Tag Archive for: Trent Spradlin

Stonewater Ranked Top 100 Roofing Contractors In North America

Stonewater Roofing announced Tuesday that the company has been named by Roofing Contractor magazine as one of the Top 100 Roofing Contractors in North America. The East Texas organization came in at No. 83 on the publication’s annual ranking for 2020.

This is the second year in a row that Stonewater Roofing received this honor. In 2019, the company was No. 88 on the list.

“One of the biggest characteristics of this company is that we pride ourselves on continuous growth,” said Chief Marketing Officer Trent Spradlin. “As our company grows, it’s a sign that our community is growing right along with us. The primary recognition we receive is the satisfaction from our customers. After that, recognition from the primary source of roofing news and information is just icing on the cake.”

This year has seen unique challenges within the roofing industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, quarantine mandates forced companies to find new ways of working with customers while maintaining social distancing. However, the team at Stonewater Roofing already had innovative procedures in place.

Remote Roofing by Stonewater lets customers receive roof repairs with limited contact. The process is easy. For instance, online payments and shared digital files allow you to take care of damages from anywhere, on your schedule.

Forbes Publishes Tyler Man’s Article On Dark Side Of Journalism

For many people, the start of a new year can also mean the start of new lifestyle changes. Some may choose to begin a diet and exercise plan. Others might try to break a bad habit. And many unhappy workers look to the new year as motivation to switch career paths.

Trent Spradlin joined Stonewater Roofing in 2018 as the Chief Marketing Officer, but he previously spent more than a decade in the broadcast journalism industry. He detailed his experience in a newly published article for Forbes entitled “How To Find Empathy Inside The Newsroom.”

Trent Spradlin

Trent Spradlin

In his article, Spradlin touches upon some of the traumatic experiences that journalists are forced to endure in the pursuit of breaking news. He also explains how journalism employees, much like the industry as a whole, are expected to be desensitized to whatever tragedies they may encounter.

In my 13 years of broadcast news, not once was there a mental health service offered (even when requested) to employees to navigate the things we experienced. Unlike emergency service personnel, we were not on the scene to help — we were there to exploit for ratings and financial gain.

The article paints a bleak picture of a journalism job that was often exhausting, unsettling, and sometimes downright gruesome. It became obvious that, for Spradlin, a career in news was ultimately not the right fit.

I was miserable, but numb thanks to external substances. It kept me going. It kept my job. The cycle continued with no help from supervisors.

Thankfully, with support from his friends and family, Spradlin was able to escape this industry that tied him down. He found new life at Stonewater Roofing. Spradlin is now extremely proud of his work. He has the freedom to be creative and expressive, and he is able to enjoy his job without a need for mental healthcare.

Does your current job leave you feeling frustrated, depressed, or underappreciated? Perhaps the new year is the time for you to switch career paths as well. Stonewater Roofing is currently looking for salespeople in both the Tyler and Longview areas. Visit our Careers page to apply today and get your future back on track.

Stonewater Roofing Brings Holiday Cheer To Children In Hospital

Christmas is the season of giving. We at Stonewater Roofing take that to heart, and nothing feels better than bringing a smile to a child’s face during the holiday season. That is why we partnered up with UT Health East Texas to spread cheer to children who are spending this Christmas in the hospital.

“When it comes to the holidays, it’s important for us to be able to look back at the past year and reflect on all the blessings that we’ve received as a company,” said Stonewater Roofing’s chief marketing officer Trent Spradlin, “and also to focus on where we can give back to the people that have helped make our success possible, which is our community.”

Stonewater Roofing employees went on a shopping spree at Target, walking out with bundles of toys and gifts for kids who will be in the UT Health East Texas pediatric ward when Santa comes to visit. Spradlin was joined by Stonewater Roofing’s human resources and safety director Delano Guevara, along with operations director Dianna Gregg.

The company also handed out more than $1,000 worth of gift cards to the parents of newborn babies at the hospital.

“It’s just so nice to see patients who are here, just to see the smile on their face,” added UT Health East Texas communications director Allison Pollan. “To see that they’re getting a gift card, that’s going to buy a lot of diapers for some of these new parents. Or we have a father who has six kiddos. That’s going to buy them Christmas presents. He’s been in the hospital for several days with his son and probably has not had a lot of time to do that, so to see his face and his whole demeanor change was very meaningful.”

But the day was particularly meaningful for Gregg. Her mother died in a car crash during the 2002 holiday season. “I was in the hospital. I was the kid,” she recalled. “I had to spend Christmas in the hospital and they gave me a toy, a stuffed animal from a random stranger. I still have that stuffed animal to this day.”

That is why it was important for Gregg to be at UT Health East Texas this year, to hand out toys to kids in similar situations. “It was time to pay it forward, what happened to me 17 years ago,” she said.

“It’s always very important to us to have local businesses, community members who are willing to give back, especially at the holidays,” explained Pollan. “Not many people want to be in the hospital over the Christmas holidays but, for those who are, to have something to brighten their day is very important.”

Tyler Area Business Owners Mingle At After Hours Event

Business owners took a break from the scorching 95-degree East Texas heat on Thursday evening to mingle with their peers at this month’s After Hours event, courtesy of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and Stonewater Roofing.

The happy hour gathering was held at the Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites in south Tyler.

After Hours

These monthly After Hours events give the Tyler area’s elite a chance to unwind and get to know other local business owners, potentially sparking some mutually beneficial relationships and strengthening the Rose City’s economy. Jenni Wilson with the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce said that such events are “really important.”

“We have over 2,000 members in the Tyler Chamber,” Wilson explained. “This gives them an opportunity to network with each other, trade secrets and just get to know each other.”

After Hours

Along with free drinks provided by R&K Distributors, patrons were treated to finger food from Montez Brothers Catering and live acoustic music from former “American Idol” contestant and Tyler native Vivian Villapudua.

Stonewater Roofing was thrilled to be the sponsor for the August iteration of this event.

Trent Spradlin is the Chief Marketing Officer for Stonewater Roofing. “The greatest thing about these types of events is being able to see a healthy Chamber, which means there is a healthy community of businesses that are not only helping grow the community as a whole, but partnering together on different events and projects,” he said. “It’s great to see our advertising partners out here. It’s great to see other businesses that we have partnered with in different capacities over the last few years, and we look forward to continuing that growth in the future.”

East Texas Teachers Receive Massive #ClearTheList Deliveries

With the new school year fast approaching, teachers across the nation participated in the #ClearTheList campaign, a social media phenomenon that helped educators stock up on necessary school supplies for the latest crop of students. A group of four East Texas teachers saw everything on their wishlists hand-delievered to their classrooms, courtesy of Stonewater Roofing.

It’s no secret that teachers are underpaid, and school district budgets can only provide limited help for each of their employees. So, many of the nation’s educators have turned to strangers online for assistance, creating wishlists on Amazon and sharing these registries on social media with the #ClearTheList hashtag. This campaign quickly turned into a viral sensation.

The hope is that a kind soul will buy an item and ship it directly to the teacher, until the entire list of school supplies has been purchased. The campaign has been a success for many teachers nationwide, but Asquith, Butler, Lampkin and Mansinger never expected to hear that all of their classroom needs were being fulfilled in one swoop.

“Oh, my gosh. That’s amazing,” said Lampkin upon hearing the news. “That is awesome.”

Stonewater Roofing created the biggest #ClearTheList social media thread in East Texas, earning more than 20,000 responses from area educators and supporters. The company randomly selected four lucky teachers and purchased every item on their wishlists.

“Thank you,” said Butler when she was told about her upcoming delivery. “That just made my day.”

The wishlists included standard back-to-school fare such as pencils, crayons, markers, watercolors, rulers, scissors, sticky notes, glue sticks, and tape. There were also more specialized learning tools including math games, geometry sets, magnets, modeling clay, geography puzzles, and games about socialization. Asquith even requested a canvas play teepee for her students.

But the wishlists contained organizational tools for the teachers as well. There were filing cabinets, paper organizers, storage carts, and bulletin boards on the lists, along with basic equipment like a floor lamp and headphones. These are all tools that will help the teachers as they aim to enrich the educational experience for East Texas students this coming year.

“The majority of our staff are products of area school districts and now have our own children within those schools,” explained Trent Spradlin, Chief Marketing Officer for Stonewater Roofing. “That being said, we do what we can to support our teachers in areas they need help the most.”

“Thank you so, so much,” added a delighted Mansinger. “That is just the best surprise.”

Employees from Stonewater Roofing began hand-delivering the cases of school supplies to the four lucky teachers on Friday.

‘Setting Aside Roof Sales’ To Help Longview Recover From Storms

Extremely powerful straight-line winds caused severe damage to homes and businesses across Longview this week. The National Weather Service said that gusts reached as high as 90 mph along a path nearly 17 miles long and more than 2,000 yards wide. KLTV meteorologist Mark Scirto compared the Longview storms to “an EF-1 tornado and a high-end Category 1 hurricane.”

Mayor Andy Mack confirmed that there were no fatalities nor serious injuries in Longview, but there was plenty of damage left behind.

A tree lands on the roof of a home in Longview, TX.

Roofs were ripped apart. Large trees and power lines were toppled. The Longview storms resulted in widespread power outages and even forced some East Texas school districts to delay or cancel classes. Residents shared stunning photos of the damage on Facebook, showing massive amount of debris in their yards and on top of their houses.

But nothing could prepare Alicia Price for what she saw firsthand. “Facebook does not really do the damage justice,” she said. “You drive down through here and see roofs ripped off homes, huge trees through homes, windows blown out, patio doors blown out. The damage is pretty astronomical.”

Severe storms caused catastrophic damage to homes and businesses in Longview, TX.

That prompted Price, an invoicing specialist with Stonewater Roofing, to spring into action. She began coordinating with friends, business owners, police and city officials in Longview. The goal was to donate time, money and supplies to those impacted by this brutal storm, as well as those trying to clean up the mess that it left behind.

“We just wanted to give back to the community and help,” Price explained.

The local Longview roofing team set up camp at the corner of Judson Road and Eden Drive. There, they have been providing barbecue meals around the clock and offering assistance in any way possible. “People are showing up to help,” stated Price early Friday. “Even this morning, I had some random people drop some water off. I don’t even know how they knew we were here.”

Along with the homeowners who saw property damage from the storm, Price and her team are also helping the city workers who have been busy cleaning up the storm’s path of destruction. “The city and police department were very welcoming,” Price added. “They’ve had nobody offer, so they were very excited that we were here and showing up.”

Trees knocked down onto homes was a common sight after storms blew through Longview, TX.

“When incidents like these happen, this is where we set aside trying to sell a roof,” explained Trent Spradlin, Chief Marketing Officer with Stonewater Roofing. “We set that aside for being empathetic to people who have lost something. All of us here at Stonewater obviously have experienced loss of some sort at some time, and we know what that’s like.”

“Whether its a homeowner or a city employee that’s been working throughout the night and during the day, giving them a break and some sense of normalcy, not having to worry about not having electricity at home to cook food and things of that nature, really is the reason that we’re doing this,” Spradlin elaborated. “It speaks directly to the Stonewater culture.”

Elementary Drumline To Play At Texas Revolution Game

Indoor football fans at the Texas Revolution game in Frisco on April 14 will also enjoy a rousing performance by the Caldwell Arts Academy drumline. “We love showcasing our students and the talents they have,” explained Bobby Markle, principal of the Tyler Independent School District campus.

The drumline is even more impressive because it is made up entirely of elementary students.

In fact, the Caldwell kids are the first competitive elementary school drumline in East Texas. “We were looking for outlets for these kids to perform. Elementary drumlining is not a big thing in Texas. It’s usually reserved for middle schools and high schools,” Markle said. “These are not just elementary students who picked up percussion and are going to struggle through cadences. These kids really have a God-given talent.”

That talent is now taking the Caldwell drumline to Stonewater Roofing Field at the Ford Center in Frisco, home of the Dallas Cowboys and home field for the Texas Revolution indoor football team. The Revs square off against the Amarillo Venom at 1:00 PM on Sunday, April 14, with the pint-sized drummers as featured entertainers.

The Ford Center and Stonewater Roofing Field welcome Texas Revolution fans to Frisco.

“Our kids get to perform on some pretty big stages just because of what our school does, but there’s not a bigger stage than where they are going on Sunday,” Markle added. “These kids will surprise a lot of those audience members. These kids are kids, don’t get me wrong, but they are professionals.”

The afterschool drumline program began with some parents who had experience in percussion and wanted to share their own talents with the younger generation. “At the time, we were having some discipline issues and issues with engagement. I thought, what a great outlet for young men to be able to beat on something. They want to do it anyway,” recalled Markle. “Once we got started, it just took off and has really been a robust program for us that will continue not only as a drumline, but as a part of our percussion curriculum.”

Stonewater Roofing COO Jacob Law (a former drum major) and CMO Trent Spradlin (a former drum captain) contributed educational and financial resources to the program. Spradlin is also one of the drumline directors. Students practice two days each week, learning discipline and character development, along with a little bit of rhythm.

“I just think communities need to be engaged in things that are positive,” Markle said. “We run into a lot of distractions in our communities around differences and things like that. But you get these kids on a drumline and see all the adults and children watching, smiling… that’s what community is about. It’s about the great things in your community, and this drumline is one of them.”

Elementary Kids Prepare For Drumline Competition

A growing East Texas company is encouraging growth of the arts in the Tyler Independent School District. The Caldwell Arts Academy Drumline is the first competitive elementary school drumline in East Texas. Students from first through sixth grade auditioned for the group and are gearing up for competitions in early 2019.

Stonewater Roofing, a Tyler based commercial and residential roofing company, has a special appreciation for these types of programs. COO Jacob Law (former John Tyler High School Drum Major) and VP of Communications Trent Spradlin (former Robert E. Lee Drum Captain) have contributed financial and educational resources to the organization.

Directed by Spradlin and Travis Sutphen, students practice two days each week learning discipline, character development and a little bit of rhythm.

Spradlin hopes that the district sees the benefits, internally and externally, that this program provides, and expects similar programs to develop over the coming years.

If it weren’t for the support and flexibility of Stonewater Roofing, the program would not be at the level it is at currently. With the growth of the company, Stonewater Roofing will continue to provide support for groups like the Caldwell Drumline, not only here in Tyler, but in all of their service areas throughout Texas.

A version of this article originally appeared on KLTV’s website.