First Female VP Leads Roofing Alliance Into the Future
by Cass Jacoby, HJE Consulting
Kelly Van Winkle of King of Texas Roofing Company is currently helping to lead the Roofing Alliance, the foundation of the NRCA, as its first female vice president. It is a huge milestone for the ever-evolving roofing community and a well-deserved position for a roofing professional that continues to give back.
“I’m very honored that I am the first woman to serve in this role,” says Kelly. “It’s exciting, and 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 Roofing Alliance and watching it 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 Roofing Alliance funds from this Helping our Own Program,” says Kelly. “She survived, and she would not have survived had it not been for the Roofing Alliance. So forevermore, I’ve been grateful to the Roofing 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 Roofing 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 vice president Kelly Van Winkle at the helm of one of the industry’s biggest philanthropic organizations who just celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2021. “I really feel like this is going to be a good year ahead,” says Kelly. “And the next 25 years for the Roofing Alliance are going to be hopefully just as good, if not better than the first 25.”
