Live Podcast From The Roof Museum - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Donavan Morgan of Roofs by Don. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the recording.

Intro: Hello everyone. My name is Megan Ellsworth here at rooferscoffeeshop.com and we are at The Roof Museum. 

Donovan Morgan: Hey. 

Megan Ellsworth: We're here with Roofs By Don. 

Donovan Morgan: Raise the roof. 

Megan Ellsworth: I'm so excited to be here with you. 

Donovan Morgan: Me too. 

Megan Ellsworth: We just did a tour of the office and the museum and the gallery and it's so fun. 

Donovan Morgan: Thank you. 

Megan Ellsworth: It's so fun. 

Donovan Morgan: First thing first, welcome to Atlanta. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yes. 

Donovan Morgan: Yep. How's your trip so far? 

Megan Ellsworth: So good. We're staying in Marietta, which is where your office is, where The Roof Gallery is and it's so beautiful here. 

Donovan Morgan: Thank you. 

Megan Ellsworth: It's amazing. So yeah, we're really enjoying it. 

Donovan Morgan: Okay, good. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yay. 

Donovan Morgan: And we got our coffee so far, so early morning. I love the new mugs. 

Megan Ellsworth: Thank you. Cheers. Yes, so good. 

Donovan Morgan: We also got some donuts, thanks to Duck Donuts. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yes. 

Donovan Morgan: So they're based in Marietta too, the donuts is- 

Megan Ellsworth: They were so good. Mine was Maple with bacon on it. So good. Okay, so Don, can you tell us a little bit about you and introduce yourself? 

Donovan Morgan: Yes. So my name is Donovan Morgan, aka Roofs By Don. I'm the owner of The Roof Gallery, so roofing company. And also the founder of The Roof Museum, which is the first roof museum in the world. And it gives roofing education, classes and things like that. And we also have the first roofing hall of fame where we have a lot of people that we're inducting and just making roofing fun and making it elevated. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. And the tour, you got to show us all the different aspects of things you're teaching people, from teaching homeowners the tug pull test and seeing what shingles perform better and also the visualizer so they can see what looks best on their house. That's really cool that they can see it in person on a screen. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. I feel like it's important to give homeowners some kind of education on what they're getting on the products, things like that. So that way it's not just a pricing, "How much can you do it for?" Now you're adding more value, they're seeing what they're getting. They know what cutting corners look like or what premium materials look like, so in that way they can make the best decision for their home. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, it's not just good, better, best, it's being educated on the products that are going onto your home. 

Donovan Morgan: Exactly. So you know what good, better, best even means. 

Megan Ellsworth: Exactly. It's so true. Okay, so can you give us a quick overview on how The Roof Museum came to be? What sparked this idea? 

Donovan Morgan: So me, I'm real competitive. I feel like business is just competitive in general. And growing up, initially I thought it was just basketball, music. But that's when it's real competitive too is sports, if you're like the [inaudible 00:02:47] in say, basketball or anything, you go to the hall of fame. Or same thing with music, you're the best of the best, there's the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, things like that. And once I kind of transitioned and realized that roofing was going to be my thing, I wanted to be the best of the best. And once I wanted to be the best of the best, I started looking around and who the best people were in the roofing industry space. And the first person I found was Bob the Builder. 

Megan Ellsworth: I love that guy. 

Donovan Morgan: And that's a cartoon. So I was like, "I got to beat him." So we started making our cartoons, we're going to beat you. And then after that I started trying to look for a lot of people and it was, there wasn't no roofing hall of fame. So that's why we have to create one. Where it's not there, you got to fill that space. And we've been blessed to induct a lot of people so far. So I haven't been inducted myself know, although that was the first idea that I wanted to be in the hall of fame. 

Donovan Morgan: But now I'm blessed to be able to induct some people into the hall of fame, like TJ McCormack, The World's Greatest Roofer. He just did a great feat with social media where he's able to monetize every platform. So he gets like multi-millions of views. He has a YouTube plaque and he monetized Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, all the platforms. 

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. 

Donovan Morgan: So that's something that's real cool. We got John Senac, AKA John the Roof Pro. He has a special class, Name That Shingle. But he's really made a culture around discontinued shingles. So when you think about discontinued shingles, you think about him. So that's why we got him in the hall of fame. We also got Deshaun Bryan, one of my main favorites. We got Becca Switzer from Sales Mastery. She's real big as far as the industry when a lot of people get into the space, they're watching her videos to learn things like that. One of my favorites is Big Time, The Best Damn Roofer. We had to get The Best Damn Roofer on there. Because he's jersey number is 69 in real Big Time fashion. But what's real cool about him, again, when I was looking at who the best people were in the industry, I found him next and it was like The Best Damn Roofer. And what was real cool about it was one, he's like real funny. He's real eccentric. He's based out of Canada. But aside from the funny stuff, he's a marketing genius. 

Megan Ellsworth: So true. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. And how I look at sports. So the people I would look up to would be say Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Jay-Z, 50 Cent. And the reason why is the moguls, they took one thing which might be say basketball or say is music, but they transitioned in, they propelled to something- 

Megan Ellsworth: Made a whole- 

Donovan Morgan: ... totally different. Kind of GAF having the viewers and then now they become shingles. 

Megan Ellsworth: Starting in film. Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah, exactly. It's the same kind of thing where if you can transition and with Big Time, I felt like, yeah, he's doing roofing, but now he has his own products that's in Home Depot. And for roofers you don't really have that kind of thing. So he's a real roofing rock star with that. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. We got to interview him at the Canadian Roofing Expo just a month ago and it's really cool that he works with, I believe, Primeline. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah, Primeline Tools. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yes. And the tools he's designing, they're being designed by a roofer for roofers. 

Donovan Morgan: That's the best part. So just like when you have Michael Jordan and then you have, so he plays on the Bulls, but you have Jordans. And then people wear the basketball sneakers. It's like the same thing. He has the products and it's his products. And they sponsor The Roof Museum too, so we have the Primeline Tools. So whether's the ripper, he signed it too. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, cool. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah, where we have, they got the pads, like the pads you can see in the back. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, yes. 

Donovan Morgan: And they got a lot of other cool tools that they use. But yeah, they're definitely doing big time. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Amazing. 

Donovan Morgan: Yep. 

Megan Ellsworth: Okay. So we kind of touched on some of them, but what are some of the prime exhibits here in the museum? Maybe like your favorite? 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah, so some of my favorite is, I definitely like the tug test. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yes, that's fun. 

Donovan Morgan: So usually they call it the pull test. We call it the tug test to brand it at The Roof Museum. And that started at conferences, seeing some people do the tug test. And I like to think I'm one of the first to bring it to actual where the public can actually use it, where we got one made just for where we do events, things like that. And I feel like that's played a big part where people can be more interactive and they can actually feel, see the differences. So it touches more of the senses. So I feel like that's real good. And then you get to put on the white gloves. I also like the golden door, just because it's something different, again, it's something that can be interactive. So especially when we're doing events, then they can go on, they can practice, you hear their pitch. But you're doing it on a real door, so it's more real time. Even how they knock on the door, "You sound like the police. Knock a little softer." Things like that. 

Megan Ellsworth: "A little loud." 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. And I would say the roof on the wall. Because it's one of the best just representations of what's going to happen. So it's one thing to tell people what you're going to do, but when you're able to actually show them, then I feel like that's always better. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. And what a great resource that is too. For also being a roofing contractor and having homeowners come in here, you can explain X, Y, Z of what the roof is looking like underneath hundred shingles. 

Donovan Morgan: 100%. And you're able to add more value that way. So for contractors, if you're in the Georgia area, you guys can feel free to use The Roof Museum as well. 

Megan Ellsworth: Awesome. 

Donovan Morgan: It's something for the roofing industry, so it's just another tool. So yeah, so you guys can bring people and we can help with the VIP tours for you guys. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's awesome. So if you're an art club member and you live in the Georgia area, maybe we'll get you hooked up with Don. 

Donovan Morgan: Exactly. 

Megan Ellsworth: You can come get a VIP tour. 

Donovan Morgan: There you go. 

Megan Ellsworth: Amazing. Okay. So how would you say roofing has evolved over the decades? 

Donovan Morgan: I think it's evolved well. I can't say decades. 

Megan Ellsworth: Right. 

Donovan Morgan: I've been around for three of them. But as far as in roofing, since I've been in it, I've been in for say six years now, I'd say, which is a long time. Time is kind of flying. 

Megan Ellsworth: Almost a decade. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. Right? Yeah. Time is flying. Technology. I would say before when I just came in, it was like during COVID. And I remember when I was just coming in, a lot of roofers as far as on the sales side, because I started at sales, they would be like, "Hey, we're only going to go out after 5:00 PM because that's when everyone gets home from work." And that was the magic hour from 5:00 to sundown. And then as soon as I came in, it was like COVID. So I didn't know any different and I was coming from a sales background, so I was outside 11 O'clock starting, but it worked in my favor because everyone is home because of COVID. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: So everyone's working from home now and everyone's paying more attention to their house because they're there. So when I started, I started in August and that winter I remember was one of the biggest winters I had for the company I just started with. So they started from 1.2 million and I brought them to 10.4 million in one year. 

Megan Ellsworth: Damn. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. And it was just me just going in and I was recruiting a lot of people at the time too. I recruited over 50 people in six months. 

Megan Ellsworth: Wow. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. And that was really my story as far as beginning roofing. But with that, I think I see the patterns as far as how sales is, I feel like it's a little bit different. More salespeople are actually doing roofing than roofers doing roofing. Does that make sense? 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, no, that does make sense. 

Donovan Morgan: Okay, yeah. So usually a lot of, it was more of roofers. My dad was a roofer and things like that. And now it's kind of roofing is just a product. "I can sell anything." And then it's like that now. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: So it's a little bit different as far as that technology from drones. Drones wasn't a thing at first. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: Now people don't climb as much anymore as more, there's more drones on the satellites from the measurement reports, for instance. So I feel like just making things more easy. 

Megan Ellsworth: And safer. 

Donovan Morgan: And safer. 100%. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. And cool tools. You mentioned the Ridge Pro and you have the step-up thing. 

Donovan Morgan: The Pitch Hopper, yeah. 

Megan Ellsworth: Pitch Hopper and products from companies like The Catch-All, all out there to make the lives of roofers easier and also safer. 

Donovan Morgan: 100%. And there's new products that's coming out so often now when you go to the conferences like IRE, you always see them. And I feel like is real good, because again, roofing is one of the most dangerous businesses or industries in the United States, if not the world. And we need to be more cautious of our lives so everyone can get home safely to their families. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. I couldn't agree more. So have you had any younger generations engaging with The Roof Museum? 

Donovan Morgan: That's a great question. 

Megan Ellsworth: And engaging just with roofing in general, bringing kids into the trades. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah, that's an awesome question. I'm glad you asked that. Yeah, I feel like that's one of the things that I see value in and makes me happy with The Roof Museum thing, because I never thought I'd have a museum in the first place. I feel like that's something that's kind of, I'm creative, so I do music and stuff, so I guess that's just more on my creative side, the museum thing. But with the kids, that was one of my things because when you grow up, no one wants to be a roofer. You think the old guy, construction boots dirty. You don't really think about, this is my fun job, this is what I'm going to do. It's usually sports, music, what looks fun, 

Megan Ellsworth: I want to be a princess. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. Or I remember when I was a kid, I wanted to be a firefighter. I wanted to be a firefighter. So people who want to be police officers or firefighters, but you never hear someone say they want to be a roofer. So I wanted to change that. So we do a lot of cool things with the community, which I think is real big. A lot is sponsored by the Home Depot Kids Workshop. So shout out to Home Depot. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, that's awesome. 

Donovan Morgan: So we have a lot of community events that we do. It's like bi-monthly. And the next one that's coming up is our third annual Roofer Block Party. So it's a block party, we're doing it in the back. 

Megan Ellsworth: Okay. 

Donovan Morgan: Usually we average about, at first it started slow. So first it was like 50 people. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: The last one we had 300 people there. This one we're expecting to have 500 or more, so it'd be great. Usually bounce houses, we have the Kids Home Depot Workshop, so the kids are all out there and at the end of it they say, "I want to be a roofer." So I feel like that's real cool. 

Megan Ellsworth: I love it. 

Donovan Morgan: So Bob the builder, we're coming for you. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. We're so coming for you. That is so powerful. And to see it grow so much too. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. And then also with Construction Ready and SkillsUSA. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, yes. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. So I know that you guys do some things with them too. So with Construction Ready and skills ready and SkillsUSA, they have, what is it like? It's like so in sports, let's say track, when you're in high school and stuff, you go to regionals, then you go to states- 

Megan Ellsworth: National. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. So it's the same thing where in the construction space, they go into regionals. And the last one was held at the Georgia World Congress Center. And that was real big and we were one of the only roofers for the residential to represent that for the kids. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, cool. 

Donovan Morgan: Yes. And they do contests and stuff. And then they had one another roofing company to represent the commercial side. So we get to give an impression on the kids as well. And I believe that's like middle school, high school, just getting into the field 

Megan Ellsworth: I think it's like sixth grade through 12th grade. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. And then we're talking to having them to do some more events with us too as far as for education. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's incredible. Yeah. SkillsUSA is so cool. 

Donovan Morgan: They are. 

Megan Ellsworth: And I know that the Georgia Chapter is pretty active too. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah, they are. 

Megan Ellsworth: Right. That's awesome. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. 

Megan Ellsworth: So what are some common misconceptions maybe about roofing and also about The Roof Museum if people haven't been here that you want to address or correct? 

Donovan Morgan: As far as for roofing in general, misconception? I think the most common misconception I would say is, initially them thinking roofing is a dream killer. Roofing is not a dream killer, it's a dream facilitator. So at the end of the day, whatever you want to do or you want to be, if you didn't wake up and say, "Hey, I want to be a roofer. Roofs By Don wasn't there yet, so your kids won't say that. 

Megan Ellsworth: We'll allow it. 

Donovan Morgan: But as far as, this is supposed to be something where it can help you, one, gain financial freedom, so then you can do what you want to do. So for instance, I like music, so that's why I was able to make songs every single day and those kinds of things we'll do for fun, but I can make a music video on it and things like that because roofing is helping me facilitate what I like to do. A lot of times too, when you're trying to start something like what you really want to do or passionate about, it costs money. And then when it costs money, you have to do things that you don't necessarily like to do. A lot of times you get put in a position where you can't necessarily get out of it, so now you're really stuck on doing something else so you never get to go to your dream. But I feel like with roofing, it's something that you can get into, you can learn. 

Donovan Morgan: You don't have to necessarily go to school for and do those four years and pay. You can start, you get training, you can get paid while you're training and at the end of the day, you can have a real career, you can learn a real trade, you can make real money, especially if you're dedicated to it, you can make six figures and that's from a hundred thousand to 999,000, somewhere in between there. And that can help facilitate whether if you want to be a real estate guru, if you wanted to be the next tomato soup, if you wanted to do whatever, now you can have the money to be able to back yourself. And I feel like that's the main thing. 

Megan Ellsworth: I love that. I love that perspective because I couldn't agree more. I have a similar experience and it's such a great trade to get into. Also, if you're a young kid watching this, you don't feel like going to college. What a safe trade. Well, it's safer than it was to get into just because of the people, the community. 

Donovan Morgan: 100%. 

Megan Ellsworth: It's a great industry to be a part of. So. 

Donovan Morgan: I also think... This I would tell 18 and up as far as teenagers, you're getting into the workforce and a lot of times you don't know what to do. So especially in my community, you don't know what to do at first. You're like, "What am I going to do?" And then again, I said it maybe two times so far in the conversation, you always think about music or sports and that's the only thing to be a millionaire or multimillionaire really be successful where we see a success. And you don't know what else at first. And then sometimes even when you go to school, you might go to school, but you don't know if you really want to do that profession or that major. 

Donovan Morgan: So I feel like with roofing, it's a trade where it's like, "Hey, I don't know what I'm doing yet. I'm 18, 19, 22, whatever the age is and I want to get into something, but I want to make real money." As opposed to, I don't want to say a place and in turn and make them sound bad, but as opposed to working somewhere lower where, at the end of the day, you're going to make under a hundred thousand dollars a week, you can get into a trading that you can make $5,000 in a week as far as with roofing. And you can imagine you at 19 making $5,000 a week. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, crazy. 

Donovan Morgan: You're the most lit 19-year-old ever. You're the person that everybody's going to. 

Megan Ellsworth: You're set. 

Donovan Morgan: So that's why roofing is a good trade, something to actually learn. Now you're learning something as opposed to, I didn't say I was going to say a place working at Walmart, for instance. And Walmart might be a good place, but this is a real trade that you can learn and it can really benefit you. 

Megan Ellsworth: And take that skill elsewhere. 

Donovan Morgan: Exactly. It's a transferable skill too. So that's something's very good. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah and I love that you said earlier too, that you're competitive and that's what took you to sales. So if you are like an athlete or a musician, you have that competitive spirit, especially being in sales. Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: Especially. Yeah. Actually with us, one of the things that we look for salespeople is if you're an athlete. If you're not, then you're kind of like, "Eh." Because we're competitive and we want you to be able to keep up with the team. And when you're an athlete, you're more team-orientated, more goal-orientated. Like I said, "Hey, I want to be in the hall of fame. I want to be the best of the best." So you want people to want to compete with you like that. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, exactly. 

Donovan Morgan: Keep pushing each other. 

Megan Ellsworth: Exactly. Okay. So let's talk about the educational side of the museum. 

Donovan Morgan: Yes. 

Megan Ellsworth: Do you partner with any schools or apprenticeship programs besides the one we've already talked about? 

Donovan Morgan: That's a great question. So we partner with CobbWorks right now. So Cobb, that's like the county- 

Megan Ellsworth: Awesome. 

Donovan Morgan: ... in Georgia. And we have some cool things going on with them. We've partnered with them for a few months now actually. And we have some cool things coming. They came to one prior event. We also are in the works with some cities right now. 

Megan Ellsworth: Awesome. 

Donovan Morgan: The city of, well, some cities in Georgia, the city of Mableton, Marietta, things like that, Atlanta and some other cities where we're going to be focused on some more education stuff with the students and things like that. 

Megan Ellsworth: Love. 

Donovan Morgan: So we're trying to make it more official. For me, like you said, this is the first roofing museum in the world, so this is the first museum for me, period. So we're still doing our learning curve too. We're two years in. So I think that it's real cool as far as learning too and seeing the stuff that we can do. So even having the conversations with the city now, having the mayors come in and talking to city councilmen and going in the town meetings and then you're there and they're talking about you. I feel like all that is new to me, but it's stuff that's real cool. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, that's huge. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah, it's cool. 

Megan Ellsworth: That's really cool. Yeah, meeting the mayor. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. 

Megan Ellsworth: I wonder when you're going to get the key to the city? 

Donovan Morgan: It's coming. It's coming. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: We're going to have Roofing Day, Roofs By Don Day. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, I love it. 

Donovan Morgan: We're going to write this down. 

Megan Ellsworth: Write that down. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. So I feel like those kinds of stuff is real cool that is happening. And at the end of the day, as far as with roofing or anything that I'm in, I want to be able to leave a legacy, something. And I feel like this could be one of the things that's a nice little stamp in time where we can help other people leave their legacies and again, providing education and something to an industry that's as long as time, but doesn't seem like as talked about or as fun or as say sexy, I'd say. So we're making it a little bit more, a little more cool. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Okay. So I would love to know how do you choose what is in the museum? And do you have any upcoming additions to the museum? 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. Okay. So as far as upcoming additions, I add that one first. So yeah, we just had the CertainTeed wall. We're one of the newest ones. And I feel like that was real big because we want to represent everyone. We don't want to look like, oh, I think you asked that before too. We don't want to look like... There's a difference between The Roof Gallery and The Roof Museum. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yes. 

Donovan Morgan: So the misconception is a lot of times when they look at The Roof Museum sometimes where it's vendors or exhibitors, they're looking at it to get to the Roofs by Don of The Roof Gallery. So they're like, "Yeah, I want to be an exhibitor. Yeah. Can we be your vendor for roof gallery or can we sell you shingles?" And at the end of the day with The Roof Museum, it's education for contractors and homeowners, but we're not selling anything. So just like when you go to a regular museum and you see the Mona Lisa, you get education, but you can't buy the Mona Lisa. 

Megan Ellsworth: We all wish. 

Donovan Morgan: Exactly. But if you go to an art gallery, you can buy everything in the art gallery. Right? 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. So true. 

Donovan Morgan: That's like the gift shop. Right? 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, got it. 

Donovan Morgan: So The Roof Gallery is the gift shop where you can buy a roof, you can buy shingles, that's The Roof Gallery. And then The Roof Museum is just education where you get to see the work of art, you get to get educated and get insight on roofing in the industry. And then as far as for newer exhibits, we have one of our newer exhibitors is JobNimbus. So JobNimbus, welcome aboard. Aye. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yay. 

Donovan Morgan: So their exhibit is going to be in the building soon. Theirs is getting made right now. 

Megan Ellsworth: Very cool. 

Donovan Morgan: How do they get picked to be inside The Roof Museum? 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: I feel like first, I wanted to make it as authentic as possible. So it's like a mixture, so with The Roof Museum, what I was looking at as far as who's the competition to say, The Roof Museum? And really the first people I thought of was conferences. 

Megan Ellsworth: Okay. 

Donovan Morgan: So say IRE, all the conferences and there are their booths and the vendor booth and things like that. And I wanted to first use the ones that I actually work with. So not just anyone but ones that actually make sense. So I felt like the Ridge Pro, I literally use that to make sure that I'm alive on the roof. 

Megan Ellsworth: Right. 

Donovan Morgan: So I really feel like he should get inducted as far as the people who are the best of the best. So that's how I feel like they should get picked. So whether it's say IKO, they're a major manufacturer. GAF. So we have the GAF roof and wall. They're a major manufacturer. CertainTeed, they're major. So the majors, they all have to be here, whether they're competitors or not, whether I use all of them on one roof or I just use one, they're the best of the best as far as industries. It's like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, LeBron James, they're all in the hall of fame. So they all got to be here. Same thing with, we have AccuLynx, but we also have JobNimbus. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yes. 

Donovan Morgan: So they're two CRMs, but they're both hall of famers because they're both do great things in the industry. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, I love it. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. So things like that. We have the Ridge Pro, we said that. We have the Lock Jaw Ladder grip. I feel like HailTrace was one that was real big that needed to be here, because in the roofing space, we always have to get reports as far as for storms. 

Megan Ellsworth: Exactly. 

Donovan Morgan: And a lot of roofs get replaced due to storm damage. So I feel like HailTrace was a big one that needed to be in here for representation. And we have so many, I don't want to miss anybody in particular. But Pitch Gauge, I felt like one. We needed a measurement company in general. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Represented. 

Donovan Morgan: We needed one in general. And I felt like with the Pitch Gauge, I could have EagleView just thinking as far as museum wise, but I felt like as far as growing and what they had to offer, I just felt like it was a better addition. And then also with Abraham Ventura, we've met in Orlando in Florida at RoofCON and he's based in Atlanta too, which I found out after. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, okay. 

Donovan Morgan: And the things that he has going on, he's real innovative, he's real smart. So they have a lot of things that's going to be coming up. And then again, with theirs, it was like $10 to $15 a measurement report. And other ones are $30 to $60. So I felt like it was like common sense, a no-brainer. So when I feel like that, I feel like I need to put it on display and everyone needs to see it. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: And then that's really, as far as for the museum, it is just really highlighting the best of the best where everyone can see the differences. And then for homeowners to make it in a way where it's interactive and fun. So with The Roof Museum, we like to attract all five senses. So when you come in, whether you get water sparkling or still or coffee, so that's attracting your taste. Whether you get to see all of the artwork and the visual representations, that's your site right there. When we pull the shingles, with the tug test we handle everything's like with care, but you get to feel it. Even our music. So you get to hear the roofing songs, "Getting Paid." So we have the way you get to hear it as well. And I'm not sure if I'm missing any. 

Megan Ellsworth: Smell? 

Donovan Morgan: Smell. And then when you come in, hopefully it smells good when you're ready to come in. Good. 

Megan Ellsworth: Maybe you can sniff a shingle. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah, you got a sense? Scratch and sniff. But yeah. And that way, again, attracting all the senses, because that helps with the experience and making roofing, again, an experience so it adds value and not just like, "What's the price?" And it's getting it done. Just a construction zone, but more making homeowners, again, feel like Mr. And Mrs. [inaudible 00:28:16] TV. Like they're doing, making their house a model home again and getting that kind of experience. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Because that's a great feeling. And feeling like you're putting time and effort into your house is very rewarding once it's all done. 

Donovan Morgan: 100%. 

Megan Ellsworth: So I would love for you to think about what role do you think places like The Roof Museum play in shaping the future of our industry? 

Donovan Morgan: I think it plays a huge role because it helps with, I think what we're doing right now with this era in roofing, we're helping create roofing culture. So I feel like roofing had culture, but we're adding a little more spice to it. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Zest. 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah. Give it a little more season as far as for roofing, where we're making it little more cool. So with The Roof Museum for instance, again, this is I guess the first space, we're providing education to the public in a fun, interactive way. Where we can do community events and things like that and roofing is on the forefront. Even with the conferences, even just what you guys do as far as the Roofers Coffee Shop and having these resources and things like that. So I feel like adding culture, I feel like that's the biggest thing that we're adding. So even with social media that's going on with roofing now, they can, even the songs, they can put that in the back of their social media songs and stuff like that. It's just making it fun, so people can say or  little kids, they can say, "I want to be a police officer. I want to be a firefighter. I want to be a roofer." 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. That's so true. And congratulations on the space- 

Donovan Morgan: Thank you. 

Megan Ellsworth: ... and having all the exhibits and the vendors that you work with, it's just, it's great. It's a real, it' as feat. So 

Donovan Morgan: Yeah, we have over 30 vendors in the building exhibitors and they all help play a major role, even with the business 411, how we get the magnifying glass. 

Megan Ellsworth: You got me on that one. 

Yeah. And even with Lego and people wouldn't think you guys are doing stuff with Lego or you guys sponsored Atlanta Hawks or  you guys do commercials and things like that with IKO, things like that. And I think it's cool when we're able to align with major companies because one of our visions is to be a household name in the roofing industry or in the industry in general through experiences and innovation. And I feel like, because I don't feel like Roofing really has a household name. And that's why I feel like one of The Roof Museum is so important. And that's why we're working on that as far as our goals. 

Donovan Morgan: Because a lot of times when you think of any kind of industry, there's a household name you could think of and roofing has been around for so long, but there's no like, "Hey, see roofers. Those are those guys." In Georgia, they kind of will give one company credit. But since I've been in Georgia, I'm from Florida originally, but since I've been in Georgia, they say Roof Roof. And that is one of the companies, the competition. But it is like Roof Roof. They've been around forever, before I was even born. They said they were in the Yellow Pages. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: But at the end of the day, people out here, they're like, you say, "Hey, roof company." They be like "Yeah, Roof Roof company?" So that's kind of cool. But other than that and on a national level, I never really hear. So I feel like with this we're able to again, add more eyeballs on roofing. So then hopefully us, but then or  maybe we can inspire the next person to be a household name in the roofing industry. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. That's amazing. Okay. I'd love to end with, what do you want every visitor to The Roof Museum, The Roof Gallery, to take away from their visit? 

Donovan Morgan: I want them to say, "This was so cool. I never thought that roofing would be like this." That's what they usually... And yeah, I want them at the end of the day when they think about roofs that they think about me. So I want them to tell their kids that Roots By Don made up raise the roof. Hey. And that's it. When they think about roofs, that they think about me. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. I love it. Well, I definitely think about you. 

Donovan Morgan: Aye. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: What's real cool too, songs. So with songs, they all... I pay attention to a lot of details, so they get a lot of remixes. So it's like all the old songs, they get remixed and now it's new. And even what I realized is the songs that I used to hear too were remixed from songs from the 80s and even Raise the Roof. So when they think about Raise the Roof, who made that up? Do you actually know? 

Megan Ellsworth: No. 

Donovan Morgan: Nobody knows who made... I don't know who made up Raise the Roof. So that's why Roofs By Don made up Raise the Roof. So hey kid, this is the remix for 2025. And get everyone again, just part of culture. So that way we could be a household name, we can make roofing fun every. So when you have your kids, they could be like, "Hey, I want to be like you. I want to be a roofer." Or "I want to be like that guy." That's really it. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Well, congratulations. I think you're on your way. 

Donovan Morgan: Yay. 

Megan Ellsworth: And thank you so much for chatting with me today. 

Donovan Morgan: Thank you. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. And thanks for having us. It's amazing. We love sponsoring the kitchen. 

Donovan Morgan: Yes, yes, yes. The Roofers Coffee Shop. 

Megan Ellsworth: The Roofers Coffee Shop. My bad. And before we go, I'd love for you... We have a little gift. 

Donovan Morgan: Oh. 

Megan Ellsworth: A little... It's hiding. 

Donovan Morgan: Yay. Okay. 

Megan Ellsworth: Next to you. We have a little gift for you to open. 

Donovan Morgan: Do you know red is my favorite color too, right? 

Megan Ellsworth: Well, it's coffee shop red. 

Donovan Morgan: Perfect. Yeah. I love it. 

Megan Ellsworth: So there you go. 

Donovan Morgan: I'm excited. 

Megan Ellsworth: All right. Drum roll 

Donovan Morgan: This is the undoing. Hey. What did I get? 

Megan Ellsworth: You got so much coffee. 

Donovan Morgan: Aye. In the coffee shop. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: This is real cool. Wait, so this is the actual, the coffee beans? 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: So how do I... Do I have to get a grinder? 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Or is it ground already? 

Speaker 3: It's ground. 

Donovan Morgan: Is it ground already? 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, it's actual ground. 

Donovan Morgan: Let's see. 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, it's ground. 

Donovan Morgan: It's ground already. Aye. 

Megan Ellsworth: Heck yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: Official. 

Megan Ellsworth: Incredible. 

Donovan Morgan: This is actually real cool. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yay. 

Donovan Morgan: So in our office people are like coffee connoisseurs. Yep. So we're definitely going to be trying... And are there different flavors? What do we have in here. 

Megan Ellsworth: I think they're all the same. 

Donovan Morgan: That's real cool. 

Megan Ellsworth: We just gave you so much. 

Donovan Morgan: We got the medium dark roast. It matches me. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yes. And then there's one more thing right there for you. 

Donovan Morgan: Ooh, let's see what we got. 

Megan Ellsworth: Pull that bad boy out. 

Donovan Morgan: I got to see it too. I love it. Hey, we know where this is going, right? 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: This is official. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: This is super cool. So what are we going to do at the end of the tour since it ends in the Roofers Coffee Shop? 

Megan Ellsworth: Yes. 

Donovan Morgan: As soon as they get in, they get the, "Thank you for visiting." 

Megan Ellsworth: "Thank you for visiting." 

Donovan Morgan: And we're going to make sure everyone logs in too. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yay. Well done. Thank you so much. 

Donovan Morgan: This is awesome. 

Megan Ellsworth: And we're so glad to be in partnership with you. 

Donovan Morgan: No, thank you guys so much. I'm super appreciative as far as for the partnership. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: I look up to you guys too, as far as- 

Megan Ellsworth: Oh, we look up to you. 

Donovan Morgan: So no, but really though, for how long you guys have been doing it, that's a family business. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Donovan Morgan: I think that's real cool. We see you guys at all of the... You guys are everywhere. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah, we are. 

Donovan Morgan: You guys are everywhere. And you're growing- 

Megan Ellsworth: We're tired. 

Donovan Morgan: And now you guys are even here at The Roof Museum in Atlanta. So we really, really enjoy what you guys do as far as getting the coverage for the roofing industry in general, covering The Roof Museum. 

Megan Ellsworth: Thank you. 

Donovan Morgan: Yep. And making us part of your history. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. Thank you for bringing us here. We're so happy to be here. So thank you. Everyone can go to rooferscoffeeshop.com, The Roof Museum and Roof Gallery and Roofs By Don has a directory so you can go learn more about them there. And oh, stickers, so many things. And then also go to the rooferscoffeeshop.com and listen to other podcasts, roofing road trips that we have. And make sure you subscribe and ring the bell and we'll see you next time- 

Donovan Morgan: Yep. 

Megan Ellsworth: ... on Roofing Road Trips. Bye. 

Donovan Morgan: Come get a coffee at the Roofers Coffee Shop. It's on the house. 

Megan Ellsworth: Yeah. 

Outro: Like the roof.