There are hundreds of books written about leadership. Many describe the qualities inherent in successful leaders, such as self-confidence, optimism and integrity. According to a Forbes article, "The Art of Passionate Leadership," leaders who possess a passion for people take the biggest risks; take action in response to an opportunity or crisis; and help make the biggest leaps forward within teams, companies and organizations.
Mostafa Khattab, professor and department head for the Department of Construction Management at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, agrees with these qualities:
"A leader is a passionate and caring individual," he says. "He values education and has the vision to build the future leaders of our industry. He understands the most important resource for any business is people. These are the qualities of a great leader."
The leader Khattab is describing is Dennis Conway, principal of Commercial Roofers Inc., Las Vegas, NRCA's new chairman of the board. Conway's lifelong passions for people, education, professionalism and the roofing industry have fueled him to be successful in many endeavors of his life, the most recent being his election to lead NRCA through changes and challenges during the coming year.
"I have a passion for our industry," Conway says. "I am truly honored and humbled to be elected by my peers to be chairman of the board. I will do what it takes to continue guiding the organization to success."
A passionate beginning
Conway was born in Colorado, and as a child he often traveled around the U.S. with his family.
"I've always been attracted to the construction business mostly because of my dad," Conway says. "He worked for a heavy equipment manufacturer, so we were always around construction sites."
Although he enjoyed many places during his travels around the U.S., his love for his home state brought him back to Colorado, where he attended college at Colorado State University and majored in construction management. Possessing a thirst for knowledge, Conway performed well in school and graduated in 1969 with job offers from four major construction companies—Bechtel Corp. in San Francisco; Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria, Ill.; Hawaiian Dredging and Construction Co. in Honolulu; and Kellogg Brown and Root in Biloxi, Miss.
Having met many friends from Hawaii while in college, Conway accepted a position as project engineer at Hawaiian Dredging and Construction, the largest general contractor in Hawaii and the South Pacific, where he again excelled. He expected only to be with the company for one year, but it turned into 16. During his time there, Conway supervised the construction of a number of leading hotels and resorts around the islands.
"I was fortunate enough to live on all the islands because we had to go where the projects were," he says. "And then they asked me to do a three-year stint in Guam and then to Singapore for another three-year stint as division manager for Southeast Asia."
Conway returned to Hawaii in 1981, and a few years later he received another job offer that would change his career's trajectory.
"I was sitting in my office when I got a call from a recruiter who asked me if I would be interested in interviewing for a job to be president of Honolulu Roofing," Conway says. "So I had to make a decision to continue to stay with general contracting or be president of the largest roofing contractor in the South Pacific."
Conway chose to enter the roofing industry and remained president of Honolulu Roofing Co. until 1990, when the company was sold. He continued to stay in the roofing business and started his own roofing company, Grace Specific Roofing, which he sold to his employees in 1995. He then accepted a position to work for Bryant Universal as regional manager for the Southern California office located in Anaheim, Calif., and returned to the U.S. mainland serendipitously 26 years later.
"I'll never forget that," Conway says. "I arrived in Hawaii on Sept. 15, 1969, and I left the tarmac and was up in the air returning to the [continent] on Sept. 15, 1995. It was 26 years to the day."
A passion for business
Conway's position at Bryant Universal was short-lived, however. Within six months, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. During the reorganization, the company asked Conway to transfer to the Las Vegas branch because it was one of only two branches that remained open. He was asked to assist Scott Howard, then regional manager for Bryant Universal's Nevada office, with winding down the business. Their meeting would turn into another serendipitous event.
"I first met Dennis during a managers' meeting after they hired him, and I immediately liked him," Howard says. "He was forthright and honest and said what he felt, and I really admired that in him."
The two quickly became friends and realized they had similar business philosophies, and their personalities and skills complemented each other's traits. It seemed going into business together was inevitable.
"I had developed a good working relationship with Scott, so we decided to go to the bank and ask whether we could buy the Las Vegas branch," Conway says. "So we closed the sale Nov. 1, 1996, and now Scott and I have been equal partners for 20 years. It's been a great partnership."
Conway and Howard purchased the assets to Bryant Universal's Las Vegas office and renamed the company Commercial Roofers. The company has one office and is licensed in Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. The company has grown to 150 employees; about 15 people work in the office with the balance working in the warehouse and field. The company is well-known in the Las Vegas area and has completed large, high-visibility projects such as Wynn® Las Vegas, Encore,® Paris® Las Vegas Hotel, SLS Las Vegas® and many other iconic Las Vegas hotels. In addition, the company has reroofed more than 100 schools in the Las Vegas area and recently completed the 22,000-seat T-Mobile® Arena. Working on such massive design/build projects is rewarding, but for Conway, the most rewarding part is keeping employees safe and making sure they return home every night.
"There is some satisfaction when we are awarded a contract, but there's even more satisfaction when we successfully complete a project for a happy owner, make money and everyone is safe," he says. "That's when I get happy—that's euphoric to me. When we can complete such and such job and also have no injuries, that's important to me."
Keeping employees safe and treating them as family is the type of culture Conway and Howard strive for within Commercial Roofers.
"We very much have a family atmosphere," Howard says. "Most employees have worked for us a long time."
Indeed, many employees, such as Penny Padilla, controller and secretary for Commercial Roofers, have been with Commercial Roofers for many years. Padilla has worked with Commercial Roofers since its inception and the Howard family, including Howard's father and grandfather, since 1973.
"We have a family culture at Commercial Roofers; it's a caring atmosphere," Padilla says. "Dennis and Scott know how to put the right people in the right places and let them do their jobs. They're our bosses, and they check in often to see how things are going, but we are family."
Michelle Draucker, sales administrator for Commercial Roofers, has been with the company for nine years and agrees with Padilla's sentiments.
"What drew me to the company is the quality, professionalism and camaraderie here; it's like a small family," Draucker says. "I always felt like Dennis and L.B. (Dennis' wife) were the family I never had here. When I first started dating my husband and introduced him to L.B., she said: 'He's the one!'"
Their bond is so strong, in 2014, Draucker married her husband and Conway walked her down the aisle. Unfortunately, L.B., Dennis' wife for 22 years, wasn't there to see Draucker marry "the one." In 2013, L.B. suffered a stroke during a yoga class and died a week later after suffering a second stroke.
"When she passed, it was so sudden and such a shock, it floored everybody," Draucker says. "When I got married, we included her picture among our family members who had passed and couldn't be there."
A passion for L.B.
Conway met L.B. in Honolulu in 1981 after returning from Asia. At the time, both were ending marriages, so they began dating but were cautious of beginning a new marriage. Eventually, 10 years later, they made it official.
"The jury was out for 10 years, but eventually we got married," Conway says. "We were married for 22 years and together for 32. That's a pretty long cab ride."
L.B. developed strong relationships with many people she met through NRCA, such as Rob Therrien, president of The Melanson Co. Inc., Keene, N.H. The two often played the online game Words with Friends together.
"With the three-hour time difference, it worked out well for them," Conway says. "She'd be up late at night putting her words in, so when Rob got up in the morning, he'd see her words and then put his words in. So then when she woke up at 6:30 a.m., she'd open her iPad to see his words and she'd say: 'Good morning, Rob!' So she would always say good morning to him before me!"
Conway says L.B. loved NRCA and everyone within NRCA.
"She was the glue that held the other half of NRCA's Executive Committee together," Conway says. "Everyone would ask: 'What is L.B. up to today? What does L.B. have us doing today?' She loved NRCA. She always said: 'Dennis, when you become president of NRCA, I will be the first lady of roofing.' I'm sorry she can't see where I am now, but she knows."
L.B.'s passing was unexpected, and as one might imagine, devastating for Conway.
"That morning she called me before I got on an airplane and said, 'I love you,' and by the time I got off the plane, I got the news she suffered a stroke," Conway says. "The sense of loss is tremendous. People don't know it until they've experienced it. You think you're doing well, and then you just fall apart."
Conway says the three years following L.B.'s passing have been "interesting," but eventually he found his way through the grief and recently sold the house he and L.B. shared.
"One night I had an epiphany that if I didn't sell the house, I'd always think L.B. would walk through the front door," Conway says. "So the market was good and I decided to try and sell the house, and it sold within three days, seemingly meant to be. I look back on it now and can say it was one of the best things I ever did because now it's like I've started part two of my life."
Howard says the way Conway has navigated his way through the grief and found a way to another chapter in his life is commendable.
"Dennis went through a personal tragedy when his wife died," Howard says. "And he has recovered from that in a way I could only hope to if faced with that."
Indeed, Conway has been dating Lisa Kubena, whom he met during a business mixer, for about 1 1/2 years. Lisa owns a humidity-control equipment business, and the two now live together.
"My gal, Lisa, is great," Conway says. "She is a great cook, and I love to cook, so we can swashbuckle pretty good in the kitchen. We have a deal where we cook during the week, and Friday and Saturday nights are date nights and we go out."
A passion for family
In his free time, Conway also enjoys time with his mother, Flo, 92, who lives in Denver; his brother, Michael, 67, who lives in Honolulu; his sister, Mary, 58, who lives in Littleton, Colo.; his children from his first marriage, Shannon, 43, who lives in Annapolis, Md., and Ryan, 40, who lives in Redondo Beach, Calif.; and his stepdaughter, L.B.'s daughter, Mikala, 49, who lives in Washington, D.C. Conway gets "a hoot" out of spending time with his grandchildren: Lyndsey, 11; Sadie, 8; and Rowan, 4.
"I get a big charge out of my kids and grandkids; I have a wonderful relationship with them," Conway says. "My granddaughters are athletes and compete in swimming, lacrosse and gymnastics."
Shannon says her dad has been "a rock" to her family and always has their best interests in mind.
"My daughters love going to grandpa's house because of how he likes to take them on little trips to donut shops, and he makes them his special pancakes in the morning," she says. "They adore him and his funny stories. Although we live on opposite sides of the country, he always calls me Friday afternoons and Monday mornings to check in."
Conway's son, Ryan, says his dad has been a supportive and strong role model for him.
"My dad is a kind, genuine, easygoing guy who is easy to get along with," he says. "He has an intense passion to succeed at anything he is working on. One of the best pieces of advice he's given me is to work hard, work smart."
A passion for education
The backbone of Conway's work hard, work smart philosophy is education. He strongly believes education should be part of any viable plan for success and has written several checks for tuition during his lifetime so his children could attend college. He even has paid the tuition for a few Commercial Roofers employees to attend school through his company's tuition reimbursement program.
"I always told my wife there are two checks I don't mind writing each month—the mortgage check and the education check," he says. "I don't care how much they are, I will write them and figure out a way to pay for everything else. Paying for a roof over my head and for my children and employees to be educated are musts."
Conway believes he wouldn't be where he is today if it weren't for the college education he received at Colorado State University, and so he travels to the school a couple times per year to teach. He also played an integral role establishing Colorado State University's construction management school initiative with The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress in 2014. (For more information about the Alliance's construction management school initiative, see "On your mark, get set, reroof!" April 2016 issue.)
"Construction management schools offer a lot of wonderful candidates for our industry, not only for contracting but also for distributing and manufacturing," Conway says. "I think our industry is missing an opportunity by not trying to hire some of these graduates who have engineering, architecture and business backgrounds, and that is part of the reason the Alliance's construction management school initiative is so important to me."
According to Conway, most construction management school graduates go to work for general contractors, but he would like to change that.
"In 2013, Colorado State started a similar program to what we now have with the Alliance, but it's with the mechanical engineering association," Conway says. "And now somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of the graduates from the construction management program are going to work for mechanical and electrical contractors, so we want that for the roofing industry. Our program is in its infancy, so it may take five or 10 years, but I think it's going to be worth our efforts to get the students to actively think about pursuing roofing as a career."
During his lectures at Colorado State University, Conway tries to emphasize all the possibilities a roofing career can provide.
"When I'm there lecturing, I tell them I worked as a general contractor for 16 years, and for the past 25 years I've been on the roofing side," he says. "And I'm going to retire nicely primarily because of the career I had in the roofing business, but I never knew that coming out of college."
In addition to teaching lectures and helping to build a roofing industry partnership with construction management schools, Conway donated $150,000 to Colorado State University to build out a teleconference room, which the school dedicated and named the Dennis and L.B. Conway Teleconference Room.
"Construction is a global business," Khattab says. "The teleconference room donated by the Conways provides the opportunity for our students to interact with students from other countries—one of our classes recently joined a class from a university in Brazil. This interaction reinforces the need to understand and value other cultures."
Conway's dedication to education has helped improve the lives of his children and employees as well as construction management students worldwide, perhaps shaping the future of the roofing industry's workforce needs. In honor of his unwavering efforts to education, The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress named its first construction management scholarship the L.B. Conway Scholarship.
"That was really moving and touching the Alliance did that," Conway says. "Education has always been my passion, and now I want to continue to educate our members and get our message out about what NRCA offers, which has been a challenge for every NRCA chairman of the board."
A passion for NRCA
During his upcoming term, Conway plans to focus on continuing to inform roofing contractors about the wealth of information NRCA provides its members.
"It's a message we've struggled with since I've been involved with NRCA," Conway says. "Whether it's safety, management or programs such as the Future Executives Institute or CERTA, there are so many aspects of NRCA that benefit roofing contractors that when I sit down and talk to potential members, they may not say it, but I think they're blown away with how much is offered."
Conway joined NRCA in 1986 after he became president of Honolulu Roofing and has served three terms as an NRCA director and two terms as vice president. He's also served on multiple committees, including the Contractor Management Committee, Membership Committee, PAC Advisory Committee and Work Force Committee. Conway says if you ask 10 roofing contractors today what their biggest challenge is, they'll all say it is finding qualified people to hire.
"It's not just trying to find laborers, it's trying to find roof mechanics, foremen and journeymen," he says. "We have an aging workforce and the current generation doesn't have a lot of interest in working in the roofing business, so our challenge is to not only attract them, but once we get them, train them and show them that within two or three years they can be making great wages. That's why training initiatives are so important."
Conway says the world we're living in now is so busy that even when roofing contractors are able to find and hire someone, they don't have ample time to train the new employee. So NRCA is stepping in to help.
"We're going to allocate significant resources to develop a training program that includes on-site and online training, similar to a train-the-trainer program, so those who have been trained can train others in their companies," he says. "During a two- or three-year period, an employee will receive some sort of NRCA certification indicating he or she has been trained. And if we can combine that with getting specification writers to require workers with these certifications on jobs, that's even better—it will help improve the level of professionalism in our industry."
According to Conway, every NRCA chairman of the board has faced the challenge of increasing membership.
"I think every NRCA chairman of the board has wanted to increase membership, but to me, the only way we're going to accomplish that is to create programs that have hooks in them for people to grab on to, such as a certification program that is required before working on a job," he says. "If we can get a program like that off the ground, it will make it so people can't afford to not be a member of NRCA."
Conway says NRCA is working on other critical endeavors that began during Lindy Ryan's term, but they aren't yet ready to be unveiled. He commends Ryan for her leadership during the past year.
"Becoming the first female chairman of the board in NRCA's history was a huge achievement," he says. "She earned the respect of everyone and came up with some really innovative ideas. We need a lot more women like Lindy in leadership positions."
During his term, Conway will face a distinct challenge others before him have not encountered—managing the transition of NRCA CEOs. Bill Good, NRCA's current CEO who has led the association for 28 years, is retiring May 31, 2017. Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Wis.), former president of The Ribble Group Inc., Kaukauna, Wis., will succeed Good and begin his NRCA CEO position in January, when Good will remain in a part-time capacity for a five-month transition period.
"The previous 50 chairmen of the board have worked with Bill or his father, so I'm the first one in a long time who will have to help manage the transition in CEOs," Conway says. "That's going to be an interesting process, but to have Reid, who has been an NRCA chairman, knows the staff and has a lot of industry knowledge, is going to be good for the association. I'm looking forward to working with him and Bill through this process."
A passionate term begins
As Conway begins his term as NRCA's chairman of the board, he tips his hat to Ryan and all the previous leaders who have guided the association to success.
"To follow in the footsteps of Lindy and wonderful men such as Melvin Kruger, Conrad Kawulok, Reid Ribble, Nelson Braddy, the McCrory brothers and so many others is a privilege and honor for me," he says. "I look at NRCA's chairman of the board as being the goodwill ambassador for the industry. I'm looking forward to serving my peers and will strive to represent the industry well."
Chrystine Elle Hanus is Professional Roofing's associate editor and NRCA's director of communications.
The Lighter Side
What is your favorite word? Fun
What sound do you love? The ocean
What sound do you hate? A high-pitched, screechy voice
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Teacher—I like to pass on what I learn.
What is your favorite quality in a person? Honesty
What are your fears? Being buried alive or drowning
Which seasons of the year do you prefer? I like spring and fall.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? Welcome, my son.
Do you have a favorite food? Fully loaded thin crust pizza
What is your pet peeve? People not returning telephone calls or emails
Next in line
Jim Barr, NRCA's chairman of the board-elect |
After serving as president of the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA) in 2002 and chairing its Technical and Research Committee for several years following his MRCA presidency, Jim Barr, president of Barr Roofing Co., Abilene, Texas, decided to get involved on a national level.
"I became involved with NRCA in 2009," he says. "It was a natural progression from my involvement at the regional level."
Barr served as an NRCA director from 2009-12 and 2014-15. During 2012-14, he served as a vice president, and during 2015-16, he served as a vice chairman. During 2016-17, Barr will serve as NRCA's chairman of the board-elect, next in line for NRCA's chairman of the board.
"It is a great honor to be elected," Barr says. "It illustrates a relatively small contractor in a small market can be asked to lead at the highest levels of the industry."
Since 2009, Barr also has served on multiple NRCA committees, including the Contractor Management, Executive Management Institute, International Relations, Manual Update, Technical Operations and Workforce Solutions committees. Barr agrees with NRCA Chairman of the Board Dennis Conway's assessment of the roofing industry's workforce needs and supports Conway's training goals for his 2016-17 term.
"There is a lack of a qualified labor pool and all the associated issues that surround that, such as training, employee retention and having a viable career path for someone joining the roofing industry," he says. "I intend to support Dennis in any way he needs and hope to contribute to his training initiatives and other shared goals we set."
In addition to helping direct the implementation of new NRCA programs, Barr will assist Conway with managing the transition of NRCA CEOs.
"It is vital that we as a leadership team do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition at the CEO level," he says.
In his free time, Barr enjoys cooking, organic gardening and spending time with his wife, Sue. The two have been married for 15 years and share six children and four grandchildren, and a fifth grandchild is on the way. Barr also enjoys live music events, and in 2015, he helped organize the inaugural Key City Rhythm and Blues Festival in Abilene, Texas, to benefit United Way of Abilene.
He looks forward to continuing to use his organization and leadership skills to serve the roofing industry and is thankful for the opportunities NRCA provides.
"NRCA has given me an invaluable network of contractors at the top of the industry, many of whom have become my good friends," Barr says. "I intend to contribute as much as I can, and I am committed to whatever is in front of me."
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment. Please log in to leave a comment.