CoatingsCoffeeShop

The Durable Slate and Restoration Companies finish first in two categories at International Federation of the Roofing Trade Awards

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 16:00:00 PDT

With these 2025 wins, Durable Restoration extends their history-making streak, becoming the first American company to receive an IFD Award more than once.

The Durable Slate and Restoration Companies are proud to announce two first-place wins at the IFD (International Federation of the Roofing Trade) Awards, which recognizes the best of the best in the roofing industry across the globe.

The winning projects were announced on the final full day of the IFD Congress & Awards 2025 in Bratislava, during a gala held at the Bratislava Concert Hall. Out of over 100 total submissions, one Durable Slate and one Durable Restoration project took home the coveted first place trophy in their respective categories: Durable Slate’s restoration of the Logan County Courthouse in Lincoln, Illinois won in the Metal Roofing category and Durable Restoration’s work on The Cathedral of St. Helena in Helena, Montana tied for first in the Steep Slope Roofing category.

The IFD Congress & Awards is an esteemed ceremony which takes place every two years and receives submissions from over a dozen nations across the world, including Switzerland, Russia, China and the United Kingdom. At the 2019 ceremony in Edinburgh, The Durable Restoration Company became the first American company in 67 years to place first at this prestigious competition, in recognition of their metalwork at Steeple Square in Dubuque, Iowa. With these 2025 wins, Durable Restoration extends their history-making streak, becoming the first American company to receive an IFD Award more than once.

“It is a huge honor to be selected as winners among so many great contractors and projects from around the world,” said John Chan, vice president of The Durable Slate Company. “We are incredibly proud of our craftsmen and the dedication displayed through these projects, and it is very gratifying to share this achievement with them.”

In addition to the first-place projects, Durable Restoration's preservation of the Heinz Memorial Chapel flèche in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania finished fourth in Metal Roofing and the slate installation on the Sweet Residence, a custom-built home in Bethesda, Maryland, placed sixth in the Façade category.

“We set out at the very early years of the company only hoping that we could one day stand among the industry's best, and for a long time we were not entirely sure if it was possible,” said Gary Howes, president of The Durable Slate Company. “We spent decades working towards this goal, and to see our efforts pay off in this huge way not once, not twice but three times is beyond what we ever expected.”

Howes continued, “It has also been wonderful seeing local craftsmen come to us and end up working on these world-class restoration projects. We hope that our work inspires more people to come join our team and learn the restoration trade from us so that they may carry on the preservation of America’s most treasured buildings.” For a recap of the IFD Congress & Awards 2025, visit www.ifd-roof.com

About The Durable Slate Company and The Durable Restoration Company

The Durable Slate Company is a leading provider of slate roofing solutions and historic preservation services, specializing in the restoration and repair of traditional roofs across the United States. With a commitment to quality craftsmanship and unparalleled expertise, The Durable Slate Company has earned a reputation for excellence in Slate, Metal and Tile roofing. For more information, visit www.durableslate.com

The Durable Restoration Company specializes in the preservation and restoration of historic structures, combining exceptional craftsmanship with a commitment to safeguarding architectural history. By preserving the past, Durable Restoration ensures the legacy of these structures for future generations. For more information, visit www.durablerestoration.com.

The Coffee Shops™ Announce 2025 Influencers

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 06:00:00 PST

Our Influencers program celebrates its ninth year of giving back to the industries it serves.

The Coffee Shops™, the award-winning websites where the industries meet for technology, information and everyday business, announces the 2025 Influencers for RoofersCoffeeShop (RCS), MetalCoffeeShop® (MCS), CoatingsCoffeeShop® (CCS) and RCS en Español.

Each month, Influencers respond to a topic that is relevant and timely in their respective industry such as the ethical usage of AI, remaining competitive, using social media to grow your brand, regulatory challenges, emerging technologies and more. RCS, MCS, CCS and en Español feature Influencer responses through interviews, videos and articles. These Influencers represent every corner of the roofing, metal and coatings industries, including contractors, associations, manufacturers and service providers. Their contributions are showcased in dedicated sections on each website, shared on social media and featured in weekly eNewsletters.

“Our goal is to amplify the insights and expertise our influencers offer, tackling the key challenges faced by professionals in the roofing, metal and coatings industries,” said RCS President Heidi J. Ellsworth. “We are proud to highlight our Influencer’s wisdom and expertise across all Coffee Shops. We are committed to supporting and encouraging industry growth and are honored to promote these amazing Influencers.”

“This year, as part of the RCS en Español initiative, we are excited to shine a light on authentic voices that reflect the diversity of our industry. Their stories and expertise inspire the next generation of skilled workers and ensure that every community sees a future for themselves in the trades," Ellsworth emphasized.

We are proud to announce the following 2025 Influencers:

RoofersCoffeeShop

Matt Copeland – Copeland Building Envelope
Ron Harriman – retired roof consultant
Erica Reed – Elite Construction Solutions
Rachel Garcia – Malarkey Roofing Products
Patrick Cochran – Red Dog’s Roofing
Melissa Chapman – Glo Group
Jake Magalsky – Ace Roofing
Allison Woslager – Integrity PNW
Steve Little – KPost Roofing & Waterproofing
Lee Lipniskis – Levello Construction
John Kenney – Cotney Consulting Group
Tammy Hall – CFS Roofing Services
Ashley and Seth Pietsch – Integrity Insurance & Bonding Inc
Trent Cotney – Adams & Reese
Rich Carroll – Carroll Consulting
Jay Wade – Service First Solutions
Joshua Adams – Roof Scout
Lucas Severance – Slate Valley Supply
Greg Hayes – Pauls Sheet Metal

MetalCoffeeShop

Hayley Bohmer – New Tech Machinery
Jena Jackson – Indiana Metal
Erik Trefzger – Orca Roofing
Bob Mesmer – RMG Erectors
Randy Chaffee – Source One Marketing
Holly Gotfredson – American Metalcraft, Inc.
John Kenney – Cotney Consulting Group
Haley Iselin – Metal Roof Specialties
John Sheridan – Sheridan Tools
Stacee Lynn – The Barndominum Company
Thea Dudley – Pocket Protectors LLC
Robert Tiffin – Metal Building Contractors and Erectors Association (MBCEA)
Greg Hayes – Pauls Sheet Metal
John Chan – The Durable Slate Company
Renee Ramey – Metal Roofing Alliance (MRA)
Laurie Moore – Kreiling Roofing
Travis Sliger – 4Ever Metal Roofing

CoatingsCoffeeShop

John Kenney – Cotney Consulting Group
Johnny Walker – ICP
Greg Hlavaty – Western Colloid
Lisa Irby – Thomas Roofing
Shawn Morgan – KPost Roofing & Waterproofing
Joe Sorrentino – Sherwin-Williams Roofing Solutions
Tracey Donels – Service First Solutions
Greg Hayes – Pauls Sheet Metal
Ryan Blad – 838 Coatings
Will Lorenz – General Coatings
Greg Serevetas – USA General Contractors Corp.
Zong Nguyen – CertainTeed

RCS Influencers en Español

Teresa Ramírez – Southeast Staffing Agency
Julissa Chavez – SRS Distribution
Jaqueline Sancen – Latinos in Roofing
Amparo Sancen – Sancen Contracting and Latinos En Roofing
Lorna Rojas – Tremco
Monica Vornbrock – The Glo Group
Duliar Valladres – SRS Distribution
Octavio Vázquez – Owens Corning
Fransisco Serrano – Roofers Going Digital
Sandra Damaris – Southeast Staffing Agency

Find more information on the 2025 RCS Influencers, MCS Influencers, CCS Influencers and Español 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 sites, RoofersCoffeeShop, MetalCoffeeShop, CoatingsCoffeeShop and 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. 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.

IFD Young Roofer Competition 2024: Celebrating the roofers of tomorrow

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 16:00:00 PST

By Heidi J. Ellsworth.

The competition hosted top talents from eleven countries who showcased their skills in facades, flat roofing, pitched roofing and metal roofing.

Innsbruck, Austria, hosted the 2024 International Federation of Roofing Trades (IFD) Young Roofer Competition and RoofersCoffeeShop® was there. This year was especially significant as the United States made its debut appearance, with standout performances from teams representing KPost Roofing and Waterproofing (Dallas, Texas), Global Roofing Group (Phoenix, Arizona) and Durable Slate (Cleveland, Ohio).

The teams included:

Global Roofing Group (metal roofing): Kasey Green and Doug Rojas, coached by Ridian Cami, Eric Stiller and Shawn Wood.
KPost Roofing and Waterproofing (flat roofing): Marco Espinoza and Alex Gutierrez, coached by Glauco Gutierrez.
Durable Slate (pitched roofing): Adam Wilcher and Luke Freudiger, coached by John Chan.

As the first time that the U.S. was competing there was a wide learning curve for all the teams from working with new materials, systems and timeframes. The overall feeling from all the participants was that it was a great learning experience. The flat roofing team had an amazing finish on day two with a complex modified bitumen assembly and all the teams showed American creativity and performance with their freestyle roofing installations on the last day. The freestyle event highlighted their ingenuity, with the flat roofing team crafting a U.S. flag design using fluid-applied coatings, the metal team creating a striking metal American flag and the pitched team showcasing intricate craftsmanship with a slate roof featuring a complex pattern.

Held biennially, the competition celebrates the artistry and precision of roofing while fostering international collaboration. Over three days, participants constructed detailed roofing structures judged on accuracy, innovation, safety and adherence to technical standards. The event’s camaraderie was a highlight, as competitors formed lifelong friendships during the traditional Austrian night featuring authentic music and dancing.

The competition closed with a celebratory gala at Innsbruck’s Congress Center. Medals were awarded to the top three teams in each category. The Gold Medal Winners included:

Team Switzerland for facades
Team Austria for pitched roofing
Team Austria for flat roofing
Team Hungary for metal roofing

A special presidential award was granted by IFD presidents from the free style competition and was awarded in flat roofing to Team China and Team Germany. It was special for both teams in that Team China had just returned to the competition after not attending since covid and Team Germany’s flat roofing team was comprised of all women.

RoofersCoffeeShop was honored to document this great event and share it through our YouTube channel so all of America could celebrate the excitement of this competition. We commend the event’s sponsors, including NRCA, SRS Distribution, Carlisle, GAF, DensDeck, OMG and Owens Corning, for their support.

With plans underway for the 2026 competition in Budapest, Hungary, Team USA is poised to build on its success, and RoofersCoffeeShop looks forward to being there to cheer them on.

Committing to roofers' well-being

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:00:00 PST

By Jesse Sanchez.

Effective training transforms roofing safety, elevating standards in one of America’s most dangerous professions.

In this episode of Roofing Road Trips®, safety director Joe Redd of The Durable Slate Company shares his journey from IT to becoming an advocate for job-site safety. Reflecting on his 20-year tenure with Durable Slate, Joe expresses that safety in roofing — a physically grueling and hazardous industry — is paramount. “Roofing is one of the more dangerous industries out there,” Joe notes.

Durable Slate’s safety program includes onboarding and ongoing training initiatives aimed at not only reducing accidents but also fostering a deeper respect for the high-risk tasks roofers face daily. Joe describes how the company’s robust onboarding process sets a standard, covering essential skills like ladder setup and roof jack installation on mock roofs. “Nobody who comes on board with us misses training anymore,” he says, a significant milestone that the company has maintained over the past decade.

To address diverse learning needs, Durable Slate’s training incorporates hands-on learning alongside visual and verbal instruction. Joe shares a compelling example, recounting how a highly skilled but dyslexic employee excelled once training materials were adapted to suit his learning style. This commitment to inclusive safety training, Joe explains, has been crucial to building a more cohesive and competent workforce.

The impact of this approach extends beyond just compliance. It has built a culture where employees feel valued and secure, with real-life results. Durable Slate’s Experience Modifier Rating (EMR) — a key indicator of workplace safety — has dropped significantly, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings, as well as increased project eligibility and overall team morale.

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn more about Durable Slate’s evolving safety practices!

Preparing to compete on the world stage

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 12:00:00 PDT

By Dani Sheehan.

Bridging the gap between American and European roofing practices, see how the U.S. teams are refining their skills and pushing through challenges ahead of the IFD World Championship.

For the first time, the U.S. will take the stage in Austria this November at the International Federation for the Roofing Trades (IFD) World Championship competition. The best, young roofers from around the world will compete and show off their skills during this prestigious event. In a recent episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Megan Ellsworth sits down with Gary Howes, Steve Little and R.J. Radobenko to introduce the U.S. team and share the excitement and challenges of preparing for this competition.

Gary, COO of the Durable Slate Company, shared some of the history behind this prestigious event, explaining, “The IFD was founded over 70 years ago. They have a meeting once a year on odd-numbered years and meet as a seminar type meeting with their members. And then the even-based year is a young roofer's competition, that brings their full membership organizations together to have their young roofers compete in several different disciplines. And we have a good fortune this year to be the first ones to go and participate in this competition.”

His team is competing in the steep-slope category, and the host country chose natural clay tile as the material for installation. Gary points out some of the challenges facing his team: “The materials aren't the same materials we're accustomed to using. While we do clay tile here in the U.S., our clay tile that we use is much harder, so the density of the clay tile is hard to cut without a grinder or wet saw. But in Europe they use a much softer clay tile. And they don't use these grinders. They use a different hand tool. We've had to order that and get it shipped over.”

R.J., CEO of Global Roofing Group, Global Wall Panel Group and Global Waterproofing Group, sees similar challenges in his team’s work on metal roofing and siding. Even something as simple as their measuring system will be challenging. He explains, “They have the metric system versus our imperial, so that’s inches versus centimeters. That’s a huge difference for how we measure things in the United States versus Europe.” Precise measurements are crucial in metal roofing, and they can’t afford to make any calculation mistakes in the conversions.

Further, you’re navigating a language barrier and translation issue for installation details. R.J. continues, “They have different terminology for roofing details too, which is also challenging. We call something a barge and then they call it a turnip. So, they're all the same detail, they're just completely different names.”

Steve Little, head coach of KPost Roofing and Waterproofing and founding partner of National Roofing Partners, shared some of the excitement in learning about these new materials and processes with his team. They’re competing in TPO, and while the Sika® Sarnafil product line is familiar, European standards differ. He shares, “Candidly, we freaked out a little bit at the beginning because the materials are different. The welder temperatures are different, the materials are different, the tools are different, metrics, it was all a huge change of thought process. But now they're settling in and they're starting to get excited about this. “

Competing at the IFD World Championship is not without its hurdles, but the U.S. teams are rising to the occasion. This competition is an exciting step forward for the U.S. roofing industry, one that promises to expand our approach to craftsmanship and elevate the standards across the country.

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to get to know the U.S. teams and learn more about their journey to Austria next month!

The Olympics may be over, but there’s still a USA team to support on the global stage!

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 03:00:00 PDT

By Emma Peterson.

This November, IFD will be hosting the 29th World Championship of Young Roofers and Team USA needs your support!

The International Federation of Roofing Professionals is hosting their World Championship of Young Roofers and their 72nd Congress this year in Austria, from November 13 to 15, 2024. This event is an incredible showcase of trade skills and competencies with participants coming from around the world to compete in the disciplines of facade, flat roof, pitched roof or metal roof. This competition is hosted every two years and is open to teams of professionals who are under 28 years old, in an effort to encourage professional development and interest in the trades.

This year, a team from the U.S. has been assembled to compete for the first time! Heidi J. Ellsworth got the chance to interview some of the driving forces behind the creation of a U.S. team, Gary Howes of Durable Slate, R.J. Radobenko, of the Global Roofing Group and Steve Little from KPost Roofing and Waterproofing! Gary shared a bit about what he knows about the competition and event, “The International Federation for the Roofing Trades is an organization made up of 26 countries. Its membership comes and goes, but it's been a pretty well-established organization since the 70s.”

He compared the IFD to the United States’ National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) as they both see like-minded professionals coming together to solve larger industry issues. While they work on different levels, they have a huge focus on education and training. Gary shared, “A big part of what the IFD supports and works with is training and education apprenticeship programs for young folks to come into the industry because everybody throughout the world has the same problem we have here in the U.S. when it comes to getting young folks interested in our industry.”

When it came to building a U.S. team for this event, R.J. was ready for the challenge. He shared a bit of the behind the scenes of the process, “We actually had a hard time building our team. We have about 150 metal installers and of them I had maybe 20 in the age group. Of that group I had seven that could travel internationally, but half of that group had family obligations. So, of the remaining three, I only had one that knew what the heck we were doing.” What he’s referencing to here is the knowledge that needed to be gained to go from working in the American industry to the European industry. Steve explained, “R.J. talked on one of our planning calls about the tools that he's using and they must be European tools, and everything is in metrics.  So we're really having to re-educate each of us with the type of tools and things that they need that are done in Europe.”

But NRCA is stepping up and helping the team prepare for this. Steve added, “The folks at the NRCA are doing a really good job of getting us information. We actually have product coming from Europe from Sika to meet the criteria of what we need to make the program work for the competition.” And the team is feeling confident in spite of the challenges they are facing. R.J. shared, “The group that we have that's going to attend is pretty confident that they can tackle this task pretty fast and learn as quick as possible. We have a pretty good training platform where we're training in our training building every Friday or building up our mockup model.” Overall, the team has been working hard to perform well at the competition and proudly represent the U.S. roofing community!

Learn more about this incredible championship and congress at the International Federation of the Roofing Trade’s website!

Exploring our nation’s capital one memorial at a time

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 13:00:00 PDT

We walked up, down and around Washington, D.C. learning about its architecture, restoration and the people and wars that built our nation.

Editor’s note: The following is a transcript of a conversation the Coffee Shop crew had after the 2024 architectural tour after Roofing Day 2024.

James Ellsworth: We started the day with a brief tour of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) Washington office, from Deb Mazol, Duane Musser and Teri Dorn. We had about 15 other roofing members who joined us for the architectural tour. It was led by Julie Butler from The Durable Slate Company. That tour started on the march that the British took to burn down the Capitol in 1814, which is very interesting, before there were any other houses except for one house which is now the national women's vote house, I believe.

Lauren White: Someone in the group joked, “The roofers are coming.”

James Ellsworth: Our first official stop was at the Supreme Court building with a clay roof and it cost $9 million dollars, but it came in under budget and early. When you compare that to the Library of Congress building, which was built some 30 if not 40 years prior, which cost $75 million, it’s a really interesting juxtaposition. We then worked our way to talk about the Capitol a little bit and walked to the south side of the Capitol and saw the porch and the doors that the President would walk out of when the President is inaugurated. And then the three of us, that's James, Lauren and Dani, split off to go catch our tour of the Capitol building from representative Salinas’ office.

Lauren White: When we started the walking tour, Julie was talking about the statue named Freedom, located on top of the Capitol building, and that was designed and the model for it was made in Italy. The only people who were doing statues at the time were Italians. Then they sent the model to the U.S. to a Washington sculptor and slave owner. And an enslaved person worked on the statue named Freedom for 10 years.

James Ellsworth: Philip Reid was the enslaved man's name. He worked on casting that mold for 10 years out of bronze and was freed shortly after the completion of the statue, then was never heard from again.

Lauren White: And the statue also has a sword not pointing to anyone, suggesting she is prepared to protect the nation. There's a sword and a shield. And they also wanted a Native American headdress on the top to signify the roots of America as opposed to the Liberty cap which was a symbol of freed slaves. But, from what we learned, they only had one photo to go from that was in a library book in Italy. And since they had never seen a Native American headdress before, it's an eagle head with extra feathers going down the headdress, not necessarily a traditional headdress. It stands 19 feet six inches tall.

James Ellsworth: And it sits on the dome of the Capitol, which is entirely made out of cast iron, which is not the lightest material to make it from. It comes in at a slim nine million tons of which, later during our tour of the Capitol, we were able to stand in the crypt of the capital which holds those nine million tons over your head on very old pillars.

And we had a great tour thanks to Representative Salinas' staff intern and her receptionist Adriana. And it was an hour and a half. A lot of time with them.

Dani Sheehan: We also saw the rotunda in the Capitol, which is astonishing. I mean, you think about it was obviously taken from ancient Roman and Greek inspiration. And so, you look up and see this painting you half expect is by Michelangelo, but it's George Washington staring down at you and you're like, oh, that's incredible.

And particularly hearing the history Adriana gave us, George Washington did not want to be immortalized; he was not an icon. He very firmly believed that he was coming from Britain to this free nation and didn't want it to be this big deal that he was the figurehead in any way. And so, it was cool to hear her explain that and still be like, but he's the founding father. And so obviously we want to represent him and celebrate the founding of our nation. And within the rotunda, besides the ceiling being an incredible painting...

James Ellsworth: ...You have six other paintings of different points in history. And then you also have several statues. And then you have a middle band around the rotunda about halfway up and it gives a particular history, not necessarily in chronological order, we have a certain point of view of the history. The artist of which died in the process of putting it together after having a fall and then a heart attack, so his assistants finish the work for him. And it shows a selective timeline from Columbus finding America until the Wright brothers.

Lauren White: And then also the statue of Martin Luther King Jr., is in there and can't be removed unless an act of Congress were to be passed. Same with Rosa Parks, which was in the old house room. But there those are the only two statues that are not affiliated with any state.

James Ellsworth: Then we went to the old Supreme Court chambers, where I saw my great uncle's bust. Oliver Ellsworth. I knew that he was involved in the writing of the Constitution. I knew that he had been ambassadors in the polling in France. I did not realize he had a bust in the Capitol. I didn’t realize he was a Supreme Court justice, which is a big deal.

Lauren White: And we saw the original clock that was in there. It is set five minutes fast to keep things going and on track.

James Ellsworth: And now I found that really, really interesting because there was very little natural lights but because it was in the basement it was also cool. In DC in the summer, it would be a very valued place to be.

Lauren White: They also have it dark because that's originally how dark it would have been given the lanterns and the candles they had.

Dani Sheehan: We did see the original cornerstone of the Capitol that was laid by George Washington. And there was a plaque there that was a replica because they lost the original. It was donated for the 100-year celebration. And it was a pure silver plaque. And to this day, we don't know where it is.

James Ellsworth: And this should be National Treasure 3.

Dani Sheehan: Oh, let’s talk about the modern air conditioning. There were literal vents in the floor. And the thought was that they put giant ice blocks in the bottom with fans to help cool the hallways of the Capitol building. Prior to air conditioning I can't imagine how badly that place smelled with all those men who smoked and chewed tobacco and spit it everywhere.

James Ellsworth: We saw spittoons in the old Senate's room. Where they also kept the spare desks. All the original Senate desks are still in the current Senate chambers, but they have several replicas in the old Senate chambers for when a desk needs to be repaired, they can just swap it out.

Lauren White: Yes, and then from there we went to the old House Chambers, now Statutory Hall, where Rosa Parks statue is and there are plaques on the floor for where people had their desks placed.

Dani Sheehan: And Abraham Lincoln was unhappy with his desk placement because it was too cold, and he couldn't hear because it was too far away to hear the speakers.

Lauren White: And there's a definite echo in there, so it's easy to understand why it was so hard for him to hear.

James Ellsworth: Our valiant guides attempted to get us a view of the speaker's balcony. Unfortunately, only GOP members were allowed in, so we were unable to visit such an esteemed place.

Lauren White: We then went back through the tunnels. These two went out of their way to take us through all the tunnels to the Madison Building of the Library of Congress and to the cafe to have lunch. And it's on the sixth floor, so we had a great quiet lunch with a view and then we started our own walking tour.

Dani Sheehan: We walked over 11 miles through the entire mall of DC, 27,400 steps.

James Ellsworth: We went from the Capitol building through a bit of the Botanical Gardens. So beautiful. So many wonderful varieties of plants and species from around the world were there and it was just so nice seeing so much green and color in the middle of such a big bustling city.

Dani Sheehan: Yeah, we were literally steps away from the street, but it felt like as soon as you walked into the gardens there was calm, there was quiet.

James Ellsworth: We saw an urban agricultural garden area with food that you can harvest – garlic, strawberry, lettuces and chard and all sorts of stuff was growing, which was cool to see.

Then we made our way to the castle gardens. We had a brief detour to Europe at The Smithsonian Castle that is currently under renovation, so we couldn’t go inside.

Dani Sheehan: The Castle has Moorish influences. And one of the four gardens has Spanish influence from the fountain and the design to the layout. And they had another great variety of plants. And there was one particular flower that looks like candy cane!

Lauren White: And then we made our way to the Washington Monument and marveled at the size of the blocks. And it weighs roughly the same amount as 6,500 school buses. It is 555 feet tall, which when it was built was the tallest building in the world, it isn’t anymore.

And the view from up there is gorgeous. Perfect day, tons of people out, tons of eighth grade field trips and families everywhere. We went from the Washington Monument over to the World War II Memorial.

James Ellsworth: All of the memorials are very well done. Very moving. They hit you. They really want you to sit with it for a little bit. The World War II memorial is very, very well done. They have a plaque at the back with gold stars.

There were 4,048 stars on a placard, and each one represents 100 American fallen soldiers for almost half a million fallen soldiers. And that was completed in 2005. From there we went to the Vietnam Memorial, which is always really powerful.

Dani Sheehan: I don't have a lot of personal family history with veterans and with the various wars. I'm familiar with some of the history but walking into the Vietnam Memorial was really, really cool. There were a lot of eighth-grade students and getting to overhear the kids looking for names that they had been assigned, and they had printouts of information about these particular soldiers, which was honestly just so inspiring. And it was so cool to feel the respect that came from, you know, kids that are 13 years old, and they took their job very seriously in finding these names on the wall,

Lauren White: And we saw another group too. We saw a lot of people walking with veterans around the memorial, and we got curious, so we asked one of the Guardians, as they call themselves, and found out they’re part of an organization called the Honor Flight. They're based out of Ohio, they have multiple locations, but they take veterans and do completely free tours of the memorials. And two veterans are assigned to one Guardian, and this woman that we spoke with from Ohio told us they do nine trips a year, all one-day trips, completely free. And the group, which is nonpartisan, and they don’t accept any federal funding, takes care of everything financially, the transportation, the day-of logistics.

The Guardians pay for their portion of the trip themselves, and they just make it a great respectful day for whatever the veterans want and need. And they were all looking for their fallen brothers.

Dani Sheehan: That was the part that was the hardest to see. Now elderly individuals, looking for the names of their buddies on the wall.

James Ellsworth: So we spent a lot of time there, which was great. It's also when we happened to spot a Marine One drop off, which was very cool to see Marine One fly overhead and land at the White House lawn. And then leave a little bit after it dropped off. There had been a lot of air traffic, a lot of secret service on the bikes in the mall and a lot of helicopters leading up to that.

After that, we went to the Lincoln Memorial, which is also under construction. They are doing some renovations and updates. But it's open and it's always really nice to be able to read his Gettysburg Address on one side and on the other side his second inaugural address.

We found today that a lot of the quotes and a lot of the writings that had been etched in stone all those years ago, are very poignant in today's climate. So, after a little bit of time there we continued on our way to the Korean War, which had just recently been updated two years ago we discovered.

Lauren White: Also very powerful, and that's one that I vividly remember from my eighth-grade field trip here. Those life size, larger than life size, statues of the troops walking through the field, which are dedicated to the field squads. And just, the wall of the faces staring back at you and all of the names listed out of the fallen soldiers, is again, very powerful.

James Ellsworth: I haven't realized this but they delineated the fallen soldiers by branch and there's I think 90 or so panels, each one with about 400 names on it. And I'd say 75 were for the Army, and then the remainder or for a combination of the Marines, Navy and the Air Force. And that was surprising to me to see such a massive contingent of that in the Army side, not that it's uncommon, but how many of them were privates.

Dani Sheehan: And it was just so powerful. We were there at such a unique time of day where we kind of missed the crowd. And it was so quiet and so serene. I remember seeing a couple sitting on a bench staring in silence. And I'm assuming he was a veteran, I can't say that for sure, but just getting to be a part of that and feel that energy and really embrace what these memorials are about, was so cool, particularly as an adult, when I haven't been back in years.

James Ellsworth: The statutes are so well done, they're almost human size, but they're just 10% bigger, so you just feel dwarfed by them.

Lauren White: And the faces are so detailed and haunting, they somehow captured that. There’s so much attention to detail. You see the antennae on the radios, the detail of the guns they’re holding and the ponchos draping over their gear, it was just incredibly well done and the looks on their faces really stick with you.

From there, we made our way to the MLK Memorial, which is newer and none of us have ever been to. It was very moving and included a lot of great quotes, many of which we hadn’t heard or read before.

James Ellsworth: How they did the entrance was so cool. They had this mountain of marble and then the middle part is cut out and pushed forward and that's what the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. is carved from.

Dani Sheehan: On the side of the center of the mountain that was pushed forward, the quote, “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” And it was exquisite, very powerful overlooking the Tidal Basin.

James Ellsworth: But the quotes around the memorial were just so well thought out, and there was a chronology again, and it delineated where MLK was in his career at the time, based on what was happening in society, a few of which I was unfamiliar with. And a number of which that we're very, very poignant right now in this time.

Lauren White: And the trail continued to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.

James Ellsworth: My personal favorite memorial, while it's a long one, has four or five distinct sections. There's a smaller one at the beginning and the others go through each of his terms through the depression, the New Deal, the statues standing in the breadlines, the statue of a person listening to his fireside chats. And the President's quotes on the environment, social justice and equity all throughout were well thought out.

Dani Sheehan: And the entire Memorial is based around water. So you have your four rooms representing the four terms, but you also have a signature water piece that is just so symbolic of the movement that FDR promoted, from his first term to his final one where they're rebuilding the world order in a very unstable way.

I think my favorite part though is the Eleanor section, because it shows her being the first delegate to the United Nations. Every time I see that I always forget. And it's such a wonderful thing that she was there and she championed the Charter of Human Rights. We have a lovely selfie with her statue and a great selfie with the pup, Fala.

Lauren White: And then we made our way to the Jefferson Memorial. There was construction there also, improving the electrical and plumbing and accessibility to the memorial.

James Ellsworth: We had a great time at the memorial, reading the quotes – one quote in each of the cardinal directions around him. They were all very good, he was an amazing writer.

Lauren White: Then we found our way to the White House and got to see it as the sun was setting. And we finished our night with sushi dinner and...

James Ellsworth: ...a final stop at Old Ebbit Grill, which is an old haunt I've been told about that many White House staffers and folks from the military go there to talk and figure things out.

Lauren White: And we say goodbye tonight and fly out tomorrow and get back at it next week. We'll be here again next year.

Dani Sheehan: Such an incredible experience. And I'm so honored to work for the roofing industry. It's really nice to work for an industry with such solid values and approachable people that make you want to continue to make not only the industry better, but the country better too.