where they had tile, but now what they want to do is just restore that those tile sections, which is a benefit to us because it can keep our crews busy. It's something that we can get the materials more easily, and it helps. I love history, so it helps protect the historic integrity of the building, as well. That really hasn't been an issue with specialty stuff like that.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I would say, everybody out there, you have the opportunity to go to First Choice website. Look at some of their historic renovations. They are amazing. They are really, it was just a super fun day. National Women in Roofing, Cleveland, hands on, it was cool. I'm going to change the topic a little bit. Sorry. If it feels like a squirrel, I'm a squirrel. Usually, it's you, Charles. I know, seriously. Okay. All right. I want to talk about where we're at. Everyone's tired of talking about COVID, and when we put the questions together, I said, "Oh, how are we on post-COVID work world? We're not post-COVID." Really want to talk about going forward when everything is changing, and I want to talk because I love our influencers here. They're all about culture and their company culture.

Maybe let's just share with everyone out there, what you're seeing on how it has affected culture when you're talking about safety testing and all of the things that are going along with the pandemic and then hopefully moving forward. How are you handling that in your business? Wendy, let's start with you.

Wendy Marvin:
Well, I think to address the first part of your question, the one thing I want to say is the panic is over. That absolute terror, that furor that COVID had us in, we figured it out, right? We've proven that we can figure out whatever else comes along. The dynamics of the problem maybe changed, but we've figured out that initial "holy world is ending" thing, we're okay with that, which I think is a good thing. Living in that place of terror, it's not a good place for business.

From a culture standpoint, it's been challenging, we split off and had people working from home in the first time ever. We've never done that. Keeping those people engaged and positive and hopeful and informed has been ... We have weekly meetings with those people, but when you're not face-to-face with somebody and you're not able to have that water cooler conversation, it really makes a difference with the interactions with people and the closeness of your team. That's a big part of our culture. We treat each other in our company like we are family, always have. Trying to build that environment where people don't leave right now, that's a struggle.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Right.

Wendy Marvin:
I think the people that we have left, we've lost some people, but the people that we have left are embracers of the technology, are people who are going to be problem solvers going forward, which is really what we need. Then on the COVID side of it and the masks and mandates, we've taken a real soft approach to that. I think it's an individual decision. I understand the impact of having somebody who chooses not to vaccinate in your company, but I also have vaccine-injured family members, and I understand. We're just trying to all be aware of what we're doing. If you're running a fever, don't come to work. It doesn't matter, vaccinated or not. We want you to have hand washing stations, stay up with the cleaning, taking care of each other, and stay home when you need to. We're giving them the resources to do that. We're going to have more vaccines to deal with. We're going to have more.

Vegas has locked down now for masks and we heard Oregon just went, Multnomah county, and now I'm sure the state of Washington will be following next. We'll be back down into lock downs, and hopefully we can all just push back where we need to and try to keep it reasonable and not want hot water hand washing stations on the roof again, because that's just not realistic.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That's not right. Charles, you were all about culture. How have you dealt with this?

Charles Antis:
Well, I think first of all, being somebody who understands means I understand that all the groups of stakeholders out there, and I understand that it's my job to message to all of them, not to part of them. You have to stand back. First of all, look where you live. I live in Southern California. I don't live in Texas or Florida or Minnesota or Chicago. The messaging that I'm going to present about this is going to be very much stained by everyone around me, or I'm an idiot, right? I'd be an idiot. I wouldn't have a successful company if I didn't listen.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Right.

Charles Antis:
My messaging is going to be a little bit more socially forward than some places because that's where I live. You know what? I actually started to feel and believe in those things. On all of this, I don't have a lot of opinions. I stay between the lines. I don't watch the news. I don't watch CNN. I don't watch Fox because I'm going to get spun. I'm not trying to make a statement. I'm saying to some extent, I'm going to be spun. I get my message from OSHA, and we have to relate to that. We get it from all of the government agencies that we are affiliated, we're under the umbrellas of, and then we decipher within our culture.

We don't have the same opinions. My VPs and myself have different opinions. When I was asked to do a public announcement about vaccination and when I was asked to do a public announcement, to talk about masking, I didn't want to, but I knew I could do it by where I live and because I think it was a good idea in relative speaking. I'm not an expert, and that's what I do.

Charles Antis:
Once you listen to your people and your message comes in between it all, your people trust you because they see you're trying. They might. I don't think my employees think I have a hard opinion.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah.

Charles Antis:
They know I'm trying to live the company the best I can, and as far as what I do, what I do in public, I have to think about that again, by where I live. when I'm confused about how I'm going to act in public, I reach out to one of my board member friends who's a VP at the Anaheim Ducks or somebody. What do we do? They have a lot more PR influence, and they'll tell you where you live. They'll remind you where you live, and they'll remind you how to message. I think it's critical that you do that. If you do that, you'll be heard inside and outside your company. You'll sell roofs. Your employees will be more safe.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. That is so true. Greta?

Greta Bajrami:
Yeah, company culture is obviously very important. We saw a lot of shifts. I'll speak on a few different shifts, and the most shifts I think that anybody saw was that people don't have to be productive in a 40 hour work week. I think that's something that was a big mind shift for a lot of people that I'm in a circle with. They thought that office managers had to clock in everyday. They thought there had to be Monday morning meetings, and they started to realize that maybe a lot of those stuff were not necessary.

We switched everything where we're no longer really measuring time, but we're measuring productivity. we're measuring success. It allowed those office employees to really have the perks that the sales members had or the production managers had for the first time. I think that was incredible, and that was a great shift for us culturally, as a company, where everybody had the same benefits now, where office people weren't just office people stuck within the building for eight, nine hours a day. That was that really first push.

When it comes to vaccination, obviously I'm in Massachusetts and Massachusetts has a very high vaccination rate. I think it was 75% last time I checked. That doesn't mean that I made it a requirement to work. We do have a lot of people who have spiritual beliefs and live holistic lifestyles. We can't force those people, but we can implement safety in other ways. That was something that I did. I of course said, "Well, what is the goal?" The goal is to protect everybody. In vaccinations, that's the way we handled it.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Rudy, how are you handling it?

Rudy Gutierrez:
Obviously, just like all of you, last year, we were all forced to pivot. I think Mindy said it perfectly. We listened to the experts. I'm in the same situation as Charles. I have to defer to what our local state and federal officials are saying to protect the entire company, not just me. It's the reason why I'm not sitting with you today. I was exposed to someone with COVID, and my team decided that we needed to stay back. We have to cancel all of our events because of that. Anyway, we were all forced to pivot. We redirected our energies as far as sales, just like Mindy's company did. Service grew for us. Re-roofing grew for us. We grew our business during a global pandemic.

As far as our culture, I stay informed. I don't make decisions that are for the company that are more personal. I reach out to my friends that are very intelligent in areas out of California. I have friends in in the roofing industry in Texas, Ohio, New York, throughout. We communicated and got perspective. I certainly follow CDC guidelines, and it is a non-issue in our company at the moment. I respect everybody's personal situations, but it is a non-issue. We've stayed safe because we followed guidelines. My own personal views don't come into play. Otherwise, I would be sitting with you guys today. Certainly, caution must be the key. Safety is primary.

Mandy McIntyre:
When everything first hit, being in Ohio, actually, our state was one of the first states to really start locking things down with Ohio State University, went remote. Our governor started doing, issuing a bunch of mandates, and that was an early March. We just rolled with that. Luckily, we were able to do so, being that we're paperless. Everything is through an app on our service tech and foreman's phones. We were able to transition fairly quickly. We didn't have any COVID cases until this year, actually, in our company.

One of the biggest challenges culturally, as far as company culture, was mental health, really. I saw a lot of people have a multitude of challenges with this pandemic, both personal and professional. We did lose some people, not because of COVID. They just went in a different direction. There was a big disconnect between the office and the field crews, because they were still out there doing their thing, keeping the business going, but we at the office for six weeks were working remotely at home. One of my foremen said to me. I always say I have an open door policy. You can come talk to me about whatever. I'm a huge health and wellness advocate. I'm a yoga teacher, so it's just in my nature. He was pissed. He was like, "We were out there putting ourselves on the line while you guys were safe at home." This was early on when no one really knew what to expect. I was like, "You're right. You're absolutely right."

We tried to connect that gap that it felt like there was all of a sudden two separate companies, almost: the office staff and the field staff. There was no interaction. We tried to do safely more team meetings, more just interaction. We took all the proper precautions, and then we started getting COVID cases in our company. It was a real challenge trying to keep people happy and keep morale going and also be safe. We instituted a wellness program that was through our state actually, and it's free. I advise everyone to look into your state to see what your workers' comp has to offer, because Ohio has a great wellness program. It's free health counselors, tele-health just a plethora of things.

That was our biggest challenge, and I think just now, we're starting to feel that we're coming together again, but now we have this Delta variant and everything. I think it's just it's just an ebb and flow right now with COVID. Just when you think you've tackled one issue, another one comes

Heidi Ellsworth:
Mandy, this is the first time I've really heard this from someone saying, talking about this issue. I think it's so cool. There was a discrepancy, or there could be cultural problems between the people who worked at home and had to go home and work remote and those that had to, were working on the roof and were going out. They were like our first responders, right? They were our first line, and they were at a lot more risk for catching COVID than the people at home. Mandy had had those conversations with her employees to try to bridge that gap so they felt like they were all in it together and working in the safety precautions.

Now, for all of you watching, you just heard Mandy say all that, but I just thought it was such an excellent point. Did you have those similar? Did you have some of that?

Wendy Marvin:
Absolutely. Absolutely. First responders is a great way to say it, because they're out there. They're willing and able and everything, but at the end of the day, they had a lot of extra concerns. Then the people at home, even the people at home flipping over to being. The guys in the field would be like, "That's not that big of a deal," but the people at home, we've had people that we've known that haven't been out of their house for eight months in a year. Their idea of the world out there is even different.

Even on the flip side of that, it's just about ... I don't know. I just feel like we're at this place where we just need to give everybody grace and just be like, "This is hard for you, and it's hard for me." It's hard for us as owners, but it's rough. To have those hard conversations, Mandy, that's amazing. Take this head on.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. What I'm hearing from all of you is, and I love what I hear, is kindness. Lead with kindness, safety for everyone, working together. want to shift just a little bit because I just have all these topics I want to ask you guys about.

Greta Bajrami:
Okay, let's do it.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I'm going to actually start. I'm going to go backwards. I'm going to start with Mandy, and this is a crazy question, but I'm from Oregon and we're in the middle of wildfires, right? They are affecting not just obviously people's livelihood, but they're affecting the type of products that have to go on the roof. It's affecting testing. Is the climate change? Sorry, everybody. I don't think that's the best word anymore, but it is changing, and we have seen extreme weather from droughts to wildfires to hurricanes. I know in Ohio, you guys had some straight line winds. You've had all kinds of turbulent weather. How are you handling that as a roofing company in responding, especially in this time and age when labor and material are scarce?

Mandy McIntyre:
We're actually in a pretty fortunate area of the country, as far as natural disasters. We do have storms. We do have high winds, but we don't really get hail. We don't get hailstorms. We don't have wildfires. We don't have earthquakes. We don't have hurricanes, so really, it's just the wind. It doesn't happen a lot, but it does. The best thing that we can do is just, when we're safely able to get out there and assist our customers, then obviously we do so. We don't really get too much warning for anything like that, as far as when we're going to get a high wind advisory. Usually, we get the advisory and then it comes. Being that we're right on the lake, it usually comes right off the lake. Then you just have to jump on it the next day when

Heidi Ellsworth:
When I talk to people around the country, I'm just seeing so much, so many different things that are happening and that are going on. I'm going to actually go to Rudy. I want to talk to you about what you're seeing, between the drought and the wildfires and things that are happening in California. How are you handling? I don't know how much you're seeing it more in LA proper or on the commercial buildings, but what are you finding?

Rudy Gutierrez:
Obviously, we experience wildfires in urban areas. We've seen quite a bit of a devastation over the last three from Northern California all the way to Southern California. We do have the occasional earthquake, but those are just typical to us. They're not too nerve wracking. We have a serious drought, so that causes issues in the area of, we don't have the urgency of doing a roofing project. We have to be more creative on how we approach and an owner for a re-roofing opportunity.

Obviously, we have a go-to market strategy with respect to high heat. In our environment, heat is a problem, especially in logistics, warehousing, and obviously cool roof, published information. Cool roofs can reduce temperatures anywhere from 20 to 25 degrees internally. We're able to articulate that well during the hot summer months and push for roof restorations in the area of coatings or new roofing.

We adapt to the conditions, but certainly our service department struggles in the area. We don't have a lot of rain. We have program services still, but it's a little tougher. We certainly find an angle, a way to get to the client with additional adapting to the environment.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I think this is really interesting, because that's exactly what Mandy is saying about adapting, being ready to be the first responder with the winds off the lake. Then what I love is, Rudy is talking about products and that's what I'm really interested in, too. Everything is shifting. What are we doing? I'm sorry. Soap box here for one second. I think the roofing industry is somewhat responsible. Not somewhat. It's very responsible for all the acreage of roofs that we have and how can those roofs actually be creating a return on investment, which will help with this changing. I hope it will help with all the changes that's going on. Greta, I know in your area, you are super excited about solar.

Greta Bajrami:
Yeah, I know, because California has been leading it, so Massachusetts needs to join. I think when for example, I'll speak on the residential aspect of working with JF energy, which was very exciting for roofers because they didn't have to create these whole departments of solar. They didn't have to create all these new relationships. It was already there. The problem with JF energy in Massachusetts was that the system that they put in place ultimately collapsed, and the reason being is because the building departments were not like other states. In Massachusetts, the building department's different in every single town, not every single county, in every single town. JF energy, we were so excited. We sold 10 units and then they were like, "Look, you can do it. You just have to do it on your own, because it shifts so much that we can do this from our home office." The roofer who was so excited to just be able to put solar didn't have to worry about any of the paperwork now was left to do the paperwork.

I think for smaller companies, they don't have the resources to create those solar relationships, to have those solar specific departments, because it is a product that takes much longer to turn around. There's a lot more paperwork involved than the traditional strip and re-roof. That was something that was a setback to us. Now, my challenge has been when do building inspectors come together and realize that there has to be at least in the county, one process? That's what I've been really advocating and going to all the board meetings that I can, because I feel that Massachusetts, we should have solar just like anybody else, on every home. Homeowners are really excited about it. However, the process is so painful that it it leaves out all the roofers and it only allows the maybe seven solar companies that are in the area to be the players. Again, they need the roofers, right? Even Tesla and all these companies have issues all the time where they're calling reputable roofers such as us to help them out in lots of scenarios, because something went wrong with the roof underneath it.

I think we have to take another initiative, and I'm excited to see if the building material big names will get involved in looking at this perspective, not from the material, but how do we get down on the ground level and how do we help each state in each county come up to a level that's consistent, and it's as easy as filing an application? Roofers can roof, and solar roofs can be put on.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. It's these alternative products like Rudy was talking about, adapting with the products to help the roofs, whether that's white roofs or solar. I think, and I'm going to kind of circle back Charles, because I have something I know I want you to share. You had talked about, so I'm going to go back to the weather. You talked about that you're in drought and what you have done with your brand to adapt to these. You really are. The weather affects your business every year, and you have done things to try to override that. Can you share that?

Charles Antis:
Yeah, well, I'll tell it a certain way. I'm glad this segued back into this because the fires, I've personally felt them. I live in the city. I live in Irvine, California. That's where the Archie comic series was based. It's not in the country. I don't expect to have a fire. I told my wife, "We have no. Honey, there's no way our house could catch on fire. There's no danger."

Then a year ago, we had the Santiago fires and over 100,000 people were evacuated. Fire trucks came from around the state. We had over 500 engines come, and they centered right there at the great park a mile from my home. They escorted us out, and not one home was burned.
I just want to point that out, because I've tasted the fires. My parents' home in Oregon. They're devastated right now with what's going on around them. Everything's changing. Your husband just told me it was 118 degrees in Portland the other day.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yes. Yes.

Charles Antis:
Everything's changing.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Everything's changing.

Charles Antis:
This is how I adapt. I owe a thank you to those firemen. I owe a thank you to them. You know what I've done? I've done this along with a bunch of partners. We've showed up at fire stations all throughout Southern California, San Diego, up to LA, and we say, thank you because they all sent an engine to save our homes and we stayed safe.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Wow.

Charles Antis:
We say thank you with meals. We say thank you with ... We have great partners, Monster Energy, Yogurt Land. These great corporations say yes. They give us free product to give our frontline heroes. What that does is, it makes my team happy, relevant. When COVID hit a year ago, year and a half ago I mean, we were scared. Everybody was scared. The thing that pulled us out was a couple of things. We heard there was shortage in food, so we started delivering food. I delivered a box of food, and I was very uncomfortable, to a woman on the second story of a condo, because I was told her and 22% of the people in my area do not have enough food to eat. We started sending trucks showing up every Wednesday at 1:00. Why then? Because that's when they couldn't fill the truck routes. I showed up at my first home. I didn't want to go. I got to admit, because it was uncomfortable. I called this woman who I knew needed food. She said, "Will you please carry that box of food upstairs?"

I carried it up these two flights of stairs to this condo. I knocked on the door, and finally a woman answered the door. She was in an old night gown. It was thin. It was frail, and she was hungry. You could tell. She was so grateful that when I brought the box in, she made me uncomfortable. She started saying something. What is she saying? She's saying, "Bless you. Bless you. Bless you." I didn't mean to, but I was deflecting the blessing. I put the box of food down, and I felt something like, "Wow," awakened in the moment, alive. Suddenly, it made sense what I'm supposed to do.

We started holding blood drives. Why? Because Susan Degrassi, who works for me, is on the American Red Cross board. There's not enough blood. We've had 47 blood drives in the last 15 months. We've raised something like 4,000 life-saving units of blood over 1,000 donors, and why? Because we're relevant in the community. We're on KTLA Morning News at least once a month about our blood drives. We were on KMOS radio about our blood drives. You know how that makes us feel? You know how that help helps my team feel? We're relevant in the moment in the community, and that's how we navigate uncertain times because we know why we exist. It's to keep families safe and dry, and we go about showing that in the community. We go so far as, we go out and say, thank you to those police, fire, hospitals, those that are really keeping us safe.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah.

Wendy Marvin:
I love Charles.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I know.

Wendy Marvin:
I love your heart.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I know, and this is what we're talking about is, whether it's COVID or wildfires or tragedy or whatever it may be, it's about taking that moment and figuring out how to be relevant. I love that term relevant and how to back, because it comes back to you. To be honest, that's how Coffee Conversations started because we knew we had to get it out to the industry and somebody had to do it. We were that moment. I love Charles, as always. Wendy?

Wendy Marvin:
I don't want to follow Charles.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I know, but there's so many things. We together went through the wildfires in Oregon, devastation. I want to talk about with you. We are seeing changes in the building codes, in the underlayments and the technology to protect us from these things.

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Then you are also our, am I right? You've been doing a little bit of solar or getting into that.

Wendy Marvin:
We're looking at it. We're not there yet. We're looking at the solar shingles, is the ones we're looking at, that that's movement driven.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yes.

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah, that's the one we've been trying to stay ahead of.

Heidi Ellsworth:
So cool.

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah. We're, Massachusets going to be the same thing is, we're relevant for solar, but only for a certain period of time. What do we do with the rest of the rainy parts of our year? We're not telling everybody how beautiful our weather is, because we want you all not to move here. Looking at the same with technologies that are going to help us in our area, which one of them is that solar shingle that generates solar electricity from movement, which could be rain.

We certified with Tesla, and then they took it back. When they gave it back and said, "Oh, just kidding. We really don't know how to install roofs." I don't know if that's going to be something we're going to jump into again, but staying ahead of those products. What I feel like from this conversation is, I think everybody hit everything I was going to say, but I'm feeling like there's this equalization of products across the nation. What makes me mad is, our states are now looking at trying to write these building codes, right?

Heidi Ellsworth:
Right.

Wendy Marvin:
I'm sorry. Rudy and Charles' areas have already done all that. Why are we not just looking to the places that have already experienced what we've had happen and taking some of the best learning? That's not happening, and it's really frustrating. They're coming up with some of these weird things that we have to do. Like Greta said, you just have to adapt and do. You just have to do what they say.

Heidi Ellsworth:
You're seeing the same thing?

Greta Bajrami:
Yeah, I'm seeing the same thing. Thank God, due to COVID, at least the process was streamlined online for a lot of building departments. That's a plus. That's a big win for Massachusetts.

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah, not in our area.

Greta Bajrami:
The next thing is, my only reach out there to those listening would be is, what if the manufacturers would get involved in helping speed up some of those processes? I think that when contractors, it doesn't matter if they're massive million-dollar companies or just starting out, it's very hard for building inspectors to departments to make changes.

When the industry, the people producing the products demand it, then you're going to have more people being responsive to it. I think that's what needs to happen across all in United States. I think there needs to be a demand for manufacturers. Products have come up. Code has come up, but some of the books have been left behind.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah.

Greta Bajrami:
Where JF and Certainteed and some of these manufacturers have higher expectations than the actual written code.

Wendy Marvin:
The associations too, like NAHB.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yes.

Wendy Marvin:
I think about a lot and how they lobby. NRCA.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah.

Wendy Marvin:
They lobbied for our industry and everything. I think that it's so hard because we still have cities and counties in our area that you have to physically drive there. I'm not talking about small places that you physically have to turn in a written piece of paper and then the paper gets lost or other things.

Greta Bajrami:
Then you have to pick it up.

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah. Yeah. Right. Talking with Sarah out here, we've got a new vendor that's talking about just doing an automation of the MSDS papers from all the manufacturers and what a daunting task. I'm thinking those are the keys to what's going to happen is, somebody is going to write an app. We had somebody talk about this yesterday at NDVIR.

Heidi Ellsworth:
One click code.

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah. One click code, and she's automating the permitting process. She's staying up on what's relevant for your area, and she's throughout the 50 states. I thought, "Oh my God, no brainer." I'm in. I'm in.

Heidi Ellsworth:
The hard part is actually gathering all that. Just like what Greta's saying, gathering it-

Wendy Marvin:
It's a nightmare.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Technology is changing this. You want to watch because like one click code, they are on Roofer's Coffee Shop. You can go learn about it and see how it works.

Wendy Marvin:
Sign up.

Heidi Ellsworth:
If we want this technology, seriously, if we want this technology to keep going, the contractors need to support it.

Wendy Marvin:
Yep.

Heidi Ellsworth:
It's not always good, we know that. Sometimes, technology takes us the wrong way, but we've had some great discussions on that. It is so important and so relevant. Okay. Well, we are coming to a point. My last question to all of you wonderful panelists, and I'm actually going to start with Mandy again, is just your top two or three things for other contractors. What should they be doing to prepare for the next 18 months? What's the most, top two most important things that your company is doing that you think others should be doing to prepare for the next 18 months?

Mandy McIntyre:
Top two things? Well, I think trying to be as efficient and profitable as possible, because there are so many unknowns. I think those go hand in hand. The other thing I think is just to really show appreciation for your employees, to not repeat any mistakes that we went through with the first COVID wave, because it looks like the second one is coming. I don't know. I think being as profitable and efficient as you can so that you can maintain cashflow and save money, and then just keeping your labor loyal to you. I feel like, once all these materials start coming next year, and because we've had companies in our area that have completely laid off and shut down.

Right now actually, labor is not as big of an issue as it used to be, but my prediction is next year when all the materials start coming and production starts booming, which I'm hoping is next year and it's not 2023 when we start really booming again, is that labor is going to be an even bigger problem than what we've already experienced. I think keeping your company culture solid, stable, and making your company a desirable place to work.

Heidi Ellsworth:
That's great, profitability and taking care of your people. That's perfect because you're right. When that demand, when the supplies come back, everything's going to change again.

Mandy McIntyre:
Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. Rudy, what would you recommend?

Rudy Gutierrez:
Well, I agree with Mandy. I'm sure my colleagues would do the same. You have to make the right adjustments. Communicate with your team. Make sure you strengthen your company culture. Stay informed with respect to your environment, meaning whether it's pandemic or otherwise. Keeping, staying informed is going to be very key. This morning I was on another call and I read a piece on the condition of the roofing industry which was eyeopening to me. We're going to be okay. We're going to be in great shape, actually. I'm going to re-strategize, and I'm going to plan for growth.

The roofing industry currently is about, somewhere in the area, our national industry, I think somewhere the $30 billion a year industry. By 2025, we're going to be a $50 billion industry. The areas of growth will still be the Southwest, which I happened to be in. California is one, Texas. Position your company to win. I think I'm very optimistic. We grew our business during a pandemic. We grew our business. We started our business during the great recession. I'm very optimistic.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I was there when you started your business. I know you are the greatest man ever.

Rudy Gutierrez:
You helped me with the information. Stay informed. Build on your company culture, and plan for the future.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. I love what you're saying too, Rudy, because we're going. We have obviously a new administration. There's a lot of emphasis on green and green solutions. Now is the time to start implementing what we were just talking about, ROI on the roof. How can you bring solutions to your building owners? How can you talk to them about things they can do to actually make money off of their roof and knowing those new technologies that are coming? Now's a great time to plan for that, to be on that leading edge, because no matter what the politics in DC are, it's going to be. The weather is going to force this change for everybody. Nobody's going to be able to say this isn't happening, right? Greta, what are your top two things?

Greta Bajrami:
My top two things. I'm going to go a little bit on the other side of this, and I'm going to say we have to go back to being risk-takers. I know as business owners and leaders and managers, we get so caught up in budgets and profit and loss sheets and balance sheets, but I encourage you to let that to the accounting department and you focus on making the necessary moves or decisions or campaigns that really will be profitable to your team as a whole. Profit sometimes doesn't mean that balance sheet, right? Sometimes profit might be brand awareness. Sometimes profit might mean being part of a cause. What I conditioned myself is to go back to those early times. I had a $15,000 loan and I made it into a multi-million dollar brand, right?

I tell owners that when you get comfortable and you get to a position where you drive a big company, you forget of those necessarily risks. You made something out of nothing. When you get comfortable, you start running more on budget. Oh, well, the budget allows this and this. Then you've missed those key entrepreneurial risk-taker abilities to innovate and push forward something where nobody else sees it. Right now in the next 18 months, I think that's going to be crucial. You need to go back to those entrepreneurial key skills that you had when you first started your brand and let that be the driver of the next campaign, the next idea, the next product that you endorse, whatever that may be. I think that's crucial. I think that's going to be one of the biggest things that I would encourage anybody.

Then for me, the next best part is now more than ever, we realize that you have to be run authentic and you have to be outspoken and tie yourself to the bigger picture, like Roofer's Coffee Shop. I speak to a lot of people and I encourage them to join associations. Sometimes, they tell me they're too busy, or "I don't want to do that," or "I make enough money." Let's be honest. Let's be raw about it, but it's not about that. It's about you tying yourself to the bigger picture so the people that see you as their leader know that this is not a selfish game for you or a game for your vacations or your lavish lifestyle. This is about you understanding that the career they're investing in matters to you equally.

I think that's the biggest thing. I think this is going to be the crucial. If you want people to come back, join your team, if you're having maybe a tough time hiring people, think of the perspective and think of the message you're giving them. Are you putting in the labor hours, as well, in associations, in coming to an event like this? Are you just saying it's not worth it? People are watching, and the people that that recognize you as their leader are watching. You need to be authentic and raw and outspoken. Those are my two points.

Wendy Marvin:
Love her.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Greta, I love you. Yeah. Really, this is. It's about all businesses, right? The two things you just said are exactly where I'm at with Roofer's Coffee Shop business, that I continue to be, continue to take risks. It does. It's not always perfect, but it's always authentic. That is, if everyone can think that way, I think it makes such a difference.

Real quick, before we go on, I just want to say that Greta is on the board of the Northeast Roofing Contractors Association, one of the first women I've known has been on the board. I'm sure there's others. Tell us a little bit about what you're doing with NRCA.

Greta Bajrami:
Yeah. For the first time ever, I met at the board's meeting in June, and I proposed to the board that we need to respond. We need to respond to change and change comes with changing just the identity of who we are and the mission statements that we once created. It was time for a rebrand and it was a very ballsy, I'm sorry if I may say that.

It was very ... I was pushing for it. I told everybody we have to do it. We have to respond. Look at how many young people are here. I'm young. There's so many young faces around. We need to change. That change comes with a rebrand: logo, color, designs, mission statements, the whole identity, cause. In September 21st, we go to the full board and we're hoping that they will encourage. Next time you see NRCA, you might be looking at a very new face, and I'm happy that they chose and they trusted me to be at the forefront of it.

Heidi Ellsworth:
You're amazing.

Wendy Marvin:
Yes.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Great job. I'm so excited for you. I can't wait to go to the NRCA show. I can't wait.

Greta Bajrami:
Yeah. That's exciting.

Heidi Ellsworth:
It's so good. Okay. Charles, top two things. We might go a little bit long on this, and we're not going to care. Top two things.

Charles Antis:
I love. I love that. I love that, and I love that we're talking about the same things. I believe in a complete inside out re-investment. That means my top two things, number one, my team, number two, the community. For me, it's not the time to go out and buy a boat. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy a boat. I've had one in the past.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah.

Charles Antis:
It's a time for all of my resources to go back in and be available. The way that shows up is this. Those that follow me know that I often say I have the best CEO seat in Orange County, and I really believe I do. There's a few people that might get to do what I do, but I get to go out and really make things better all the time. Once I thought that I could do that for myself, I realized why not? Why couldn't I try to create the best jobs for any seat, the best job for my VP of cost, Susan Degrassi? Go ask her if this is the best job she's ever had. She'll tell you it is, Recently, Audrey, my VP of finance said, this is the best job she's ever had. It took me a couple of years maybe to hear that, but I heard it. I'm starting to hear it. Why? Because of reinvestment, and the reinvestment on them looks like this.

Audrey is a great financial leader. She wants to be greater. I put her in her own Vistige class. If you do the research on what it costs to put somebody through Vistige, not only that day a month they lose plus the fee, it might be $30-$40,000 a year. That's a value because she's empowered. If you meet her, you're going to say one thing about Audrey Schneider. You're going to say she's got capacity because she's engaged. Another reason why it's her favorite job is, she's found what fulfills her. It's tutoring, mentoring, and people. She's getting heavily involved with Boys and Girls Club of Central Coast, just like Susan Degrassi is on the board of the Red Cross, American Red Cross. I'm on the board of United in Homelessness. I'm on the board. Put on your socks. I'm on the board of Ronald McDonald House. I'm on the board of Habitat for Humanity. I'm on the board of a local college, Cal State board. I'm on the board of 10C. I'm on the board of the Roofing Alliance. I've been on the board with Rudy of the NRCA. Why? Because that's the best thing I can do if I want to have a strong company where I want my people to stay.

If I invest in them and that looks like those investments like Vistige, and that looks like personal assessments, give them any assessment that'll help them understand themselves more, but it also looks like in the community. What fulfills you? I give my people these giving cards that you've seen.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yes.

Charles Antis:
That allows them to give to the cause that fulfills them. Then somebody in finance and not Audrey, I'm just making a fictitious person in finance, will stand up that people don't like, cause she's kind of rude. She'll explain a story that's real about an aunt or someone that was sick with cancer. All of a sudden, this person in customer care that didn't get Audrey, not Audrey, I'm just making this up, this person, all of a sudden, "Oh my God, I get her. I get her, why she's designed that way. Suddenly, I love her." What happens when you do complete investment inside and you go complete investment outside, your people stay. You attract and retain top talent. That's what gives us the ability to flex. That's my plan.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. That inside out.

Wendy Marvin:
Just getting down.

Heidi Ellsworth:
You can't leave, Wendy. You're bringing this home.

Charles Antis:
You're funny. You're too funny.

Heidi Ellsworth:
What are your top two things? Come on.

Wendy Marvin:
Charles, Charles, Charles. I was going to. I'm speaking to, and this is. It's the same message. We're just all, we have our little spin on it. The days of games are gone. You have to know who your company is. You have to know who you are, and you have to be really aware of what you're bringing to the table. Charles goes into the stratosphere, but we're talking about thinking about others more than yourself.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yes.

Wendy Marvin:
When you build a culture of that, that's the leadership. That's, I'm giving back more than I'm buying a new car. That's the customer service where you're taking care of your customer more than making a profit. That's the industry where you're more interested in creating a relationship with your distributor who can then turn around and help you. Sometimes, it's holding their feet to the fire, like Greta said. We've got some tasks ahead of us, and we need some help. Sometimes, it's okay to stand up with that. Yeah, just getting into that mode of just kindness and understanding, and again we're all transversing this area that's just uncharted, and we have to have that caring and that understanding. Then you have to maintain. Oh, go ahead.

Greta Bajrami:
No, no. [crosstalk 00:56:40].

Wendy Marvin:
Okay.

Greta Bajrami:
I'm going to make a statement after you're done.

Wendy Marvin:
Oh. For us is, you have to maintain your ability to pivot right now. It ties in everybody's points is, from Greta's is, you've got to figure out what's next. You do that by being a part of these associations. You do that about sitting here in this place, and maybe you're just sitting at a table and you strike up a conversation with somebody sitting next to you, or you're at a vendor booth and you hear, or you're in a speaking and you hear these thought leaders speaking. You're going to get a nugget, and you can bring that back to your business, wherever you are.

We're in very different places in our businesses and who we are, in residential and commercial, but at the end of the day, a business owner as a business owner is a business owner. Maintaining that ability to pivot and that innovation is the next step for us. It ties in what everybody said. That's part of keeping our people. It's part of getting people behind a mission that's bigger than just your company name, because nobody cares about working for Matrix Roofing. They care about who I am and what we represent and what we're going to do for the community and being a giver, not a taker. It's a big deal.

Heidi Ellsworth:
On one part, Wendy, that she's not giving herself a big enough boost, so I will. During this whole thing, during right before the pandemic, into the pandemic, you actually diversified your business. Talk about being a risk-taker. Just real quick share that, because I think this is something in the next 18 months, back to Greta's point, that you've got to do.

Wendy Marvin:
You have to listen to your customers, and you have to hear what they're saying to you. Sometimes, it's polling and most of the time, it's just, what are you hearing on the phone with those people? We were getting a lot of pushback of people asking for additional help. We do roofing and I'm a general contractor. I've always been that, but I would take such great care of my people. Then I would say, "Gosh, but I can't do that drywall repair. I'm going to try to give you to somebody else." I would send them out into the community, just somebody who needs the work and nobody would call them back. Nobody would show up. They'd get ridiculous bids, or nobody would answer the phone even in construction.

We just decided to do it ourselves. We launched that in the end of '18 and had the full '19 before that started. It's blown up into residential repairs and different ways to help our customers. Again, the motivation was to solve a problem for our customers. Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Do you know what? I am sorry. I've just got to, because you never know when something's going to hit, like COVID. You never know, and you never know how you're going to be positioned. When I think about the fact that this flies, I think about the fact that you added those services right before it became one of the hottest things that the consumers wanted. Right?

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah. Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth:
You went into 2019, totally positioned for it. I have to say, the Roofer's Coffee Shop went into the pandemic totally positioned, all digital. We didn't have to worry about the other things.

Wendy Marvin:
Yeah, you were ready.

Heidi Ellsworth:
We were ready for it, but you never know when it's going to happen.

Wendy Marvin:
No.

Heidi Ellsworth:
You don't even know if it will happen, but if you don't take the risk and position yourself in that way, it will never.

Wendy Marvin:
Jump. Just jump it. It didn't work? Great, at first, but you just jump. That's Greta's point. Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth:
There's your 18 months. It's going forward. All these people there. There you go. If you can't get something from this for your business, I'm sorry. I also want to say risk-taking, this is our last Coffee Conversations of our live at IRE. Yes, this is it. I have to tell you, it was a risk. It was a risk. Not everything has gone perfect, but I am thrilled. I think it's been amazing. We have an amazing team. I want to thank Megan Ellsworth and Collin.

Wendy Marvin:
Thanks, Megan and Collin. You guys are amazing.

Heidi Ellsworth:
They have done amazing things.

Charles Antis:
You guys rock.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I want to thank the whole Roofer's Coffee Shop team. We have folks here at IRE. They all came out: our account managers, our editors, our, our club, my husband. I'm related to half of them and I should be related to the rest. It's been an amazing week that is again, positioning and putting yourself out there. I'm going to finish up. Greta, you had one more thing to say.

Greta Bajrami:
Oh, no, I was just going to say, when you guys were talking about giving back, I just wanted. I don't know if everybody knows my story, but I think it's worth mentioning if there's somebody listening. Nine years ago, I was on welfare and I didn't have a home. I used to live in a one bedroom apartment, and today I run a very successful roofing company and I have homes. I'm able to speak on moments such as this, but from the very moment when I first made my first million dollars in sales, the first thing I did was I donated to Habitat because I'm actually, I'm part of Habitat, as well. I remember my accountant saying, "You don't have the kind of money for that. Shouldn't you put it into marketing? You'll get more leads." I said no. I have to put it back there because people will know that now that I'm able to afford a house, that I need to pay that back 100 times.
That type of power? Talk about community. People that knew me, people that knew my story. People that knew how I was raised and the challenges I had had, they are my customers and they are my biggest supporters in the community. They tag me on every post and they share my story. They're like, "You got to call Greta. You got to get a route from Greta."

I think if you're thinking about joining a cause, or if you have some money, some resources, don't think twice about it because there's people watching you. You don't have to be a millionaire. You don't have to have a multi-million dollar company to donate, but you just have to be somebody that cares and realizes that giving back lets other people know the things that you care about. If it doesn't get you new clients, it will get you new employees.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Yeah. I love it. Well guys, thank you. That is a perfect thing to stop on. I want to thank my panelists. Thank you for being here.

Wendy Marvin:
Thank you, Heidi.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I love you guys. These are Rudy and Mandy. These are our RCS influencers. They write for the Coffee Shop every month. Get on. Read their articles. There's so much wisdom.

Wendy Marvin:
Can we talk about you for two seconds? You never do this, but for what you're giving back and what you do?

Mandy McIntyre:
Thank you.

Greta Bajrami:
100%. Thank you.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I'm so happy. We are so happy as a team at RoofersCoffeeShop to bring all of you to IRE, to the Coffee Conversations. I want to end with first of all, a special thank you to ABCSupply. ABCSupply is our sponsor. They have made possible. They are big part of RoofersCoffeeShop. I appreciate them so much.

Wendy Marvin:
Believer.

Heidi Ellsworth:
I talk about giving back.

Wendy Marvin:
Yep.

Heidi Ellsworth:
ABC is that.

Wendy Marvin:
Believe in you.

Heidi Ellsworth:
We just had some awesome Coffee Conversations on giving back, miracle. I'm going to think of it. Make-A-Wish. The Make-A-Wish Foundation. Be sure to go back and watch that, and September 9th. September 9th, we start season three. I'm weird, but we put this just like a TV show. We go every other week. We go September through May, and we take a hiatus during the summer, except for here.

Wendy Marvin:
Because you need a break.

Heidi Ellsworth:
We need a break, and it's a lot of work, but it's a lot of fun. September 9th, please join us for Coffee Conversations. It will be at 6:00 AM Pacific.

Wendy Marvin:
That's okay.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Thanks, Wendy and Charles and Rudy. We are very proud to say that Reid Ribble will be our guest to talk about what's been happening, what's happened this last year, about pro certification and about what's to come with the NRCA. Please join us. Be there. Watch for the rest of the live conversations today. Thank you so much and have a great day.

Wendy Marvin:
Thank you.

Mandy McIntyre:
See you.

Rudy Gutierrez:
Thank you all.

Charles Antis:
Rudy.

Rudy Gutierrez:
Charles.

Wendy Marvin:
Thanks, Rudy and Mandy.

Charles Antis:
Air hugs.

Heidi Ellsworth:
Thank you.

Charles Antis:
Wendy.

By Piers Dormeyer, President – Construction & Utilities. 

“Why are you here?” 

As the group of 15 or so roofing industry vets circle up to start the day, Cori Vernam poses this question. Cori is a senior marketing manager at Antis Roofing who coordinated this event in Mountain Center, California. We are standing in front of Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times. Nestled in a remote, beautiful part of the San Bernardino Forest, sick children can attend a retreat that is like summer camp while still having access to the medical attention they need. We soon learn that when this camp opened in 1983, most of the children that came here did not survive their diagnosis. And while today, thankfully, 80% do, this fact sticks with me. As a father myself, I cannot imagine how difficult this is for families. Suddenly, my daily struggles and my looming to-do list seems small and insignificant.  

Antis Roofing, CI Services and Shell Roofing organized this event because they are celebrating four years of partnership by reroofing the cabins of the camp ahead of a post-COVID reopening. We’re wearing bright neon orange T-shirts, striped socks and gulping down coffee in the morning even though the temperature is climbing to 106. Fred Hill, an ex-Philadelphia Eagle who founded the first Ronald McDonald House in 1974, is retelling memories of his late daughter Kim who was diagnosed with leukemia at five years old. His teammates, general manager Jim Murray, and team owner Leonard Tose rallied around the family. In the aftermath of her successful treatment, the team in 1972 started the Eagles Fly for Leukemia philanthropic program, and Hill, Murray and teammates co-founded the very first Ronald McDonald House, which opened in Philadelphia in 1974. I’ve spent lots of time with Fred and haven’t once been able to maintain a dry eye. 

A few weeks ago, Charles Antis sent me an email with a recorded video asking me to join him in the reroofing effort. Opportunities to give back like this are not the kind of thing you turn down and it’s not because Charles is a great customer, that really has nothing to do with it. Charles is always the guy in the room with a crowd. He’s charitable, forthright and everything he says and does, is in integrity. For Antis Roofing, purpose comes first, and then everything else falls into place. Rudy Gutierrez at Shell and Bill Bailey at CI are similar specimens and equally esteemed. When Elizabeth Walters and I were asked to join this event, there was no hesitation in our humble acceptance. We wanted to celebrate something remarkable and use our position in the industry to tell this story, and with luck, see it duplicated multiple times coast to coast and across the globe. So we flew to L.A., rented a purple car and drove two hours east to the middle of nowhere. 

The Roofing Alliance, the foundation for the National Roofing Contractors Association, partnered with RMHC charities four years ago. It started with Charles and his association with the Orange County, California house, and with the vision of Bill Good, then CEO of NRCA, was scaled to a national level. The goal was to connect all 165 houses in the U.S. with a roofing contractor who would provide care and maintenance for the roof over each of these buildings. These contractors would provide free maintenance and repairs for their adopted homes and if major repairs or reroofs were needed, the manufacturers and suppliers step in to help. To date, Bill has never heard, “no.”  

GAF and Beacon were onsite today providing material and service to the project. From day one of this collaboration, EagleView’s role has been to provide property data for all 165 locations, so that the contractors can better plan and service the facility’s needs. Also, in the early days, we recruited contractors from our customer base to adopt the homes and feed them back to NRCA. We’ve also supported the local Rochester House and, until COVID restrictions, provided meals and support to the community. In Rochester, some families that are caring for their children undergoing treatment check into an EagleView room. Bob Morgan, of Upstate Roofing and Siding, another EagleView customer, has an eponymous room down the hall. Today, we celebrate the fact that 100% of these homes are under the care of a roofing pro. 

So, to go back to the question Cori posed to the group huddled together as the sun rose over the mountains while we clutched our coffees: As a data services company, we can’t provide materials, and we can’t supply labor. We can’t send a truck over the mountain to deliver shingles to a rooftop. These are things our customers do. We contributed today with our aerial imagery, property insights and roof measurements. But as a company we are committed to so much more. We can use our brand presence to tell a story about how our customers can make a real difference in the world. We can reduce workplace injuries by keeping people off the roof, and we can remove inefficiencies in processes that enable our customers to spend more time and energy on the things that matter. We work to stay involved in the roofing industry so we can help highlight just how much heart the industry has through the stories and experiences of roofers.  

At the end of the day, we’re here in the desert to improve lives, just like the Ronald McDonald House. I’m incredibly proud of the impact we’ve made and of our folks, particularly in Rochester, that have taken the time to support this important charity. EagleView will continue to support our communities and causes that positively impact the world around us, the associations we co-create with, and the collaboration of them together. 

Learn more about Antis Roofing and Waterproofing in their RoofersCoffeeShop Directory or visit www.antisroofing.com. 

Original article source: Antis Roofing and Waterproofing

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor. 

Here’s what’s trending on RoofersCoffeeShop® (RCS) this past month. 

In looking at our most popular articles for the month of June, safety in the heat was high on the list. We’ve been in the midst of a heatwave recently and it’s good to see that contractors were preparing for it last month so their teams would stay safe and healthy.  

Two of the top three articles were about solar power and commitments to a sustainable future, topics that are rapidly growing in interest. Other top stories included a project profile, tips on getting better online reviews, advice on implementing technology in your company and the importance of educating homeowners while you’re on the job.  

The top story of the month was the announcement from Beacon naming their inaugural female roofing professional of the year.  

If you didn’t get the chance to read any of these articles yet, follow the links below to check them out.  

Honorable Mention (#6-#10) 

10 - Santa Monica Roofing Project is a Work of Art 

9 - Why You Should Be Educating Homeowners While on the Job 

8 - Make Technology a Team Approach 

7 - Six Reputable Metal Coil Suppliers to Choose From 

6 - Follow Up Leads to Better Reviews 

Read the Top 5 articles: 

5 - Roofing Contractors Association of Washington Has Some Fun Summer Plans 

4 - Preventing Heat-Related Illness and Injury 

3 - GAF Reinforces Commitment to a Sustainable Future with Inaugural Social Impact Report 

2 - What Homeowner’s Want: Discreet Solar Power 

1 - Beacon Announces Winner of North American Female Roofing Professional of the Year Competition 

Get the top news each week in your inbox when you sign up for the Week in Roofing email newsletter.

By Lauren White, RCS Assistant Editor. 

Roofing contractors will grab their red and white striped socks and hammers to celebrate four years of partnership between the Roofing Alliance and RMHC. 

On June 24, National Roofing Contractor Association (NRCA) members will grab their red and white striped socks – the signature item of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) – and their hammers to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the partnership between the Roofing Alliance and the Ronald McDonald House adoption program.  And to celebrate this year, NRCA members will spend the day working and playing. 

Staff and management of participating companies will come together at Mountain Center, California to maintain the rooftops of Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times.   

“Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times exists to provide comfort, care and support for children with cancer and their families,” explains Executive Director Fatima Djelmane Rodriguez.  “Our 60-acre site is a critical part of the healing experience we provide our campers and it’s in need of constant tending and care.  Thanks to partners like Antis Roofing & Waterproofing, Shell Roofing Solutions and CI Services we’re able to keep our facility beautiful and safe for the 1,500 campers we serve year after year.” 

Four years ago in June 2017, the first collaborative roof maintenance team for RMHC was formed by Antis Roofing, Shell Roofing, CI Services and Beacon Building Products.  “Four years ago, NRCA President, Bill Good and I, wondered if we could help the Ronald McDonald House Charities keep its families safe and dry, from coast to coast,” says Charles Antis, founder & CEO of Antis Roofing & Waterproofing. “We started right here at Camp Ronald McDonald and met up with founder Fred Hill to see what they needed and brought our roofing hammers, shingles and sealants. Since then, NRCA members have adopted every single roof on every house across the country.” 

The emphasis on the Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times remains today. 

“I’m really excited to represent the Roofing Alliance as we make our second trip to Camp Ronald McDonald,” says Bill Good.  “...The new roofs are being provided as part of a larger, national partnership between the Roofing Alliance and Ronald McDonald House Charities.  We are honored and privileged to be a part of this relationship that helps to keep families close in all 165 Ronald McDonald Houses.” 

In addition to the roof maintenance, presentations will occur throughout the day and a luncheon will be provided by CA Love Drop, which was started by Wing Lam, the founder of Wahoo’s Fish Taco.  Last year Wing partnered with other CEOs and local companies to donate Wahoo’s tacos and other drinks and treats to frontline workers through CA Love Drop.  

Interviews will be available with the following: 

• Charles Antis, founder & CEO, Antis Roofing & Waterproofing 

• Rudy Gutierrez, president & CEO, Shell Roofing Solutions 

• Bill Bailey, president C.I. Services  

• Bill Good, former president of NRCA 

• Greg Bloom, Beacon Building Products (donating materials) 

• Fatima Djelmane, executive director Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times 

• Vince Bryson, executive director, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California 

“The Shell Roofing Team is honored to be part of a group of roofing companies dedicated to giving back and keeping families dry,” says Rudy Gutierrez, president & CEO, Shell Roofing Solutions. “We hope that we can inspire others.”  

Do you know of someone in the industry who is ‘doing good deeds’ in their community? Help us catch them at it. Send news and information to info@rooferscoffeeshop.com.

RCS Influencers celebrates its fifth year of giving back to the roofing industry. 

RoofersCoffeeShop®, the award-winning website where the industry meets for technology, information and everyday business announces the 2021 RCS Roofing Influencers.    

RCS Influencers contribute thoughts and wisdom monthly through interviews,videos and articles on RoofersCoffeeShop concerning pertinent industry and roofing topics. The Influencers represent all facets of the industry including contractors, associations and industry service providers. Their insights are recognized in a special category on the site called RCS Influencers.   

“We have been asking important questions to diverse groups of RCS Influencers for the last four years and have found that they all have expertise in completely different areas of a roofing contractor’s business.  We have been committed to sharing that thought leadership since 2017,” states Heidi J. Ellsworth of RoofersCoffeeShop. “With our RCS Influencers’ opinions, tips or advice, our readers get a feeling for all sides of a topic. Our Influencers are true thought leaders in the roofing industry and bring diverse and informative perspectives based on their interactions and relationships.” 

We are proud to announce the following 2021 RCS Influencers: 

1. Rae July – Chinook Roofing 

2. Tammy Hall – CFS Roofing Services 

3. Pete Harding – Go Green Roofing 

4. Greta Bajrami – Golden Group Roofing 

5. Michelle and Christian Kettering – LTD Exteriors 

6. Danny Kerr – Breakthrough Academy 

7. Julissa Chavez – SRS Distribution, Inc. 

8. Rod Petrick – Ridgeworth Roofing Co Inc 

9. Charles Antis - Antis Roofing & Waterproofing 

10. Michelle Boykin and Curtis Sutton - Rackley Roofing 

11. Trent Cotney - Cotney Construction Law 

12. Thea Dudley – Pocket Protectors, LLC  

13. Heidi Ellsworth – RoofersCoffeeShop® 

14. Rudy Gutierrez - Shell Roofing Solutions 

15. Wendy Marvin - Matrix Roofing and Home Solutions 

16. Mandy McIntyre - 1st Choice Roofing 

17. Mike Pickel - Texas Traditions Roofing 

18. Marty Stout - Go Roof Tune Up 

19. Ashley and Seth Pietsch - Integrity Insurance & Bonding Inc 

For more information on the 2021 RCS Influencers, meet them here.  

About RoofersCoffeeShop 

As an award-winning website and online community, RoofersCoffeeShop is committed to being a roofing professional advocate by supplying consistent information, education and communication avenues for all roofing professionals, and especially contractors, while promoting the growth, education and success of the roofing industry overall. Visitors to the site continue to find excellent opportunities for sharing information while participating in important ongoing conversations concerning new technologies, safety and the overall roofing trade. From the rooftop to the board room, RoofersCoffeeShop is “Where the Industry Meets!” For more information, visit www.rooferscoffeeshop.com.

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor. 

Here’s what’s was hot on RoofersCoffeeShop® (RCS) in 2020. 

We are glad 2020 is over, aren’t we? It was definitely a year like no other in our lifetimes. We found ourselves facing the unknown and our industry pulled together to help each other out through articles, phone calls, webinars and more. It’s not surprising to see several informative and educational articles related to the pandemic and the issues that it presented for business owners.  

Roofing contractors are very generous in sharing information with other contractors to help them be successful in business so we were not surprised to see a few of our roofing influencers articles on the list. 

If you missed any of these popular articles, follow the links below to check them out.  

20 - Roofs Don’t Stop Leaking During a Pandemic 

19 - Coronavirus Could Impact U.S. Construction Industry 

18 - Creating a Culture of Contractor Success 

17 - We Remember and Support Our Heroes 

16 - TAMKO Unveils New Brand Positioning at International Builders’ Show 2020 

15 - Everything Roofing Companies Need to Know About The Families First Coronavirus Response Act 

14 - SRS Distribution Forms a Multi-Year Partnership with Professional Golfer Cameron Champ 

13 - Top May Stories: Beautiful Rooftops, Relationships and People in the Industry 

12 - Online Ordering is Already Here 

11 - CutterCroix Announces SRS Distribution will Deploy GiddyUp to Manage Commercial Take-Offs 

10 - SRS Distribution Announces Results from National Roof Hub Survey 

9 - Online Ordering Improves Efficiency 

8 - Top April Stories: More Coronavirus Information and Education Opportunities for Contractors 

7 - Tips to Survive and Thrive Amidst the Current Crisis 

6 - Here’s Why You Can Expect the Best from the TopShield® Family of Products 

5 - Distributor Relationships are Essential for your Business 

4 - SRS Webinar Series Focuses on Helping Contractors Strengthen their Businesses 

3 - SRS Distribution Announces Coloring Contest Winner 

2 - SRS Bringing Journey to the International Roofing Expo 

1 - Stunning Roof Mural Atop Miami Hotel Masks Ventilation System 

Get the top news each week in your inbox when you sign up for the Week in Roofing email newsletter.  

By Colin Sheehan, RCS reporter.

From film sets to company of the year, Shell Roofing CEO Rudy Gutierrez talks sustainability in roofing.

Rudy Gutierrez, CEO of Shell Roofing Solutions, which was recently named company of the year by the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, joined Heidi J. Ellsworth, RCS partner, on the Roofing Road Trips with Heidi podcast, to talk about sustainability in roofing, company culture and diversifying the industry.

Rudy Gutierrez’s career in roofing started in an unlikely place, the entertainment industry. Gutierrez worked on waterproofing projects for films such as Hook, Apollo 13, and Batman to name a few. He also worked on nearly every music video for Michael Jackson’s Thriller album.

After his introduction to waterproofing and spending some time working for a major roofing manufacturer, Gutierrez launched Shell Roofing Solutions with his brother and business partner, Hector Gutierrez, during the 2008 recession. They focused on energy solutions and sustainability within their products, as well as building trusting relationships with customers. Gutierrez realized that customers often seek energy efficiency when deciding to re-roof, so creating environmental consciousness products is both a profitable undertaking and a way to create that initial connection with clients. “We want to be there 15, 20 years [from now] when they need to reroof, we want that organic growth,” said Gutierrez.

The podcast then delves into strategies for the recruitment of young people. Gutierrez notes young people, and people from diverse backgrounds, as untapped resources that add valuable insights and new perspectives to roofing and the industry, which has been quickly evolving alongside technology. Gutierrez pins company culture, patience and sincere attention to individuals as key qualities in retaining young people. “They have no issues going from company, to company, to company. . .and we need to create that environment that keeps them interested,” Gutierrez remarked stating further, “for me, the diverse market needs to be there. We need to promote all.”

Gutierrez and Ellsworth also discuss COVID-19’s impact on Shell Roofing Solutions and roofing in general, as roofing is considered essential work by federal and state legislatures. Protecting the employees and the clients was and is Gutierrez’s priority, and he adapted to the situation with that as his mindset.

Needless to say, this episode is a must listen for those interested in learning about sustainable roofing, the recruitment and retention of young people, and developing an attractive company culture that promotes excellence, community and company pride.

Learn more about Rudy’s background and sustainability when you listen to the podcast here.

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an interview with Rudy Gutierrez, President and CEO of Shell Roofing Solutions Group. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast here. 

Heidi Ellsworth: Hello, and welcome to another Roofing Road Trip with Heidi. This is Heidi Ellsworth, RCS partner. Today, I am honored to be with Rudy Gutierrez, a very, very long-term good friend of mine, who is the President and CEO of shell roofing solutions group out of Los Angeles, California. Rudy, welcome to the show.

Rudy Gutierrez: Thank you. And good morning. I'm honored. It's a pleasure to be here.

Heidi Ellsworth: Honestly, you were one of the first people I really knew well in roofing when I started with Carlisle. I, to this day, can just tell anybody about how welcoming, how much he taught me, how many great fun things we did working together. I love how in this roofing industry we meet and we just keep working together, no matter what company we're with.

Rudy Gutierrez: Yeah. You and I enjoyed a fantastic career at Carlisle. We worked on some really cool projects to bring attention to certain products, and back in the day to bring attention to energy efficiency, and you really created a fantastic marketing model at Carlisle. Just so happy to work with you, because you were so enthusiastic, energetic, and just brought some crazy cool ideas to the table.

Heidi Ellsworth: Sometimes more crazy than anything, but you were always game, it's like, "Let's go. Yeah, let's do it."

Rudy Gutierrez: Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth: Along that line, Rudy, I know your background, but can you share your background with our listeners on just how you got in roofing. I know there's a couple of other really cool things you've done out there too, even outside of roofing, but had some waterproofing elements. Can you share some of your story?

Rudy Gutierrez: Certainly, I've had a fantastic career in construction, but an amazing career in roofing. I started when I was 15 years old, I was working for a relative, and I tore my first roof off at 15 years old. My experience was so unpleasant that I swore that I would never, ever, ever be involved in construction, and let alone in roofing. I worked construction, put myself through school in construction, and I have never been away from construction in my entire career. It's always been construction. I've enjoyed over almost 30 years in the roofing industry, so it's been an amazing industry for me, but it didn't start out just specifically in typical construction. I actually worked in the entertainment industry and did waterproofing projects in the entertainment industry. I worked on Waterworld. I worked on the movie Hook, Apollo 13, Batman. I worked on almost every single music video for Michael Jackson's album Thriller. I worked at a different environment, but still in construction, and it was amazing, a great experience. I think that the finished product for me was always the disappointing part, because soon as you film it, you have to basically destroy it and put it in the trashcan.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. It's so cool that you got to do that. I love it.

Rudy Gutierrez: Yeah. The gratifying part of roofing is that you build it, and I'm like a little kid when I drive and my kids are in the car. I'd tell them, "Look, we put a roof on that. Look, we put a roof on that." They're like, "Yeah, yeah, okay. Dad, we know. We've put a roof on that, and you did this." So, it's a very gratifying to see projects that we worked on even when I was involved in Carlisle around the world. Very gratifying to see these projects, that's still standing and performing well and that whatever you did and however we had some influence in that decision to put that type of roofing system on, that it still performs exactly the way we intended it to do.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, that's the thing. I grew up with my dad in general. Was a general contractor, and he'd do the same thing, going around, pointing out all of his jobs. That's just such a great feeling. We now do it with our kids, showing them grandpa's jobs. So, hold on, your kids will be showing all your jobs to their kids someday too, because it just gets in your blood, you can't help it. After Carlisle, and as you were going through there, I know you started Shell Roofing Solutions. I love the fact that you really brought all of that, really that focus of energy solutions, sustainability, even solar. Can you tell everybody a little bit about Shell and that focus on...? It has really differentiated you, your team and your business.

Rudy Gutierrez: Yeah. During the toughest time of the recession, I believe it was somewhere around 2008, when I decided to put a business plan that I had developed for some time, put it to work and team up with my partner, Hector Gutierrez, my brother, who also is a roofer. And we decided to launch this company. Some people thought we were crazy, but we thought that we had a very good strategy for not only the financial situation we were facing around the country, but for our environment in California. So, in Southern California, we get probably 11 to 14 inches of rain per year, so you really have a tough time selling roofing as a waterproofing, the reroofing part of it. So, we are differentiating strategy-wise to go in and sell energy efficiency to roofing insulation and other rooftop solutions. We found that an owner was more open to listening, how we can save money through energy efficiency and leverage that against the investment. So, we learned how to really sell that strategy, we lived by that strategy and we learned how to leverage that, show the savings and leverage them against the investment and show that return on investment would be the payback period, the cumulative cashflows and what that roof would... The value of that, that roofing system, would be 10 years out, 20 years out. It really set us apart. Then it led us into very specific areas of aerospace, food processing, cold storage, more specialized billings, and manufacturing of specialty components where you need climate controlled. So, we leveraged that, our strategy was clear, the doors got open, and it really put Shell Roofing as maybe a design build specialist.

Heidi Ellsworth: You and I talked about that, that philosophy, that strategy while we were at Carlisle, how we saw working with building owners, and I think homeowners, but helping them to understand that bigger picture of what a roof can do. I mean, obviously shelter, but there's also energy savings and all the things that you now are focused on with your building owners. What are you hearing back from them about Shell and about what you've done for them on energy savings?

Rudy Gutierrez: Well, we certainly have a fantastic client base. Wee don't look for a one-time event type of client. We look for a long-term relationship, a client that is striving to achieve energy efficiency for all the contributing factors, greener environment, reduction of carbon footprint. So, we really look at clients for the long-term. We want to be there 15 years, 20 years when they need to reroof, we want that organic growth. Our clients for the most part, they're really proud to have other new clients call and ask for a reference. For the most part, we've had very, very good references. They liked the fact that our teams are very professional, that we treat the project with respect, that we deliver exactly what we say. At times, we've been off more than we could choose, so to speak, and a w we've ended up losing money on certain projects, but we delivered the project exactly the way we said it would. And it's coming back to payoff, because our clients either have other projects that we've reroofed for them, or that they recommended us to their competitors, even their competitors. So, we have a very solid client base. We really look for that long-term relationship.

Heidi Ellsworth: I feel the same way. If you do the job for other people that you would want them to do for you, it's going to pay off every time, even if every once in a while it gets maybe a little bit different or the scope changes or whatever. I've had that same experience. Just do what's right, and it always comes back. It works. I know that, and I've admired this, that that is also your philosophy when it comes to your employees, and you have an amazing team, I should say teammates, an company culture. Can you share a little bit on just your philosophies on your company culture? And I would also love for you to share how you've been really recruiting that next generation.

Rudy Gutierrez: Yeah. We've been very fortunate to, to find those gems in the rough that want to be involved in construction, that want to be involved in roofing, and put money behind them so we can train them and put them out on the field. A few years ago, after attending Best of Success, after attending NRCA meetings and talking about an aging workforce and the need for workers, we looked at our own team and realized that, okay, everybody's in their either mid-40s, late-30s. So, if we are looking at this long-term, five years from now, 10 years from now, we may have a problem. So, we needed to start to look at recruiting some young, talented people that want to be involved in construction, that have no experience whatsoever in the field, but they did have the desire to be involved in construction. So, we looked at many different avenues, local schools as well as recruitment days. We partnered with a company that also looks for young, talented people, that trains them on just the very basic aspects of construction, the safety, holding a hammer type of thing. We partnered with them. We found some my young people. We spent a lot of money more than you would typically spend on people that already have a concept of construction. That was a difference, is spending the time, having patience, and putting the money behind it to get them up to speed to be able to be effective on a project. We have used that strategy several times now, and we've found out of six, maybe you have two that are really committed to the roofing part. Now, we actually have one crew that's almost made up of young team members that had no experience in the roofing. Another one of them is running projects for us. It takes more time doing it that way, it takes more resources, and patience, lots of patience, but I'm telling you that young people are not technology challenged. They've actually brought some excellent strategies to the table to us, because sometimes when we talk about a project or talk about a condition that we may not... It may take us to come back with [inaudible 00:15:37] for a long time. And for them, they just research information very quickly and they come back and say, "Look, I think we can do it this way. I already researched it this way." And that's impressive, the way they are able to utilize information better than us, me.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. I agree. We have a number of young, really amazing young professionals working with us at RoofersCoffeeShop Now that we've brought on, and I just sit back and I'm like, "Wow." When you give them a chance, empower them, you can learn so much.

Rudy Gutierrez: Yeah. We certainly understand the challenges of the workforce. I think getting right into the culture, we have a culture in our company here of respect, admiration for one another. We each have goals per day, per week, per month, per year. We have our direction. But we work together as a team to deliver that project to a client. And respect is a word that comes to mind as our culture here. We treat everybody with respect. We don't deal with situations, challenging situations. We're not susceptible to problems, and we have challenges, but we deal with them differently. We don't use profanity. Not that we can't, because we certainly can, but we don't use it when we are in a professional environment. I treat everything as a professional environment. Yesterday, we were up on a project, about a quarter-of-a-million square foot project and just a quick team meeting, and we treated it like we were holding a very, very well prepared, highly-technical professional meeting, but it was just up on the roof to say, "The project is progressing well, this is what we need to do next, and this is our goal." We treat everything like that. By the way, we have some really cool team members. We don't call them employees. I think we're a team and we're a streamlined team, but we rely on every single person. I know that my team relies on me to make sure that I even have toilet paper in the restrooms-

Heidi Ellsworth: Okay.

Rudy Gutierrez: ... when it's my turn on the calendar to clean it, that it's completely clean and ready for them. So yes, we're a team here.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. I love that, and I love that about your culture. You share that all the time and you can see it when I see your teams at the different shows and we are visiting and talking, the professionalism, the friendliness, and engagement. We have [inaudible 00:19:17] respect as one of our key elements at RoofersCoffeeShop, and you and all of your teammates at Shell embody that. I love that. I think that is something that as an industry, we're seeing so much more and you are definitely a leader at the NRCA, which is one of the next things I also wanted to talk about along with this next generation that you've brought in and building this company culture, because you can recruit, but you can't retain, unless you have a company culture. We're all understanding that. You're helping to lead efforts in diversity and inclusion through the NRCA. I would love just to hear what you're seeing in the growth of diversity in roofing amongst the next generation of young people, millennials and Gen Z, women, all minorities and ethnicities. What are you seeing and where are you hoping we're moving towards?

Rudy Gutierrez: I was fortunate enough to co-chair diversity inclusion at RCA, which has developed a strategy for diversity and inclusion. Even I consider myself pretty diverse and very inclusive. Realized that I learned a lot, I learned a lot from people that have spoken at our NRCA gathering with regards to diversity and inclusivity. Really, you can't have inclusion without diversity. Diversity promotes all inclusive. That's exactly what it means. In order for us to be successful in the future, we will need to have diversity and inclusivity throughout different ideas from different, whatever, backgrounds, cultures, et cetera. Different ideas is what's going to make a company successful no matter what you're doing. Women is such an untapped resource for workforce. Only 10% or less of the entire workforce in the construction market is women, and it's much less than that in roofing. I think that for us to develop strategies that promotes that bringing in that untapped resource, it's just a tremendous opportunity, whatever your age. Then the millennial factor. I think that most of us, we say, "Well, we put on social media..." In our marketing, like all the way to the back of the line as it and millennials don't they put all that stuff in the front of line. That's how they operate. That's how they think. And I've learned that I had to go to seminars for that, by the way. I understand that they utilize information much more effectively than we do. Understanding that, understanding of how they feel about our work environment. They have no issues going to company, to company, to company. So, they have to be kept interested. You have to create interest within your own company to keep them motivated. They need opportunity. It's very clear that as we continue to bring in the young, talented people, we've understood that they need opportunity, and we need to create that environment that keeps them interested, that we can do this through the roofing industry. Roofing is an awesome high-technological industry. The perceptions of all, they no longer apply. You need to have so technical intellect in order install a very good roofing system. That brings that interest to the younger team members that we see. But women in roofing for me, that's the untapped source. Its ethnicities, 70% of the Hispanic market or construction market is Hispanic. That's just the way their industry is. But for me, the diverse market needs to be there. We need to promote to all. I think that we can attract talent from all aspects. We need to promote to bring in to... The age of a roofer right now, the average age is about 48 to 50 years old. Well, we need to bring that gap down. We need to bring it down to about 30, 35 to have a sustain market. Then to have a future leaders as well, because I have my son, my nephew who are going to be the future leaders of this company, wanting to keep them interested in, keep them focused on their development.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. That's the thing. Just like you have your son and nephew, I have our daughter, Megan, is working for us, and we have these amazing young people who are coming up and who have watched our careers and actually are interested enough to say, "I'm interested in that for my career," or at least to be involved, maybe her telling where all that's going to go, but I think that inviting people in, like you said, and then being welcoming, making it so people want to stay, and I think that is so critical. Also, for me personally, I want to see other people who look like me. I want to see other women. And I want to see a lot of people who don't look like me. Especially in that next generation, they're going to demand it. It's just going to be an expectation. And so you're way ahead of the curve, and sorry, but I've got to bring this up, you were named the company of the year by the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. That's pretty dang cool, Rudy. You got to tell us just a little bit about that, because that leads right into this. You've just opened so many channels with your business.

Rudy Gutierrez: Well, we were very honored to be named 2019 business of the year by the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which has about 800,000 members and associate members. That's a large group of people, very influential, not only in the California market, but at a national level. So, for us, for my team, obviously I was very honored to receive that on behalf of them, because we go out and we create all of these opportunities, and sometimes even the roofing part of it is we bring in some difficult roofs and our team members look at it like, "Oh my God, how are we going to get under those units?" Or, "How are we going to take care of these waterproofing details?" But they'd deliver on what we propose. I think our company was recognized by those professionals around the industry in California as a company that is a responsible company that grew responsibility and responsibly, that is active in the community, that is thinking beyond just the typical sustainable construction, energy efficiency, all the things that contribute to a positive environment, I should say. So, yeah, we were recognized that we were honored by the Chamber and it was such a thrill to receive this, I was very happy for our team. My brother, who was my partner obviously, sometimes I get these crazy ideas, like I put them into play, these cringes, but this recognition was important to our family and to our business.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. That's really impressive. For people around the country who mainly don't understand the scope of the CHCC, it's huge. It's huge. Like you said, even though it's California, it's very influential nationally, and for you to be at that level with that company or with that association, I just love to see roofing acknowledged that way. It's awesome that it's your company and it's even to have roofing companies starting to be respected and acknowledged that way across the country for their philanthropy, for their performance, for the diversity, for the energy and sustainability. I'd love for you just to comment on that a little bit, because that does our heart good, we've been waiting for a lot of this stuff to happen.

Rudy Gutierrez: Yes. As I mentioned, I'm a fanatic about our industry. The roofing industry has given me an amazing life and I think it transcends into the message of our company, and the members of the Hispanic chamber of commerce recognize that enthusiasm for our industry and my involvement in associations, and in particular, the national roofing contractors association, and the message about roofing and how, how skilled it is and how technical it is and how professional it is as well. To bring that level of recognition through an organization with almost a million members and talk about roofing, it's a... Yes, I agree. Even the dog's excited,

Heidi Ellsworth: Megan will fix that.

Rudy Gutierrez: So, I was just honored to be speaking about roofing and our industry. Yes, you are absolutely correct. Bringing recognition to our industry, I think it was very satisfying, and I was honored for Shell Roofing to be the one bringing the message to almost a million members.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. That is so cool. One more thing, because we're getting the end of our time here, but there's one last thing I wanted to talk about, and that is this very incredible logo that you sent to me to share. Thank you. That really talks... And everyone listening, you'll have to go to the Shell Roofing solutions website and check this out. We'll also get this up on RoofersCoffeeShop, but you have put out a logo about roofer and that being an essential worker. The pride that I think the roofing industry and the men and women who work in it have felt over being that essential roofer or essential worker to keep things going during COVID, let's just end on that. Tell me a little bit about the inspiration of this logo, and also how your team has handled this COVID and coming out of this into the recovery, which we're all hoping will happen sooner than later.

Rudy Gutierrez: Yeah. In the roofing industry, we're called essential workers. In California, in particular, we were called to continue working through the stay-at-home orders through the pandemic. I think if you're not outside working and every day dealing with people, you didn't quite get the whole aspect of how a strenuous this was, or this is, but particularly when everything was being shut down, of people being in the frontline our medical workers in particular, but our essential workers, the people keeping the buildings in our case dry or in our case continue building, it was very stressful for our team, I know that, because we had several team members say that they chose to stay home, because they were afraid to bring home a problem to contract the disease, and then infect their loved ones. We completely understood their position. We really did. We didn't say, "No, you can't do this," or, "Look, we have work and we're essential workers." It was simply an option. But 80% of our teams decided to keep working. We made some adjustments to our operation, and we're so proud of our team that during this pandemic has continued to work, even though they each have family members or conditions at home that could impact them greatly. So, we started discussing of creating a logo to honor our team, and we hired a non-essential worker that was laid off from Disney animation. We hired him to put together a logo with some ideas. We researched the NRCA, we researched RoofersCoffeeShop, everybody that had any information on roofing. And this is what he came up with. He talked to our guys on the field and some of our guys gave input. So, this was a really a team effort. The slow part of the logo, it's like shingles, and then the flat part is obviously roofing and then the roofer on top. I think it really honors our team members, and that's really what we wanted to do. So, now we're creating the logos that are going to go on the uniform, everything that they could wear and wear it proudly. I think this is a symbol for a roofer that I'm going to wear it, because I love it. If the NBA has a symbol, I'm going to have my own, and that's that logo we created.

Heidi Ellsworth: I love that. I love it. I'm just sitting here looking at it as we're talking, and I know this is audio, it's a podcast, so not everybody can see it. So, definitely go out and look for it on... It will be on the Shell website, it'll be on the RoofersCoffeeShop website, because this is the type of pride and respect that we're seeing in the industry that is just growing and is growing because of leadership like yours, Rudy. So, I want to thank you so much for your leadership in the industry and for your continued friendship and mentorship. As I said at the beginning, I'm just honored to always be able to work with you. It's just so great. Thank you.

Rudy Gutierrez: I appreciate you having me and letting me just give my perspective. This is an industry that I love. I created an amazing life and lifestyle because of this roofing industry. Filled with generous people that I can call on for ideas, to share issues, and to gain their perspective and approval at times. This is a very generous industry. Heidi, thank you for your friendship and for always reaching out to me to let my perspective.

Heidi Ellsworth: That is great. Thank you, Rudy, so much. And I want to thank everybody for listening. I think these podcasts, I keep learning so much on them. This is your chance to really hear what other leaders are doing in the roofing industry, to get some ideas, that one nugget that can just really change your business. So, I would really encourage everyone to go to the read, listen, watch portion of RoofersCoffeeShop, listen to the podcasts that are out there, listen through all of our channels and subscribe so that you know when this next one's coming up. So, Rudy, thank you again, and thank you everyone out there for listening today. Have a great day.