I have written before in these posts about the core values we hold at Spokane Roofing Company®. Today, I would like to write about the man who has shaped them for me, my father, Dave Sitton.
My dad’s technical knowledge is superb. He knows a lot about a lot, has been doing this for 30 years and has a memory like an elephant. He is able to draw on previous experience in almost every situation. Every big project we have, I run by him first.
At Spokane Roofing Company, he is an owner, a project overseer, and sales mentor. Nobody in the business knows residential and commercial roofing products and applications better than Dad.
All that aside, his main contribution to Spokane Roofing Company is his character. He is concerned about people. Some people feel business is just business, but not my dad. He has set the foundation for the company. He is not looking to serve the community because it is good for Spokane Roofing; he is doing it because it is the right thing to do.
But let him tell you about some of the community service we do:
We try to be involved in community service in many ways. We have roofed homes for the Spokane Neighborhood Action Project (aka SNAP) for no cost. We have tried to help other agencies such as: Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, Union Gospel Mission, Catholic Charities, Lions Club, and Corbin Senior Center. We do not want just to donate money, but also our time and services.
One of our biggest projects is working with Blessings Under the Bridge, which feeds and clothes the homeless community here in Spokane. We serve food and we donate financially as well. It’s a pretty humbling thing. If you think you are a big dog, sit face-to-face with someone who is homeless. Lots of people I see downtown, I see at that event.
We are not involved in these things to make money. To be honest, not everyone we try to help is appreciative. If they are, it makes me feel better. We are not going to stop if someone is ungrateful. These are all good programs. They help people, and many people in our community need help.
We are a business, and we put up roofs to make money. This community has been good to us, so it’s good to be able to do something nice for the community.
Most potential customers do not know a lot about roofs. When they need guidance, I treat them fairly. If somebody is looking to get a new roof and does not need one, I let them know. That has been our practice ever since I have been around, and it always will be.
So, you can see where my personal and professional values originate. We like selling roofs, but we are never going to prioritize making money over doing the right thing. I think that character translates into the way a business operates. That is the way we are always going to run Spokane Roofing.