Roofing Legacy: How Baker Roofing Hit 100 Years
July 15, 2026
Four generations of grit, field leadership, and real sacrifice. In this special retrospective of the Under the Roof podcast, we pull the best moments from our archives. From running specialty copper lines for local moonshiners in the 1970s to transitioning the enterprise to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) today, this is the blueprint for building a multi-generational family business that survives.
What does it take for a blue-collar business to survive for over a century? It takes more than just fixing leaks. It requires deep trust between the office and the crew. In this greatest hits episode of the Under the Roof podcast, hosts Todd Cavanaugh and Matt Elban bring together the definitive stories of Baker Roofing Company. You will hear from third and fourth-generation family leaders, industry icons, and regional managers who lived out the company values when life fell apart. This is a masterclass in business stewardship, industry professionalization, and cultural resilience.
What You’ll Learn:
- Dylan Baker breaks down the strategic shift to employee ownership and why protecting team equity matters more than building a personal monument.
- Former U.S. Congressman and NRCA CEO Reid Ribble challenges the industry to change how blue-collar trade careers are perceived by modern families.
- Frank and Prentiss Baker share raw history from the early sheet metal shop, including a cash-in-hand Saturday job for a legendary local bootlegger.
- Auston Batts shares the exact moment the company backed up its corporate values with immediate action following his wife's cancer diagnosis.
Dylan Baker is the fourth-generation leader of Baker Roofing Company, a century-old family business founded by his great-grandfather W.P. Baker in 1915. As a key figure in the company's leadership, Dylan has played a pivotal role in one of the organization's most significant transitions - implementing an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
Auston Batts is the Commercial Service Sales Manager at Baker Roofing, where he is establishing the company's first presence in Southwest Florida. With nine years at Baker Roofing, Austin has built a career defined by growth and resilience, progressing from entry-level residential roofing in Wilmington, North Carolina, to leading market expansion in Savannah, Georgia, and now spearheading the company's strategic growth in Southwest Florida.
Reid Ribble is a unique figure in the roofing industry, having served as a roofing contractor, U.S. Congressman, and CEO of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA). After running his family's roofing business in Wisconsin for 30 years, he served three terms in Congress, representing Wisconsin's 8th District. In 2017, he became CEO of the NRCA, where he spearheaded major initiatives to professionalize the roofing industry.
Frank and Prentiss are third-generation leaders of Baker Roofing Company, one of the largest and most respected roofing contractors in the United States. As grandsons of founder W.P. Baker I, they grew up around the business and began working in the company at a young age, learning the trade from the ground up through hands-on work in the shop and on job sites.
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