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Professional Roofing: What is the most unusual roofing project you've performed?
Smith: Building the structural frame and installing a curved copper-clad standing-seam roof system on Smoketown Station, Woodbridge, Va.

Why did you become a roofing contractor?
After my sophomore year of college, I worked with my cousin installing EPDM and built-up roof systems. I decided to stay in roofing after the company I was working for offered me an estimating job.

What was your first roofing experience?
Helping my dad install 90-pound roll roofing on our cabin. The roof system lasted 14 years until I replaced it with a reinforced EPDM roof system when we built an addition.

What are your favorite items on your desk?
My Texas Instrument TI-5045 calculator—I've had it for more than 18 years. Also, a small gag gift my partner Ron and his wife gave me for Christmas—a bug sitting on a toilet reading a magazine with "TAKE A MESSAGE" on the base.

What do you consider your most rewarding experience?
It's a cliché, but the birth of my children, without a doubt. All my hard work and long hours wouldn't be worth it without my wife and kids.

What was your first job?
Mowing greens at Beaver Lakes Country Club, Aliquippa, Pa. We used hand mowers.

What is your favorite vacation?
Visits to my family's cabin. It's built along the shores of the Allegheny River, so the fishing is good, and it is dead quiet.

What do you consider a waste of time?
Discussing a project with individuals who have no authority to make decisions.

What are your best and worst habits?
My worst habit is forgetting to write down messages and trying to simply remember. It often fails. My best habit is my loyalty to family and friends.

What is your biggest pet peeve?
Unsolicited faxes. Please remove us from your list. Please.

What is your favorite stress reliever?
Golf and swimming.

What are the most challenging aspects of your job?
Keeping up with changes in wind design and building codes.

What is your roofing industry involvement?
I was a member of the board of directors for the Roofing Contractors Association of Washington, and I currently serve on the board of directors for the Virginia Association of Roofing Contractors as the NRCA liaison. I also recently have begun my first term as a member of NRCA's board of directors.

People would be surprised to know ...
Although I love golf, the only way I'd go to the Masters Tournament is if I were playing. (I think I could break 80 on the front nine.)