The Next Generation Takes on Globe Life Field - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with the 2023 leadership team of the Roofing Alliance Student Competition, KPost Roofing and Waterproofing Project Manager Chris Evans, Competition Chair Allen Lancaster and Roofing Alliance Executive Director Alison LaValley. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast.

Intro: Welcome to Roofing Road Trips with Heidi. Explore the roofing industry through the eyes of a long-term professional within the trade. Listen for insights, interviews, and exciting news in the roofing industry today.

Heidi Ellsworth: Hello and welcome to another Roofing Road Trips from RoofersCoffeeShop. This is Heidi Ellsworth, and I am here today to talk about one of my most favorite things in roofing. Happens every year. You probably have all heard me talk about it, but it's the future. It is so exciting. And that is the Roofing Alliance Student Competition. Ah, it's the best. You guys, if you haven't been, you have to go. Watch these young people present. It's just, it's humbling, it's inspiring, it's amazing.

And so today I am joined by the people who make it happen. And that is Allison LaValley, the executive director of the Roofing Alliance, Allen Lancaster, who is the chair of the Student Competition Committee with the Roofing Alliance. And Chris Evans with KPost, who that's the project this year. It's the Globe Life that KPost Roofing and Waterproofing roofed. And Chris has been a mentor, project manager working with all the students. So everyone, welcome to Roofing Road Trips.

Allison LaValley: Thank you for having us, Heidi.

Chris Evans: Yeah, thank you. Pleasure to be here.

Heidi Ellsworth: Love it. I'm so excited. So what I'd like to do is start with introductions. So let's start with Allison, if you can introduce yourself, and tell us a little bit about the Roofing Alliance.

Allison LaValley: Certainly. Well, good morning or good afternoon, whenever you're listening, to everybody, and thank you for having us, Heidi. I'm Allison LaValley. I've been with the National Roofing Contractors Association and the Roofing Alliance just shy of 35 years. And our work with the Roofing Alliance and the student competition has been in the works with help for many construction management schools, as well as many members like Allen Lancaster, Dennis Conway, and many others since 2014.

So we are entering our ninth competition this year in Dallas, and it'll be another exciting one, and I know we'll be getting into details about that. But the Construction Management Student Competition, really just as a quick background, is designed to test the students on their roofing knowledge, project management capabilities, and presentation skills. We've got an exciting project, and I'm not going to give that away right now because I'm going to let Chris talk about that in a few minutes.

But when this project is assigned to these teams, they research the chosen project, they submit a qualified bid package, and then they provide an oral presentation to illustrate their roofing knowledge, whether that be on project management, estimating, and safety, which is really important. So they submit these proposals to a panel of judges who review those, the written ones, and then they will present during the International Roofing Expo again, which is in Dallas this year on Wednesday, March 8th. And they'll do that at NRCA's awards ceremony and cocktail reception.

So the Alliance is rich in its history, since 1996, and really this hallmark competition is really, I would say, one of the premier offerings that the Alliance embarks on. And as you opened, one that is truly important so that these construction management students truly understand the importance of roofing, and the specificities of roofing, how intricate it can be. As we all say, you can put up the building, the walls, the floors, whatever else, but without that roof, whether that be on a residential or a commercial project, you really can't move forward otherwise. So again, really trying to educate these students. We've had 17 schools over the course since 2014 participating, and we have six this year, which I know Allen will talk about a little bit more. So again, if you're listening to this and coming to the IRE, I can't encourage you enough to join us for that. It starts 7:45 on Wednesday, March 8th.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, it's great. It's great. And you can do the classes, and you can come in to the student competition. I recommend just sitting in in that student competition because you don't want to miss a single team, but you can come and go, which also helps because people are trying to fit so much in while they're there.

Allison LaValley: Exactly, right. IRE made it so easy this year. So if you want to sign up for a class and drop in, maybe you have an affinity with a certain school, but it's important for these students to see a packed room. It really is. So that they understand the support. They have spent countless hours on this written presentation, and they will for the oral presentation as well. They'll rehearse the day prior and then present. So it's really important for them to see the support of the industry in that room. So if you can join us, even if it's for a short while, please do so.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, so much. So Allen. Okay. It's been so much fun working with you on this committee. I would love it if you would introduce yourself, tell us about your company, but then also kind of give us a little bit of flavor on the committee that puts us together, the history of the student competition. That would be great.

Allen Lancaster: Sure. My name's Allen Lancaster. I work for Metalcrafts, a Tecta America company. My operation is in Savannah, Georgia. Me personally, I've been around for I think over 100 years, but I'm closer to 45 is the number that I'm working on. So it's been interesting to see the development of this student competition over the years. As Allison said, this is the ninth year coming up. These teams that we have this current year, all of them have been in the competition at one point in time in the past. The teams that we have coming in that are part of this participating in this program this year is Clemson University, University of Florida, Colorado State University, Texas A&M University, Bradley University, and Cal Polytechnic State University. So those are the six teams that actually submitted written proposals. And they've already been in, and the judges have looked at them and have made their evaluations, which we'll talk a little bit about in a minute.

But the part about how the student competition started, it was the idea of several of the members of the Alliance. And the whole purpose was to, as a roofing industry, to try and get a relationship with students in college that are in construction management, to get them familiar with roofing. Because as most of us know in class in college, there is zero conversation or very little conversation about roofing in the construction management field. So we wanted to engage some of the schools and develop that. This being the ninth year.

I think this is probably the first organized, structured event that our industry has utilized to try and make that connection between our industry and construction management teams. So it's been very successful because we've had many of these teams come back each year after year. Because of this event and how it started, there's been some relationships built with Clemson to where Clemson now has developed its own roofing program, which is also available to other colleges. So that we're taking steps and we're getting there as far as getting the roofing industry as a whole out there in the construction industry. That we're not just the guy off in the corner. We are a viable part of the industry, and we're making ourself known. And I believe the student competition has been very instrumental in doing that.

Heidi Ellsworth: I mean, when the schools, the universities that you mentioned, top construction management schools in the US, just have to say, my brother graduated from Cal Poly, and my niece is from Colorado State, so they're kind of top of my list cheering on while we're there. But I know I've watched Texas and Clemson and Florida, oh my gosh, these schools, these kids are so talented. When you are looking at that, Allen, and with the students coming in, we've had some students go into the roofing industry too. So it's brought a lot of attention to roofing and to the Roofing Alliance. But it's also actually started doing some recruiting too, right?

Allen Lancaster: Well, yes, and I mean, as Allison said, it's very important for you to see the students and to hear these students. And I will tell you, you will be just blown away. You'll be overwhelmed by the knowledge that these young people have in a short period of time learned about roofing because there really was not much available even in their schools about roofing. But they do estimating. They're putting the whole package together. And so they're learning our language, they're learning our terminology, they're learning what we go through as a industry, and they present it. They do an oral presentation telling you why you should hire their team to be the one to do the roof on this particular project that Chris will be talking about.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, it's so impressive to listen to them. And they put logos together for their companies. They create this whole company, safety programs, the whole nine yards. So Chris, I mean, you gave them a bit of a challenge this year. That's all I been hearing from the committee meetings and everything. It's like, okay, we picked the project, little bit high on the end difficulty. I was hoping, can you tell us, first, introduce yourself, tell us about KPost, but also then we want to hear about this project.

Chris Evans: My name's Chris Evans. I'm the vice president of estimating at KPost Roofing and Waterproofing here in Dallas, Texas. Have been blessed with almost a 20 year career in the roofing industry and have done darn near everything you can in the roofing industry. So I feel like I have a pretty good breath of all challenges that come at people in our industry. So obviously KPost works here in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, and have been doing so for about 20 years now. And have enjoyed a lot of prosperity and success on jobs such as AT&T Stadium. Last student competition here in Dallas was The Star complex, which is the Dallas Cowboys headquarters and practice facility. And of course now we're working on the Global Life Field, which was a project we finished with Manhattan Construction probably about two years ago now.

So yeah, the project itself, it's daunting. There's a lot of everything. Part of this is not only to test the abilities of the students, but also provide them with some excitement, with some opportunity to see what truly is available to them as a roofing contractor and the types of projects and the type of impact you can make to a community by being part of them. This project has everything from the world's largest retractable roof area to back of house roof areas that house mechanical equipment that are vital to the operations of the building itself.

This definitely was a challenge, not just for a seasoned professional, but this is a very much a challenge for anybody who's coming into this without 20 years of experience in the roofing industry. So the effort, even at the beginning, it has to be commended for these kids and young adults that are making the effort and trying to dig through the details and figure out how we actually went and did this thing. So it's a single ply roof. That's the easiest part about it. The rest is, part of it's on big slopes, which means you have to fight gravity the whole time. Part of it is scheduling with the general contractor around critical areas getting done. And ultimately trying to do it as safe as possible and make sure every person on this job is getting home safe at night. So as I was reviewing the students; submissions, there was a heavy, heavy weight put on safety, and it was very cool to see them really gravitate towards that as a key component to making this a successful project.

Heidi Ellsworth: Safety always been important, but the emphasis that companies like KPost have put on it in the last couple decades to really make a difference is inspirational. And I think you see that every year in, like you said, in the student competition, every year it takes a bigger and a bigger part of the presentations because they realize that none of this can happen if you don't get everybody home safe at night.

Chris Evans: Yeah, it's not an important thing. It's the most important thing. And so we've really made all the efforts in the world to make sure that we're doing everything the safest way possible. And I think, again, just inherently with the risks that are posed by this job, the students took that to mind and went, okay, this is basically a ski slope a couple hundred feet in the air. So let's really, really, really pay attention to that. And it showed through definitely in the students' submissions.

Heidi Ellsworth: TPO, snow.

Chris Evans: All of it. All of it.

Heidi Ellsworth: There you go.

Chris Evans: Rain, wind.

Heidi Ellsworth: Freezing rain today.

Chris Evans: Yep, yep. We are definitely not out there today.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. No, no, no. Wow. Okay. So we've got the teams, we've got the project, they've put all this work into it. So the Roofing Alliance is bringing in all six teams, which I think is totally cool, this year for those presentations. Allison, can you walk us through from when the kids get there to the coin toss all the way to the award ceremony, just walk everybody through what these kids are going to experience.

Allison LaValley: Yeah, it's a great week for them. It's not just about the competition, it's about the experience of interacting with the members, the attendees, possibly seeing the job site, and really being recognized for their work. And so what we try to do is plan activities for them. So when they arrive in Dallas, they'll arrive in Dallas on that Monday, and pick up their registration materials, just like an attendee would. So they get everything. And then they draw for their oral presentation times. So it's totally a pick. We don't preassign anything. And then when they do those, keep in mind, no one's hearing the others. They're off in another room. So it's not like anyone's stealing ideas or anything. This is pretty serious. We keep them apart, not only during their rehearsals, but again during the oral presentations.

We invite them to the Roofing Alliance reception, which is also that Monday night. We meet with them ahead of time. Allen will talk with them. Hopefully Chris can be there. And we just kind of give them an overview. Allen gives them an inspirational talk. And they get backpacks from the Roofing Alliance and a lot of little tchotchke stuff really to get them excited and just set their week. And then we introduce them to the members because we want to make sure these members are interacting with these students so that they have to get the full breadth of really what this industry is about.

On Tuesday, they may be able to see the job site, and then also they have some leisure time, which is nice. And then they will also rehearse on Tuesday. Like I said, they will go through, run their AV, et cetera, practice, work with their instructors, and also with their team mentors. I want to make sure too that we're recognizing all the team mentors in this, and I'm sure Allen will talk about that a little bit more. But they've had member mentors throughout this process. So those folks will be on hand too.

We also then will have the oral presentations, the actual student competition from 7:45 to about 11:30 on Wednesday where they will present in front of a panel of judges, and hopefully a packed room. I'm hoping for 200 people this year. Fingers crossed. And then after that, also, while this is going on, they also get to participate in what we call an expo run. Similar to what I think some people know as a poker run. We have designated certain exhibitors in the hall and manufacturers who are exhibiting.

And the teams are given a scorecard with details when they check in, and the scorecards are filled in as they visit these designated companies. They've got to go to, whether it be [inaudible 00:17:00], or EagleView or whoever the case may be, to get their scorecard sort of punched, right? And we encourage them to talk to these members and really have a better understanding about the industry. And then the team with the best five card poker hand is the winner. So again, it really kind of gets them involved in interacting with the members.

At the awards ceremony that evening, the winning teams will be announced. Because we have six teams presenting, we will actually be recognizing the top three teams this year. And also we recognize the two top presenters. They could be from any team. So even if it's not the winning team, if there's someone that stands out in the judges' eyes, those two individual students will be recognized. And again, on Thursday, they're allowed to view the exhibit hall, and then they'll depart back home.

And also these schools, I just want to mention too, not only are trophies presented, but what's really cool is we present a $5,000 LB Conway scholarship to the winning school, along with the individual trophies, and then a $2,500 Fred C. Good scholarship to the second place team. And then the individual presenters get American Express gift cards. So again, lots to be had and a lot going on and a lot of excitement, and just really want to recognize these students for the efforts throughout all the teams really. So yeah. Exciting.

Heidi Ellsworth: I've watched them on the show floor, they get so excited. And then we'll have them come by our booth and say, "Do you know where these people are? We got to get to them." And so they're trying to get their cards filled out. And I would recommend to everybody who's listening to this, if you get a chance, go to either RoofersCoffeeShop, YouTube, or the Roofing Alliance YouTube. It's on both of them. But we interview the students on the sound stage every year, the RoofersCoffeeShop sound stage, so you can see past teams and what they have to say. And I think it's always inspirational. They are not shy to say what they're looking for in an employer.

Allison LaValley: Right. Well, and many of them are in demand from multiple industries, especially from the GC community. So when you talked about hiring, some of our members have hired particularly the students from Clemson, and it's worked out really well. I know there are some actually in the Dallas area too working. And just so you know, all the schools too are recognized in press releases, social media, not only in the local but national level. They're acknowledged in Professional Roofing Magazine. They're listed on the Roofing Alliance website, RoofersCoffeeShop, Roofing Contractor Magazine as well. So we really try to get a lot of press out for all the schools who are participating because it's important.

Heidi Ellsworth: We have a full time where the media can just meet with the students. And they also have some fun too. They get to go to the concert, they get to go do some different things. So they really see, I think, the depth of the culture of the roofing industry. And so Allen, I wanted, to Allison's point, talk about why this is so important to the industry. And how people can get involved, whether that's getting involved with their own local construction management schools, being a mentor, or just coming to the presentation. Can you kind of share with everyone why this is so important?

Allen Lancaster: Sure. And everything you just said, Heidi, it's all of those things. I mean, to come listen to these young people who are just learning our industry, and they just embrace it in how they present. I mean, I'd be willing to tell you, you could listen to their presentations and actually get some ideas to take back to your own company. I mean, that's how much they have invested their time into this event.

But also we're trying to, as an association, as an industry, to educate construction management students. Well, all that's great. As Allison said, they're being solicited from all industries trying to get them to come in. So if we're putting this program on, but we're not as members supporting it by showing up to show that we're really behind it, I mean, what are we really saying? I mean, it's important that we get there and we say it.

And I also think it's important when the students give their presentation and they come off the stage, get up and go say something to them. Tell them congratulations, you did a good job, if you think that. Don't be hesitant to do that thing. Engage them. I mean, these are possibly people you might want to interview. And here's a almost a free interview process that you can now look and see. And it may be, as Allison also mentioned, we use mentors. Each of the schools has a mentor from our industry. Now the mentor does not do their work, but the mentor is there to help them them answer questions about the roofing and the roofing industry. If they have questions specific about the project, we go through a formal RFI process, they have to submit that. And we answer it in a formal process.

So it's all above board to where, when they're putting this information together and they're putting their proposal together, their written proposal together, then basically they're working as a team. They're not doing it this individually, they're working as a team, which is what you want in your own roofing organization. You want that team effort putting that bid together so that you've got your whole process. And we've just, as an association, as the Alliance has built this whole process into kind of a mini roofing company. So you can come see that. It'd be great.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, it's so much fun. To your point, Allen, I have to say, I totally agree. If you come and watch it, and you see these kids out there and these young people, I shouldn't say kids, young people, young professionals, college students, go up and talk to them. But also throughout the trade show, if you see them on the show floor, if you see them at the awards. I know it's one of my favorite things for my husband, Tim. He watches the whole thing, and then he goes and talks to everybody because he's so impressed with these students. So I think it's important. They need to see the welcomingness, if that's a word, of the roofing industry, right?

Allen Lancaster: Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth: So Chris, you've now really been, I mean, talk about up to your eyeballs with all of the student competition and everything, I would just love to hear your overall, how's this experience been for you as the company who has the project, who's put all this together? Just share a little bit about how that's worked.

Chris Evans: Well, and to piggyback on Allen's comments, if you've ever heard someone utter the words, as a roofing company, "Our hardest thing is to find good people," then you have a vested interest to be in a seat in that room listening to these young folks present their argument as to why they should be hired to do this project. I think the most encouraging thing is to see, as Allen said once again, how much insight they're able to gain while carrying a full class load, ending a semester, that all these kids had to submit everything before the Christmas break. So for all intents and purposes, this was their part-time job. And it really is just so commendable what they were able to put together and present to everyone.

And in terms of how I interacted, once again, Allen did a lot of the heavy lifting here. My real input was the front end information. Showing what it is, not necessarily how we did it, but trying to give the students a good kind of track in order to get them on their path. Everything from that point forward was all perseverance on their part. Allen did a fantastic job fielding questions, providing clarity where it needed to be found, which I'm assuming, Allen, was a lot on this one. So really it is just remarkable.

It's something where when I was going through school, you're right Allen, it was a chapter in a book. As soon as I saw that, I went, well, I'm out of here because this is a whole lot of stuff that I'm never going to use. In hindsight, I probably could have used it, but it really does kind of show the excitement and the opportunity, and doing it at a place like the IRE where it's a spectacle, where they can see that this industry's big and thriving, and that there's a very good way to make a very good wage and honest living doing it, I think that it's just a win-win win for everyone involved. So it should be fun. So we hope to see you there.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, we're going to see for sure. I mean, we're all going to be there. We're going to be sitting front row. I'm so excited. Allison, people who want to get involved. They just listened to this podcast. I'm hoping everyone is entirely inspired that they're going to come and watch the student competition. Then, I've seen this time after time, as soon as the contractor comes and watches it, they're like, "I want to get involved. How do I get involved?" So what's that path for contractors to get more involved?

Allison LaValley: Yeah, there's opportunities to get involved, not only specifically in the student competition within the Roofing Alliance, if you're interested in serving as a mentor, we have a construction management committee, like I said, which Allen oversees, multiple opportunities to volunteer. But for even those who aren't involved in the Alliance at all, there are opportunities. We're the foundation of NRCA, separate membership set up, but we have 185 members in. And what's truly inspiring about the Roofing Alliance is whether you're on the contracting side, distribution, manufacturing, engineering, it could be anything, everybody has an equal partnership in this collaboration. We have a board of trustees. We have at least 10 committees and task forces. And everybody has a say, everybody has a vote in how the work is done.

And we focus on philanthropic outreach, construction management, and education and training, of course. We have a pillar of sustainability. And also our scholarships. We provide millions of dollars of scholarships over the years. So there's multiple opportunities to get involved for any company that is interested. I'm always available to talk to anyone, as is many of our members from across the country. Again, whether contracting, distribution, manufacturing, we're really a true partnership and a collaboration.

And we have a lot of exciting work. We're doing strategic planning now to plan for the next two, five, and 10 years. And we're going to be innovative. When people say about thinking outside the box, we're actually working towards thinking as if there is no box, and about what we can accomplish, and not only short term, but long term. And it's really an exciting venture. And I'm sure Allen will tell you, he's been involved early on, and so has KPost, Steve Little, and his team, and everyone there has been instrumental. And so I can't say enough good things. And we are welcome to anybody who wants to learn more.

Heidi Ellsworth: Okay, I love it. Roofing Alliance will have a booth at IRE. So as you're at IRE, go there. You can learn more about how to get involved, how to become an Alliance member, or just be more involved with a lot of the initiatives that are going on. Allen, I would love for you to bring us home. What should everybody be doing?

Allen Lancaster: Well, one thing I'd like to add to what Allison said, if you are very interested, or you have a relationship with a construction management school in your area, it may be your school, it may be a school from your area, I mean, this invitation is sent out to all the construction management schools in the country. So we're looking for new schools. If you've got a relationship with one of them, I mean, consider talking to the department, and seeing them and help them make a decision to get involved in this. I mean, we would love to have more than six teams compete for this. I mean, it's one of those great chances for you to get involved with your school in your area as well. You may not have a relationship, but maybe it's time to get one. So I mean, the opportunities are here. I mean, the opportunities for you get involved. There's opportunities for all of us to look for the people in the future. We all talk about it. The young people are our future. We know that. Here's your opportunity to help make that happen.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. And you know what? The first step is coming to the IRE and attending the student competition and watching these young people because you will be so inspired that you will want to get more and more involved. And I've seen it time after time. I just want to say thank you for all you do, what the roofing industry and the Roofing Alliance does for the roofing industry, it's exciting. It makes our future just bright, as bright as ever. So thank you all. Chris, Allen, Allison, thank you for everything and for being on this Roofing Road Trips today.

Allen Lancaster: Thank you, Heidi.

Allison LaValley: Thank you, Heidi.

Chris Evans: Thank you.

Heidi Ellsworth: Thank you. And we're going to see all of you at the IRE, at the student competition. You can find all the information on RoofersCoffeeShop. It's on the Roofing Alliance page. It's on the IRE page. I mean, you will trip over it. It's everywhere on the site because we want everyone to attend. Be sure when you're registering to mark the box for student competition, even if you have other classes. Just mark it. Make a point of coming by and seeing what this is all about. And like I said, you can find all that information on RoofersCoffeeShop under the Roofing Alliance directory.

Also, listen to all of the podcasts off there at Roofing Road Trips. We've had the Roofing Alliance on with a lot of different topics lately, things that they're doing for the industry that is just so inspirational. So please don't miss a single episode. Under read, listen, watch, check out the Roofing Road Trips online or on your favorite podcast channel. Be sure to subscribe and hit those notifications so you don't miss a single episode. And we will be seeing you at the student competition. And we'll see you next time on Roofing Road Trips.

Speaker 1: Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave a review. Thanks for listening. This has been Roofing Road Trips with Heidi from the rooferscoffeeshop.com.