By Emma Peterson. 

Jenilee Common on embracing discomfort, continuous learning and leadership in the roofing industry. 

In an episode of the Stories from the Roof podcast, sponsored by SRS Distribution, Megan Ellsworth saw down with Jenilee Common, the CEO of Leaf Home. Leaf Home is a full-service roofing company that provides everything from basement waterproofing to gutter filters. The company has a very large footprint, especially since they merged with Eerie Homes, that spans 48 states and Canada.  

Jenilee’s path to this current position started right out of college at a job with Owens Corning. And from there she never looked back, explaining, “The industry taught me roofing. I started in manufacturing and then I worked in a lot of factories, working my way through general management, different disciplines around supply chain, general management, pricing, sales and more.” This gave Jenilee a deep understanding of different pieces and parts of how the roofing industry works.  

Looking back at it now, Jenilee couldn’t be more thankful for this on-the-job education:  

It was an incredible way to learn. I worked with incredible people in manufacturing and distribution that really taught me the pros and cons of how to operate... And that’s not to say it wasn’t challenging, i had to learn to take roles I didn’t feel ready for and move laterally into things that I was not specialized in, but I listened to people telling me to live in that discomfort and it truly helped me grow, both in my professional life and my personal. 

Overall, Jenilee couldn’t imagine being in any other industry. She shared, “You get to help protect people’s livelihoods, that’s something you can take a lot of pride in. There is so much to learn in roofing, and you’ll be surrounded by really great talent and community. In the roofing industry what matters is your work ethic and customer care, and if you are genuine and authentic about those things, there’s a place in this community for you.” 

Listen to the whole episode to hear more of Jenilee’s insights.

By Emma Peterson. 

We had a great time sharing stories and photos over social media with our roofing community!  

National Roofing Week is an annual event hosted by the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) that aims to raise awareness of the roofing professionals who keep our communities safe and secure. The event also acts as a way to build community with other professionals, both near you and across the country.  

Participation in National Roofing Week is primarily conducted online by posting photos and videos through the #NationalRoofingWeek2026 hashtag. And NRCA has created themes for each day of National Roofing Week to guide posts.  

Sunday – Kickoff  

The week kicked off with posts about the importance of roofers. NRCA started everything with a post sharing the schedule for the week and some highlights from last year’s National Roofing Week! Here at The Coffee Shops™ we joined in the fun on all our social media pages, making sure to thank the coating installers, roofing professionals and contractors who make our community amazing. 

Monday – Signature projects 

For the Monday theme, NRCA invited National Roofing Week participants to share photos showcasing their company’s signature residential and commercial projects. There were too many amazing projects posted to put them all here, but some that stood out to us came from QXO, Sika and Eagle Roofing Products!  

QXO’s post was a carousel of some of their customers projects, including one from Toitures Scott, one from Nedlaw Group and one from RUHS in California. Likewise, Eagle Roofing Products’ post showcased signature projects featuring their concrete roof tiles from across the country.  

As for Sika, they took the opportunity to shine the spotlight on their 2025 Sika Project of the Year award winners, which includes stunning projects like the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center project in Los Angeles, California and the South Station Tower project in Boston.  

Tuesday – Charitable projects 

The next day of National Roofing Week was all about giving back, and the National Women in Roofing (NWIR) Oregon Council stole the show with a free roof!

The replacement went to a community member in need, which is an incredible reminder of the power our industry has to do good.

They put it best in their post:  

Seeing contractors, manufacturers, distributors and industry partners come together with a shared purpose — without competition, without agendas, and focused solely on helping someone else — is truly inspiring. For one day, company names and logos took a back seat to teamwork, generosity and service. 

Projects like this showcase the heart of our industry. The relationships we build, the willingness to lend a hand, and the collective impact we can make when we work together are some of the best parts of being in roofing. 

NWIR extended huge thanks to industry partners, like Malarkey Roofing Products, ABC Supply, SRS Building Products, Owens Corning, Bliss Roofing and Raindrop Roofing NW, for making this incredible charitable project possible. 

Wednesday – Employee appreciation 

The midpoint of the week was all about the people who get things done – the employees that keep our industry moving. For this theme, the #NationalRoofingWeek2026 hashtag was flooded with pictures and appreciations for hardworking workers around the country. 

Drexel Metals posted some behind-the-scenes of their team hard at work, captioning it, “To everyone who continues to show up ready to learn, teach and push the industry forward: thank you. Your commitment is what drives stronger partnerships, better projects and continued progress year after year.” 

IKO Industries and CertainTeed also posted, shouting out the ROOFPROS who get the job done every day and recognizing the “craftsmanship, innovation, and dedication of the teams who help bring CertainTeed products and solutions to life” respectively.  

Thursday – Training and learning 

For Thursday, NRCA chose training as the theme, inviting contractors and companies to share the ways they keep learning and growing on the job. For this theme, GAF joined the party, sharing an incredible milestone from their GAF Roofing Academy – since 2020, the tuition-free program has helped more than 3,000 individuals find employment in the roofing industry!  

And this is just one of the many stories added to the #NationalRoofingWeek2026 hashtag! The Durable Restoration Company posted about the hard work their craftspeople put into their apprenticeship program and QXO shared how they connect their team with everything from stand downs to plant tours. 

Friday – Celebration 

And you can’t have National Roofing Week without taking the time to celebrate the amazing industry we are all a part of! For this theme, the Roofing Contractors Association of Texas (RCAT) took their followers on a trip down memory lane, sharing the “conferences, tournaments, regional events and industry gatherings where Texas roofing professionals connect, learn and celebrate together.”  

Drexel Metals also posted, sharing a common sentiment of thanks related to the power of the industry, “From the shop floor to the jobsite, your dedication, craftsmanship and collaboration are truly what make a lasting impact. We’re proud to be part of an industry built on innovation, resilience and strong partnerships.” 

Saturday – Wrap up 

Overall, this year’s National Roofing Week was a resounding success. From everyone that posted to event sponsors like International Roofing Expo, Georgia-Pacific Building Products, SRS Distribution, Roofing Alliance and SOPREMA, it was all made possible thanks to the incredible roofing community.  

The Coffee Shops crew already can’t wait for next year’s roofing week! As Atlas Roofing put eloquently in their final #NationalRoofingWeek2026 post, “This week gave us the opportunity to celebrate the people, organizations and partnerships that make the roofing industry such a rewarding one to be part of. Here’s to another year of collaboration, innovation and success.” 

By Roof Hub.

Go from searching to anticipating with this tool. 

Construction has always run on shorthand. Ask ten contractors what a “turtle vent” is, and you’ll get different answers. The same goes for “dimensional,” “to match” or “white caulk.” Roofing isn’t built around perfect terminology…It’s built around speed, experience and getting the job done.

For years, that meant one thing: Contractors described what they needed, and the branch translated it. As ordering moved online, SRS recognized that the value of that translation layer was missing.

The shift

Roof Hub’s AI Smart Templates aren’t about better search — they eliminate the need to search altogether! Instead of digging through catalogs or memorizing SKUs, contractors simply define intent:

• Ordering branch
• Manufacturer preference
• Warranty level

From there, Roof Hub automatically builds an optimized material template aligned with inventory, geography and warranty requirements.

No searching.
No translating.
No second-guessing.

Simply a pure anticipation of needs.

Why it matters

Contractors don’t want more tools — they want fewer steps with an elevated experience

AI Smart Templates help teams:

• Move faster
• Reduce ordering errors
• Standardize workflows
• Focus on selling and building instead of admin work

The future is systems that already understand what you need — because you’re the pro.

Try AI Smart Templates in Roof Hub today.

By Emma Peterson. 

No edits, no filters, just your crew’s hard work on a national stage.  

SRS Distribution is one of the leading distributors of building products in the United States. With over 450 branches across the country, they are committed to serving their customers to their best ability. And that goes beyond just delivering products; it includes delivering relationships and opportunities. 

As part of this mission, SRS has created a campaign with the goal of highlighting the work you and your crew do day-in and day-out – all they need is for you to send in Roofing in the Wild videos! What exactly does that entail? They’re looking for 10-15 second clips (shot vertically) of you and your crew doing what you do best – roofing!  

This is a great opportunity to show off your crew's hard work and all the talent there is in the roofing industry! Not sure what to film? Try to find something that showcases your team’s skills and personality – maybe that’s a moment as they organize a staging area, an impressive installation job well done or a quick snippet of a joke shared while cleaning up at the end of the day. 

No edits, no filters needed, just the reality of working (safely) on a roof. Those who are reposted to the SRS social media will get their company (and their local SRS branch) nationwide visibility and maybe even some cool swag for their crews!  

Send you videos to @srs.distribution.inc through direct message today!  

By Emma Peterson. 

Looking back at the 2026 NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS). 

For years, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)’s International Builders’ Show® (IBS) has been the biggest annual light construction show in the world. But this year they took it to another level with record-breaking attendance!  

Hosted in Orlando, Florida from February 17-19, 2026, the show saw nearly 75,000 people come through its doors. Additionally, the expo floor totaled 679,000 net square feet, there were over 1,600 exhibitors and more than 130 education sessions hosted! One attendee, Zeke Keel of Webb Building Essentials in Birmingham, Alabama, shared some thoughts on how this year’s show stood out, saying, “The [exhibit] floor was buzzing, and the vendors really showed up. I’ve come to every IBS since 2017, and the vendors keep upping their game every year.” 

And it wasn’t just the vendors leveling up the show, NAHB introduced a variety of new features and events, such as the AI and Tech Studio, a space designated to spotlighting the cutting-edge technology that is transforming the home-building industry as we speak.  

Heidi J. Ellsworth, The Coffee Shops™ president, was one of the thousands of people on the ground at the show and summed up the experience simply, saying, “With record attendance, powerful exhibits and forward-looking discussions, the International Builders’ Show once again demonstrated the strength and resilience of the roofing and exterior industries... [It truly] highlighted the innovation, collaboration and momentum driving the broader construction industry [forward].” 

And for anyone who wasn’t able to attend the show, The Coffee Shops has a whole playlist of interviews on our YouTube, filmed live at IBS from the SRS Distribution booth on the expo floor! These interviews feature industry leaders and innovators as they discuss the latest trends, technologies and opportunities shaping the roofing and exterior sectors.  

Explore our coverage of the show!

   Jeff DeJong  will continue to lead the commercial roofing business under the SRS brand banner, ensuring continuity and consistency for customers, suppliers and employees.  

SRS Distribution Inc. (“SRS”) announced today that it has acquired from Industrial Cork Company, Inc. (“CORCO” or the “Company”) its commercial roofing business unit, a wholesale distributor of commercial roofing and related accessories. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Founded in 1935 and headquartered in Elmhurst, Illinois, CORCO is owned and operated today by Jeff DeJong and Dan Krasinski. Jeff will continue to lead the commercial roofing business under the SRS brand banner, ensuring continuity and consistency for customers, suppliers and employees. CORCO will continue to operate its controlled environment building construction unit, led by Dan and excluded from the transaction, and will relocate to a new location.

Kent Gardner, president of SRS, commented, “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome the CORCO roofing team to the SRS family. Jeff, Dan, and the entire organization have built an excellent reputation as a commercial roofing leader in the Chicago market. Together, we look forward to continuing their nearly 100-year legacy to serve our customer and vendor partners alike.”

Jeff DeJong and Dan Krasinski, owners of the Company, collectively commented, “As we begin this next chapter of growth in both divisions’ history, we remain deeply proud of the businesses our teams have built and excited about what the future holds. We have long known that SRS would be the best home for CORCO’s commercial roofing division, and now the time is right for us to join forces.”

About SRS Distribution

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in McKinney, Texas, SRS Distribution has grown to become one of the largest and fastest-growing building products distributors in the United States. Since the Company’s inception, it has established a differentiated growth strategy and entrepreneurial culture that is focused on serving customers, partnering with suppliers and attracting the industry’s best talent. SRS currently operates under a family of distinct local brands encompassing more than 1,300+ locations across 48 states. SRS Distribution is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Home Depot, Inc. For more information, visit www.srsdistribution.com.

By Emma Peterson. 

Catch up on the biggest industry stories from May 2026. 

This last May, The Coffee Shops™ crew has been working hard to keep up with all the news and developments of the industry, whether it’s new events, evolving technology, shifting regulations or something else! To help readers like you keep up with everything, we like to put together a list of the top articles each month so you can see what the industry has been talking about.  

This month, we saw multiple articles about artificial intelligence (AI) on our top ten list. In eighth spot was “Cutting through the noise around AI,” which highlights Patrick Garcia of SRS Distribution and Fred Castonguay of Reworked.ai’s insights into how business can use AI effectively. The other article, in the fifth spot on our list, explores the common fear of AI taking human jobs with Denver Riggleman, the co-founder and CEO of Hootl. 

This month’s top list also saw articles from Coffee Shops’ President Heidi J. Ellsworth and our friends at Cotney Consulting Group. In her article, Heidi shares how Thomas Roofing delivers both quality craftsmanship and community support. As for the Cotney Consulting Group article, it dives into the difference between business and profitability, emphasizing how successful contractors are the ones who operate with better habits.  

And in the top spot for the month is one of my articles about “how the Farnsworth Group fosters business growth by helping contractors and other professionals better understand the market around them.” 

May 2026 top article list 

10 - Thomas Roofing and Supply builds a legacy through family, quality and community by Heidi J. Ellsworth 

9 - The operational habits that separate profitable contractors from busy ones by Cotney Consulting Group 

8 - Cutting through the noise around AI by Emma Peterson 

7 - Kick off the summer with the SRS XTV Soccer Tour! by Emma Peterson 

6 - Investing in people, not just positions by Emma Peterson 

5 - Is AI coming for our jobs? by Emma Peterson 

4 - When your company grows beyond you by Emma Peterson 

3 - Beyond the roof: Taking care of families in need by Emma Peterson 

2 - Training as the foundation of a stronger roofing industry by Emma Peterson 

1 - Seeing the big picture by Emma Peterson 

By SRS Distribution.

Do the math once. Never do it again. That’s the power behind Custom Measurements in Roof Hub.

Every contractor calculates differently. Some build waste into their measurements while others layer it on top. Some markets require ice and water on valleys only while others include valleys and eaves. And for many teams, those rules live in spreadsheets, notebooks or tribal knowledge in someone’s head.

At SRS Distribution, we recognized that manual math takes valuable time away from the pro. Custom Measurements was built to solve that. It allows contractors to embed their own rules directly into ordering templates, so calculations run automatically across every estimate and order. Instead of rebuilding formulas on every job, your business logic applies consistently in the background.

Bring your measurements in and let the system work

Custom Measurements works seamlessly with the measurements you already rely on. In Roof Hub, you can pull measurement reports directly from partners like Eagleview, HOVER and GAF QuickMeasure or enter your own measurements manually. Once measurements are in place, your custom rules automatically calculate quantities across the template with no extra steps.

The result is a streamlined workflow that starts with trusted data and ends with accurate estimates and orders.

Build once. Scale everywhere.

Estimating should not mean repeating the same math. With Custom Measurements, you define your calculation rules once and apply them everywhere. Whether based on total roof area, hips, valleys or other job-specific factors, calculations run automatically within your templates.

This drives consistency across teams, improves speed and reduces costly mistakes.

Your workflow. Your standards. Built in.

No two contractors run their business the same way. Custom Measurements gives you the flexibility to build templates around how you calculate, price and execute jobs. By embedding your standards directly into Roof Hub Estimator templates, every estimate stays aligned with your process while scaling accuracy across your operation. The result? Less math, fewer mistakes and faster execution.

Start customizing your templates now.

By Jenny Yu.  

The SkillsUSA 2026 Championship will connect students, educators, contractors and manufacturers through hands-on skilled trades competitions. 

After a year of honing their skills and participating in local competitions, students from across the country are set to compete at the culminating event: the SkillsUSA 2026 Championship. Taking place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta from June 1-5, 2026, the event brings together more that 6,700 state champions competing across 114 skilled and leadership contests as part of the broader National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC). 

On top of providing the platform for students to compete and showcase their talent, the SkillsUSA program builds the next generation of skilled professionals and elevates the value of careers in the trades. Roofing continues to expand its presence at the event as students can explore career opportunities and compete in roofing-related challenges including Commercial Roofing and Teamwork. According to the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), the competitions are designed to connect career and technical education students with real-world industry opportunities while helping address the skilled labor shortage facing roofing contractors nationwide. 

Here at RoofersCoffeeShop®, we are excited to be a sponsor of the NRCA Roofing Pavilion, the event’s central hub for students and CTE teachers to connect with industry professionals on training and career opportunities.  

Additional sponsors supporting the NRCA booth include ABC Supply, Central States Manufacturing, Georgia-Pacific Building Products, Johns Manville, Elevate™, IB Roof Systems™, Leister, National Roofing Partners, National Women in Roofing (NWIR), QXO, Roofing Alliance, Roofing Technology Think Tank (RT3), SRS Distribution and TAMKO®. This robust participation reflects industry-wide collaboration to help SkillsUSA continue to grow as a pipeline for skilled professionals entering the trades. 

The SkillsUSA Championships have become a critical recruiting and education platform for the roofing industry. NRCA notes if even 5% of SkillsUSA students entered roofing careers, the industry could gain more than 5,000 new workers annually. 

To learn more about the 2026 SkillsUSA Championships, the Roofing Pavilion and ways to get involved, visit the SkillsUSA and NRCA websites. We hope to see you there! 

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.