Details

Duncan

What is your position within your company?
I am president of Nations Roof, Villa Park, Ill.

Why did you become involved in the roofing industry?
Like many of my peers, my introduction to the roofing industry happened when I started working for my dad's roofing company, Duncan & Sons, Lyons, Ill. I worked in the warehouse during summers, and my pay for each day's work was a hot dog at lunch. I also tore off shingle roof systems and eventually worked on a low-slope crew.

What is the most unusual roofing project of which you have been a part?
I helped tear off and replace the roof on Ferguson Bath & Kitchen Gallery, Downers Grove, Ill. Hundreds of crystal chandeliers were suspended directly from the metal roof deck, and they swayed and jangled as we worked on the roof system. But after the work was done, not one light was broken.

What was your first roofing experience?
When I was still in high school, I tried to help tear off 6 inches of a built-up roof (BUR) system over a canopy at J. Sterling Morton West High School, Berwyn, Ill. My brothers handed me a spud bar and watched as I attempted to tear off the BUR while sitting on my butt. Needless to say, I had made zero progress after four or five hours, but my brothers had a good laugh.

What are the most exciting/adventurous things you've done?
Marrying my wife, Jennifer, and having our kids Avery and Owen

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why?
I would like to go anywhere warm that has a pool for my kids to play in and good spots for scuba diving.

What was your first job?
My first job was running a snow-shoveling business with my neighbor called S&D Snow Shoveling. Our business cards said: "We shovel anything." I also had a newspaper route.

What is your favorite stress reliever?
Scuba diving. I wish I could say golf, but it creates stress for me.

What quality do you most admire in a person?
Honesty

What is your roofing industry involvement?
I have been newly appointed to the NRCA board of directors. My three-year term begins June 1, and I am honored to have been chosen for the position. I also am a recent graduate of NRCA's Future Executives Institute, Class 6.

What song are you listening to over and over?
I enjoy listening to anything by the Grateful Dead.

What do you consider a waste of time?
I think it's a waste of time whenever my employees or I need to provide multiple roofing options to clients. I believe there only are one or two real options for a roof system on a particular building, and if we need to explain details of many different options, we have not done a great job educating our clients.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Anything but a roofing worker, but I am so grateful I stayed in the industry. It has provided me with awesome opportunities.

What's your favorite roofing material to work with?
I like the durability of PVC. The end result of installing PVC always is such a great-looking roof.

If you could meet any historical figure, whom would you meet? Why?
If he were in a friendly mood, I'd like to meet Al Capone because I read a lot of Chicago mafia books.