The Littlest Roofer Wins the Biggest Award

By Cayden Wemple.  

Beacon’s Female Roofing Professional of the Year, Michelle Mulder, discusses the prestigious award and encourages women to join industry. 

In an industry that’s been male-centric for so long, it’s empowering to see a woman like Michelle Mulder making a name for herself in the roofing business. Michelle, who refers to herself as “the littlest roofer,” is the owner of Nailed It Roofing in North Bay, Ontario, Canada and she is also the winner of Beacon’s annual North American Female Roofing Professional of the Year competition.  

She acknowledges that there might be some hesitancy for women to become a part of an environment where conventionally men are the ones being celebrated. However, she believes that this award is incentivizing as far as getting more women involved. She told Heidi, “I think it's amazing to celebrate and recognize these women-owned businesses. It's inspiring and great incentive for other women. There might be some on the fence wanting to enter the trades and if they see these awards out there, that might just give them that extra push they need.”  

Michelle received the award for Female Roofer of the Year at the place where it all started: Canadore College in North Bay, Ontario. She began her journey in roofing by taking a carpentry class at Canadore, and after years of hard work, dedication and passion, she received her award in front of a female construction class.  

Michelle wants to be a role model for women in the industry. After the award ceremony, many students came up to Michelle to talk to her about roofing and the award. She commented, “It was awesome. They asked me questions and then I gave out my cards if they ever needed a job down the line.”  

And her advice for women looking to get involved is, “It's going to be hard, but we get better, we get stronger, and it's so worth it. It is the best job that I have had. It's so enjoyable to me.” She continues, “I love the physical work. You get paid to work out. I have amazing views and you just get that sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. You can look back on what you did that day, your work, and that's going to be there for years to come.” 

To learn more about Beacon’s annual Female Roofing Professional of the Year competition, the deserving finalists and the official contest rules, visit go.becn.com/femaleroofpro. 

Learn more about Beacon Building Products in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.becn.com. 

Listen to the entire podcast to learn more about how Michelle and her husband built Nailed It Roofing and for more insight on what it means to be recognized as an outstanding woman in roofing. 

About Cayden  

Cayden is a reporter for RoofersCoffeeShop, MetalCoffeeShop and AskARoofer. When he isn’t writing about roofs, he’s usually playing guitar or writing songs for his musical endeavors.