Industry leaders share insights on the trends and challenges shaping the coatings industry. 

The Coffee Shops™, the award-winning websites where the industries meet for technology, information and everyday business, announce the 2026 Influencers for CoatingsCoffeeShop®.    

On a monthly basis, Influencers contribute expert perspectives on the issues driving the coatings industry forward, including training, business diversification through coatings, the future of labor and technology, sustainability and more. CoatingsCoffeeShop shares these viewpoints through interviews, videos and articles. Representing every segment of the coatings industry, from contractors and associations to manufacturers and service providers, these Influencers are featured throughout the website, promoted across social media and included in the weekly eNews, Week in Coatings. 

“Our goal is to spotlight our Influencers and the expertise they bring from the coatings industry while addressing the real-world challenges professionals face every day,” said The Coffee Shops’ President and CEO Heidi J. Ellsworth. “We are proud to share their knowledge and remain committed to supporting industry growth by promoting these exceptional Influencers.” 

We are proud to announce the following 2026 CoatingsCoffeeShop Influencers: 

• John Kenney – Cotney Consulting Group 
• Johnny Walker – ICP 
• Greg Hlavaty – Western Colloid 
• Shawn Morgan – KPost Roofing & Waterproofing 
• Joe Sorrentino – Joe Sorrentino LLC
• Adrian Hilton – Service First Solutions 
• Ryan Blad – 838 Coatings 
• Will Lorenz – General Coatings 
• Greg Serevetas – USA General Contractors Corp. 
• Lisa Irby – Thomas Roofing 
• Iver Ahens – Campany Roofing 

Find more information on the 2026 CCS Influencers.

About The Coffee Shops 

Award-winning websites and online communities make up The Coffee Shops. Starting with RoofersCoffeeShop, which launched in 2002, the growth of the sites has been explosive for the construction trades of roofing, metal, coatings and their customers. Currently featuring four Coffee Shops, RoofersCoffeeShop, MetalCoffeeShop®, CoatingsCoffeeShop®, OutdoorCoffeeShop™ and their sister site AskARoofer™, all the sites are committed to advocating for the construction trades by supplying consistent information, education and communication avenues for all contractors, while promoting positive growth, education and success of construction industries overall. The Coffee Shops also feature strong microsites with RoofersCoffeeShop.ca, RoofersCoffeeShop.uk and En Español. Visitors to the site continue to find excellent opportunities for sharing information while participating in important ongoing conversations concerning new technologies, safety and overall construction information and education. The Coffee Shops are “Where the Industries Meet!” For more information, visit www.thecoffeeshops.online. 

About CoatingsCoffeeShop 

CoatingsCoffeeShop™ (CCS), sponsored by APOC, launched in 2023. A sister site to the other Coffee Shops, CCS is committed to delivering the education, training, news and information that helps contractors find success in the coatings industry. This unique online community focuses on all things related to coatings including roofing, construction, infrastructure and below-grade applications. CCS connects the industry suppliers, manufacturers and associations with coating contractors to ensure the continued success of the contractor as well as the continued growth of this innovative and sustainable construction solution. Learn more at www.coatingscoffeeshop.com. 

CCS Influencer Ryan Blad says that we are only at the beginning of understanding the true capabilities of AI.

When navigating this new world of AI, contractors are open to a whole new world that can simplify their businesses in many ways. I think we are still very much at the beginning of how we understand the true capabilities of AI and how it can really help roofing contractors as a whole.

I think one obvious way that it can help would be through content creation that is actually seen by customers on the front end with marketing materials and website communication. Not as obvious would be the potential for how AI could help contractors simplify their businesses on the back-end. AI programs have the capability to help contractors run more profitable business by helping to create concise business plans and strategies. As AI continues to develop there could be ways it could interact with the back end accounting software to track profitability and give leaders real time snapshots of the health of their business. AI could help identify potential weak points within their businesses which would help contractors get more efficient and increase profitability. 

In order to maximize the true capabilities of AI, the contractor using it will need to become proficient in asking the correct commands to get the AI program to create exactly what is needed. Many AI programs can generate different things just based on how the question or command is posed. Lastly, it will be imperative that the contractor/AI user fact checks and analyzes the output from the AI to ensure that it is accurate for what your needs are.