The Future is Female for Roofing Alliance

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter. 

RoofersCoffeeShop® congratulates Kelly Van Winkle becoming the first female vice president of the Roofing Alliance. 

In a recent Roofing Road Trips, Heidi congratulates Kelly Van Winkle on becoming the first female vice president of the Roofing Alliance. This promotion is a huge milestone for the ever-evolving roofing community that speaks volumes to the ways the industry has grown. 

“I'm very honored that I'm the first woman,” says Kelly.  “It’s exciting, I hope that I can be a good contributor.”  

Kelly is with King of Texas Roofing Company, a third-generation roofing company started by her maternal grandfather. “I joined the company in 2011 and co-led the company with my father for many years. And now, I've been the president since 2019,” says Kelly. “Continuing the legacy of my grandfather and my father is something that's very important to me. I'm quite proud to be a part of a family business.” 

Kelly estimates she got involved with the Roofing Alliance about 25 years ago. Her father was a founder and instilled the firm belief on her that it was important for the industry to be involved in philanthropic endeavors, scholarships and continuing education.  

Throughout her life she attended these events with her mother and father, and when she entered the roofing business she dove into the work. “I kind of jumped in with two feet,” says Kelly. “I thought it was a great organization, and over time, I kept accepting more responsibilities with the Alliance and watching the Alliance flourish.” 

She pinpoints a particularly profound experience with the Roofing Alliance program, Helping Our Own, when she fell in love with the foundation. “We had an employee a few years ago who had a wife that needed some experimental medical treatment. And she was able to receive the experimental medical treatment because of the Alliance funds from this Helping our Own Program,” says Kelly. “She survived, and she would not have survived had it not been for the Alliance. So forevermore, I've been grateful to the Alliance ever since that day.” 

Kelly also mentions the wonderful work the Roofing Alliance does with the Ronald McDonald House and the many initiatives the Roofing Alliance supports from education to funding projects. “[That’s] what I like about the Alliance, because it's not just contractors, we have distributors, we have manufacturers and we're all working together, hand in hand for the good of our industry,” says Kelly.  

The future looks bright with the current VP Kelly Van Winkle at the helm of one of the industry’s biggest philanthropic organizations. RoofersCoffeeShop congratulates Kelly on such a monumental step for the industry and Roofing Alliance.  

“I really feel like this is going to be a good year ahead," says Kelly. “And the next 25 years for the Alliance are going to be hopefully just as good, if not better than the first 25.” 

Listen to the podcast for more information on the Roofing Alliance, including their initiatives and how to get involved.