The creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of a career in roofing

By Dani Sheehan. 

Discover how a career in roofing sparks innovation, fosters growth and creates lasting impact. 

The roofing industry carries several misconceptions from hard labor and repetitive tasks to the idea that there’s little room for growth. But in the latest episode of People Make Roofing, hosts Luke McCormack with McCormack Partners and Heidi J. Ellsworth sit down with Kyle and Campbell Thomas of Thomas Roofing to turn that narrative on its head. Together, they reveal how roofing is a career filled with creativity, innovation and personal development. 

Kyle Thomas, vice president of Thomas Roofing in Mobile, Alabama, shares his journey into the roofing business, emphasizing the entrepreneurial spirit he saw from his dad. “Growing up in a family business, I grew up seeing my dad work really hard but also have control of his destiny,” Kyle explains. He didn’t initially plan to follow in his father’s footsteps, but after exploring college and post-graduation opportunities, nothing else really fit his personality or his lifestyle. He returned to roofing and hasn’t looked back since.  

For Kyle, roofing is his job, but it’s also his chance to solve problems in unexpected and creative ways. “When I look at trying to boil down the most rewarding aspect of the job, for me, it’s the problem-solving,” Kyle shares. “People are calling us with a problem, and we’re here to help, to solve it for them. And every day brings something new – another owner with another issue, another building with some weird thing you’ve never seen before. It’s exciting.” 

Campbell’s journey is equally unique. While she grew up in the roofing industry, she first pursued a career in cosmetology. Eventually, she found her way back to roofing through her now-husband and has since flourished as an estimator and project manager. Her role is anything but routine. “There’s a big creative aspect to estimating. Sometimes you’re faced with challenges that others can’t figure out, especially on flat roofs,” she says. Campbell loves interacting with the customers and seeing the quality work they do reflected in the fact that many of their customers keep coming back.  

Kyle adds, “It's a blend of internally watching what my people can do when we give them the opportunity and give them the space to work with their creativity and their intelligence and their work ethic and grow their own lives. But also, I find it pretty rewarding that we're here and have been here for so many years to solve customers' problems.” 

The purpose of People Make Roofing is to shine light on the true potential of roofing through the celebration of the relationships built, the mentorships nurtured and the everyday creativity that transforms buildings. 

Read the transcript, Listen to the podcast or Watch the webinar to hear more about Kyle and Campbell’s unfiltered stories and see how they’re redefining what it means to work in roofing.