Dave Lawlor - There’s a New Sheriff in Town at the Roofing Alliance

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter. 

See how Dave ended up as the leader of the Roofing Alliance and what exciting plans the organization has for the new year. 

In Season 3, Episode 67 of Roofing Road Trips, Heidi J. Ellsworth sits down with Dave Lawlor, the president of the Roofing Alliance, the foundation of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA). Dave is a Canadian native and is honored to be the first Canadian to hold this office. Coming to the end of the Roofing Alliance’s 25th anniversary year, Lawlor shares his initiatives for his time as president and why the Roofing Alliance is so important to the roofing industry.  

For over 23 years, Dave has been working at Rockwool, the world’s largest stone wool manufacturing company. Prior to that, Dave studied architectural technology in Toronto and landed a job as a laborer with a waterproofing contractor.  

“Turns out the waterproofing contractor was installing mod-bit membranes," said Dave. "I got to know the reps and it wasn't long [before I started] working at the membrane manufacturing company. Like many, I fell into the roofing business, but of course, Heidi, you know we want to change all that at the Alliance, that people choose this great business that is vibrant and with a lot of opportunity.” 

The Rockwool company joined the Alliance about eight years ago and Dave participated in all the meetings. This was his first glimpse into the trailblazing NRCA foundation, which he soon became deeply involved with. It wasn’t long before he was asked to join the trustee board in 2016, and later to be the vice president.   

“It was just a great fit and I was able to bring something a little bit different, international company, international guy, that type of thing, to the table that I think was appreciated,” said Dave.  

The Roofing Alliance has promoted the industry for 25 years through research, education, technology and charitable programs. Throughout the last eight years that Dave’s been involved in the organization, he’s witnessed first-hand the good it can bring to people and the community. Some of his favorite initiatives include the work with the Ronald McDonald House Charity (RMHC), where the Alliance was able to donate 165 roofs to families who desperately needed them, and the Roofing Alliance Student Competition, which is helping to develop a roofing curriculum for construction management programs in several state universities. 

“I’m humbled every step of the way from membership, and then to be a part of the trustee program and then vice president and president,” said Dave. “I know that there's a lot of very impactful leaders that have taken this chair in the past, and more to come in the future. I'm just trying to do everything that I can with my own Canadian viewpoint to broaden our horizons a little bit, to get people in Canada thinking about this as more of a North American thing." 

Listen to the entire podcast to hear more from Dave and the new initiatives he’s helped develop for 2022.