By Emma Peterson. 

O’Donnell Roofing Co. has delivered high-quality craftsmanship and service to families for over a century.  

It’s not uncommon to find family businesses in the roofing industry, but even in their Havertown community, a 102-year-old family legacy is impressive. To learn more about the legacy that O’Donnell Roofing Co. has built over the years, Megan Ellsworth sat down with Kevin O’Donnell, the fourth generation of O’Donnell’s to manage the company, for an episode of the Stories from the Roof podcast, sponsored by SRS Distribution. 

The story of O’Donnell Roofing goes back to 1924 in West Philadelphia. Kevin explained, “My great grandfather had a sheet metal shop and got into roofing. He would also service coal burners in the wintertime. We still have all his ledgers, just really neat.” Kevin’s great grandfather ran the business from the founding through WWII and a short time after it was then handed off to Kevin's grandfather. This was around the time asphalt shingles and aluminum siding were popular, and the business did a lot of installation of these materials.  

The legacy continued when the business was handed over to Kevin’s father in 1980. With that handoff, Kevin’s father took the business back to its roots, prioritizing traditional roofing, sheet metal work, slate and tile. Then, in 2017, Kevin formerly took over the business, though his father is still heavily involved to this day. Looking back at that time, Kevin recalled that they “only had one crew and were bringing a sub crew to work with them to do the heavy lifting and so they could focus on all the details. And we did a ton of service work, a lot of slate and tile service.” 

And Kevin isn’t doing it alone; his sister, who has a background in real estate, is currently their controller. Together, this incredible sibling pair has built up O’Donnell Roofing and expanded its services to include roofing, windows, skylights, solar, siding, gutters and custom work — all while maintaining the high-quality reputation that has kept clients coming back to them over the years. In fact, O’Donnell is still working with some of the same families Kevin’s great grandfather had as clients. He added: 

I can look at that my great grandfather’s ledger from 1924 and I see all the last names and a lot of the last names we still work with or work with at least for my father worked with...Like there’s a family that was in West Philadelphia at the same time as my grandfather and I’ve known them for my whole career and am still working with the son of that man. 

Looking to the future, Kevin is hopeful that the business will stay in the family, sharing, “I have a son, who will be 11, and a daughter who will be 7 this year. And I feel like at this point either of them could carry on the legacy... They're both stubborn and very smart, which is what you need in this business.”  

Want to hear more of the O’Donnell family’s story? Listen to the whole podcast with Kevin.

By Emma Peterson. 

National Roofing Week 2026 will be June 7-13 and it’s the perfect time to show your roofing pride! 

Each year, the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) hosts an event called National Roofing Week. The goal of this event is to raise awareness of the “essential role roofs and professional roofing contractors play in every community.” 

How do you participate? It’s as simple as sharing your story! NRCA invites professionals across the industry to share photos and videos through the #NationalRoofingWeek2026 hashtag. NRCA has created a week-long guide of themes to post about:  

• Sunday: National Roofing Week kickoff 
• Monday: Signature projects — share photos showcasing your company’s signature residential and commercial projects 
• Tuesday: Charitable projects — share photos that demonstrate your company’s charitable giving 
• Wednesday: Employee appreciation — share photos of your company’s employees 
• Thursday: Employee training — share photos that demonstrate how you train your workers 
• Friday: Celebration — share photos showing us how your company celebrated National Roofing Week 
• Saturday: Wrap-up 

Not only does participating through social media help build community and give you an opportunity to brag about your incredible team, but it also helps raise visibility of the industry and the critical role roofing professionals play in protecting people and properties. Want to go the extra mile in support? Get your crews National Roofing Week T-shirts! Supplies are limited, so order soon! 

This year’s National Roofing Week is made possible by a variety of industry sponsors: International Roofing Expo, Georgia-Pacific Building Products, Hanover Architectural Products, SRS Distribution, Roofing Alliance, SOPREMA, OMG Roofing Products and Tuffwrap. 

Learn more at www.nrca.net/news-events/national-roofing-week. 

By Emma Peterson. 

Never miss a goal, business or soccer, when you attend SRS’ summer 2026 XTV tour.  

This summer (June 12, 2026, to July 19, 2026), SRS Distribution is hitting the road for a soccer-filled summer! The SRS 2026 XTV tour gives you the opportunity to watch the most important tournament of the year with your peers and colleagues.  

At each stop on the tour, the XTV team will host incredible tailgate events! These events unite fans, contractors, suppliers and industry partners for a match-day party full of great food and refreshing drinks.  

The 2026 XTV tour calendar 

• Inglewood, California: Watch the U.S. versus Paraguay match on June 12, 2026! The event will be hosted at 714 East Manchester Boulevard, near SoFi Stadium. 
• Seattle, Washington: Next, the tour heads North for the U.S. versus Australia game on June 19, 2026. This stop is also outside a famous stadium (in this case T-Mobile Park and Lumen Field) on 1731 4th Avenue South. 
• Denver, Colorado and Alpharetta, Georgia: Then, for the Group Stage Triple Header, XTV will be hosting two tailgates! One will be at the SRS branch in Denver (4550 E 52nd Ave) while the other will be watched from the Alpharetta Heritage Branch (755 Union Hill Road). 
• Olathe, Kansas and Katy, Texas: Likewise, the July 11, 2026, Quarter Finals Double Header will be hosted from two locations – the SRS Olathe Branch (550 Old Hwy 56) in Kansas and the Heritage Katy Branch (2737 W Grand Pkwy N) in Texas.  
• Tampa, Florida and Joppa, Maryland: And last but not least, for the finals that are held on July 19, 2026, the XTV team will have two tailgates. One at the SRS Tampa Branch (14212 N Nebraska Ave) and the other at the Joppa Heritage Branch (12140 Pulaski Hwy).  

Not only is this a great way to kick back and celebrate soccer with people who work in the same industry as you, it’s a great environment for building relationships and connections. 

Register for a tailgate near you today!

By Jenny Yu.  

Contractors will gain practical insights from leading experts while connecting with top manufacturers and suppliers. 

The Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors Association (FRSA) is hosting its 104th Convention & Expo from June 10-12, 2026, at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in in Kissimmee, Florida. With a strong lineup of sponsors and an educational program packed with timely topics, this year’s event is set to provide contractors with practical insights and valuable networking opportunities. 

A wide range of industry leaders are lending their support for the event, underscoring its importance across the roofing and metal construction sectors. Platinum sponsors include Eagle Roofing Products, ABC Supply and TAMKO®; while gold sponsors CertainTeed LLC, Polyglass and SOPREMA further highlight the depth of industry participation. Additional support from emerald sponsor Adams & Reese LLP; sapphire sponsors BITEC, Drexel Metals, MetalForming LLC and Sika Corporation; silver sponsor SRS Building Products; bronze sponsors Duro-Last®, IB Roof Systems™, PAC-CLAD Petersen and Roof Hugger; and affiliate sponsor, Roofing Contractors Association of South Florida (RCASF), reinforce the event’s focus on innovation, performance and contractor success. 

Educational sessions 

Education remains the cornerstone of the convention, with sessions designed to address today’s most pressing challenges in the industry while providing attendees with opportunities to earn CE credits. Legal and compliance topics are a hot topic with multiple sessions led by Trent Cotney, RoofersCoffeeShop® Influencer and partner at Adams & Reese LLP, including: 

• “Building an OSHA Inspection SOP” - Wednesday, June 10, 8:00 a.m. 
• “Roofing Legal, Labor and Policy Trends” - Wednesday, June 10, 12:30 p.m. and Friday, June 12, 7:00 a.m. 
• “Artificial Intelligence in Roofing” - Thursday, June 11, 7:00 a.m. 
• “ICE Raids and I-9 Audit Defense” - Thursday, June 11, 8:15 a.m. and Friday, June 12, 8:15 a.m. 

These sessions will provide contractors with actionable guidance on navigating regulations, mitigating risk and adapting to emerging technologies.  

Business operations are also a key focus. John Kenney, Influencer of The Coffee Shops™ and CEO of Cotney Consulting Group, will lead “Estimating for Small Business” on Wednesday, June 10, at 9:15 a.m. and Thursday, June 11, at 7:00 a.m., offering practical strategies to improve accuracy and profitability for contractors of all sizes. Meanwhile, Chad Westbrook, founder of Service Alignment, will present “Documenting a Roofing Project” on Thursday, June 11, at 9:30 a.m. and Friday, June 12, at 7:00 a.m., helping attendees strengthen processes that support accountability, communication and long-term project success. 

Additional sessions cover critical issues including Florida Building Code updates, metal roofing best practices and safety topics such as heat illness prevention. The “SkillsUSA: Build a Workforce Pipeline” session on Thursday, June 11, at 9:30 a.m., will also highlight strategies for developing the next generation of roofers, a growing priority for contractors facing ongoing workforce shortages. Together, these seminars provide well-rounded education opportunities tailored to both roofing and sheet metal professionals.  

Register to reserve your spot and take full advantage of everything the 104th FRSA Convention & Expo has to offer!

By Emma Peterson. 

SRS Distribution keeps contractors equipped with the roofing materials and building products they need to rebuild in the aftermath of storms. 

By virtue of size and environmental diversity, the United States sees a lot of storms and natural phenomena. From tornadoes East of the Rocky Mountains and hurricanes over the Atlantic to hail in the Midwest, flooding in the South and fires on the West Coast, Mother Nature makes sure to test the strength of our communities each year. And the first line of defense between our people and a storm? The roofs above our heads!  

Roofers are some of the first people on the ground when it comes time to start rebuilding in the aftermath of a natural disaster. And helping them respond and repair efficiently are distributors like SRS Distribution.  

SRS is one of the United States’ leading distributors of roofing materials and building products. Through the acquisition of supply partners around the country, SRS has built a network of support for contractors that seamlessly and efficiently connect them to the tools and supplies they need to help their communities whether any storm. 

And taking it a step further, through the Raise the Roof foundation, SRS brings “disaster relief, recovery and restoration to individuals and their communities” through partnerships with organizations like Minuteman Disaster Response, DARV, Habitat for Humanity Disaster Relief and local roofing companies. 

Are you helping your community rebuild or getting ready to provide support through the summer storm season? Find an SRS Distribution branch near you to get the supplies you need! 

By Emma Peterson. 

Separating the myths from fact when it comes to artificial intelligence and how it actually boosts businesses.  

Recently, wherever you turn, there seems to be a new artificial intelligence (AI) solution or software getting pushed on you. It’s a lot to take in, and it can be hard to figure out what is actually a useful addition to your toolbox. To learn more about how to productively incorporate AI programs in your operations, Megan Ellsworth sat down with Patrick Garcia of SRS Distribution and Fred Castonguay of Reworked.ai for an episode of Coffee Conversations®. 

Being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of AI tools that are on the market is not an uncommon experience. Fred calls this AI fatigue, saying, “Owners and general managers are bombarded with AI this and AI that. It causes a lot of fatigue. But, through all that noise, there are actually practical applications of AI that can help drive value in your business.” 

For Patrick, finding those applications is all about understanding the capabilities of AI. He shared, “There is a lot of hype, but it’s key to understand what AI can and cannot do. Someone once told me early on to think of it as a glorified autofill. And that’s not to say that it isn’t a powerful productivity tool, but it is still a tool, and you need to find how it works in your operations.” Fred emphasized, “AI is a tool, one which works on specific pain points. They don’t fix broken foundational processes. So, before a roofing company starts looking at programs, I would encourage a significant amount of introspection on the company structure. Because when people try to use one tool, in this case AI, to fix an entire broken process, it just amplifies the issue, makes it worse and wastes time/money.” 

For context, an example of a broken process would be not getting leads, and an example of a pain point would be managing your speed to lead. Where not getting leads is a much bigger issue that takes reorganization and possible personnel retraining, speed to lead is something that AI could help with.  

Listen to the podcast or Watch the recording to learn more about incorporating AI-powered tools into your business.  

By Emma Peterson. 

Elliot Emann shares his roofing journey on the Stories from the Roof podcast. 

Through our Stories from the Roof podcast series, we get the chance to sit down with roofing professionals from across the industry to talk about their businesses and careers. And in a lot of them, we’ve had the opportunity to hear all about how they unexpectedly fell in love with the roofing industry. One such story comes from Elliot Emann, the owner of Washington Roofing & Construction in Missouri, who recently joined us on Stories from the Roof to share his journey.  

Elliot originally graduated from McKendree University with the plan to work in medical sales. He explained, “Out of college, I lived in Omaha, Nebraska, for a year working at Cardinal Health. There, I basically helped independent pharmacies compete with bigger competitors.” 

Later, he found himself moving back to Missouri where he got involved in construction. This was actually a return to the industry for Elliot, as he worked at the same company his dad retired from (Heavy Highway) during the summer breaks while in college. It was while he was working there that a friend started a holiday lighting company that eventually branched out into the roofing industry. Elliot recalled, “He really started taking off with lighting and then got to start in the roofing because the two trades kind of complement each other. And he would call me like every two weeks while I was busting my butt in the construction industry to tell me how he's just killing it.” 

His friend’s great experience in the roofing industry is what piqued Elliot’s interest in going into roofing full-time. So, in 2021 he put in his two-weeks to jump into roofing. He started out as a salesperson, learning the ropes. He explained, “I worked with another contractor, I was with them for about three years. And in the last two years that I worked there, I did a lot of new business, closer to 10 million in new business.” Eventually, Elliot felt he was ready to take the next step and started building a network of subs and other professionals to work with him. And, in 2024, Washington Roofing & Construction was born. 

Looking back at his entire journey, Elliot couldn’t be happier to have ended up in roofing. He shared, “I started the company only five years after being in the industry. I was a field engineer for heavy highway construction prior to that, and I love roofing so much. I like the work, it's easy to spend long days, long nights just putting everything into this. It's a great industry, full of great people.”  

Learn more about Elliot and his company by listening to the whole podcast episode!

By Emma Peterson. 

How roofing supply partners like CDS are helping contractors adapt to a connected world with digital tools. 

We are currently in what some experts are calling “the digital age.” This era is characterized by the rapid development of technology-based tools that fundamentally change how we access information, share knowledge and interact with the world. The advent of this digital age has touched almost every part of our lives; from the way we shop for products to how we keep up with friends and fulfill work assignments. And it has impacted every sector of the building envelope, even more traditional trades like the roofing industry. 

In this article, we dive into how broader tech integration is impacting the roofing supply chain and how companies, like Commercial Distribution Specialists (CDS), are leveraging digital tools to better support their customers.  

What are CDS 

Commercial Distribution Specialists (CDS) is a designation given to SRS Distribution locations that specialize in carrying commercial roofing products. As such, the teams at these locations are experts in low-slope roofing and can help you with everything from product selection to on-the-job problem solving!  

How they serve contractors in the digital age 

One of the most significant changes to our world in the digital age is the increased speed of communication. From phone calls to texts and beyond, contacting another person has never been easier or more efficient. And this expediency of communication is something that CDS uses to better serve their contractor customers. 

CDS locations have will-call programs that help contractors get critical products efficiently. Through these programs, all you have to do is call a CDS location for supplies, and you will be able to pick them up (stock allowing) in just 30 minutes! This speed of service is more than just convenience; it can be a critical support element to keeping your projects on schedule.  

Learn more about the support CDS offers contractors in the digital age.

By Jenny Yu.  

This year’s convention offers a full lineup of events designed to connect professionals and their families, on and off the show floor. 

The Florida Roofing and Sheet Metal Contractors Association (FRSA) 104th Convention & Expo is set to return June 10–12, 2026, at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, bringing together roofing professionals for three days of networking, education and a wide range of exciting social events designed for attendees and their families!  

Eat, drink and network 

The fun begins at the Welcome Reception on Wednesday, sponsored by Adams & Reese LLP, featuring food stations and an open bar in a relaxed setting. The excitement continues the next evening with the Jimmy Buffett Casino Party, an evening of games, dancing and tropical flair, alongside key presentations. Throughout the expo, the Beer Bust, sponsored by Mid-Atlantic Roofing Supply and GAF, and complimentary Expo lunches from PAC-CLAD Petersen and USG Securock offer casual opportunities to connect. 

Give back 

A cornerstone of the convention, the Foundation Auction runs throughout the event, raising funds for the FRSA Educational & Research Foundation. With both in-person and online bidding, attendees can support scholarships and industry advancement from wherever they are! Bidding starts on June 5 at 8:00 a.m. and ends June 12 at 2:00 p.m. 

Spotlighting women and Spanish speakers in the industry 

Professional development meets community at the National Women in Roofing (NWIR) Table Talks Session on Wednesday, June 10, where women in roofing can exchange insights on leadership and relationship building in a round-robin format. Registration is $25 and includes refreshments. 

On Thursday, June 11, SRS Building Products and CertainTeed join forces to host a special session for Spanish speakers to learn, connect and celebrate. This event is free, with limited spots available. 

Family fun for everyone! 

Enjoy time with loved ones, starting with Wednesday's Family Fun Event featuring indoor mini golf and a new “Brick Lab” competition where families can build and race custom Lego cars. The Kids’ Program adds even more excitement throughout the convention, with pizza-making, scavenger hunts, arcade competitions and interactive gaming experiences, ensuring younger roofers-to-be are just as engaged as their parents. 

Sports and creative experiences 

For those seeking active or creative outlets, attendees can participate in golf and clay shooting tournaments or explore artistic options like a textured painting workshop and a chocolate rose culinary experience. 

From networking receptions to family activities and charitable giving, FRSA’s 104th Convention & Expo offers something for everyone.  

Register now to secure your spot and experience it all.

By Emma Peterson. 

Westlake’s portfolio is full of high-performance solutions for every project. 

While at the 2026 International Builders’ Show, The Coffee Shops™ team interviewed a variety of our customers and industry friends from SRS Distribution’s expo floor garage! One such interview was with Mitch Heitsch, who is a regional sales manager with Westlake Royal Roofing Products. Mitch was at the show highlighting the variety of products and solutions Westlake has to offer for all contractors, no matter what part of the building they work on, where they are in the country, what performance/aesthetics requirements they need to meet and more.  

He opened the conversation by explaining how Westlake’s portfolio encompasses a variety of markets, sharing, “Our overall brand is called Westlake Royal Building Products because we have so many different solutions... There’s roofing, which is my division, then there’s tools (Tapco), and on top of that we have stone for outdoor living (such as El Dorado and Cultured Stone) and siding/trim solutions.”  

And within each of these brands, Westlake has developed sub-brands and systems that meet the needs of contractors in the field. Unified Steel, Westlake’s stone-coated metal roofing brand, is a prime example of this. Mitch explained:  

Our products check most of the boxes when it comes to both performance and aesthetics. Take Unified Steel, for example. It has all the ratings Floridians could need when it comes to hurricanes and wind uplifts, while also having the very severe hail (VSH) and snow load ratings needed in the Midwest and the fire ratings needed out West. And from an aesthetics standpoint, we not only have a variety of colors for every need, but also five unique profiles that fit any architectural style out there. 

At the end of the day, if you need a product related to building a home, Westlake’s portfolio is likely to have a high-performance solution perfect for the job. 

Learn more about Westlake’s portfolio by watching the whole interview.