Building a legacy

In the construction world, tools are important. But the greatest tool, it can be argued, is the mind. The mindset of a builder often is characterized by passion, persistence, adaptability and resourcefulness.

At 13 years old, Alex Hernandez, president of Clark Roofing Co. Inc., Broadview, Ill., pulled out the hallway carpet in his home and tiled the floor. A child inspired by playing with his grandfather’s box of tools, Hernandez taught himself how to fix things. With a passion for working with his hands and a natural inquisitiveness for how things work, Hernandez eventually started a remodeling business, rebuilt two of his homes and became the president of a roofing company.

“There was nothing Alex couldn’t fix,” says David Hernandez, Alex’s younger brother and project manager at Clark Roofing. “Even as a kid, he was always building things. He’s extremely hardworking and intelligent. He taught me everything I know about roofing and leads by providing a good example. These skills and work ethic will go a long way in his new role at NRCA.”

This month, Hernandez began his term as NRCA’s chairman of the board, the highest-ranking officer in the association. (For a list of newly elected officers and directors, see “NRCA elects new officers and directors,” page 14.)

“Being the chairman of the board means being the quietest person in the room,” Hernandez says. “As an NRCA leader, it is my job to listen and consider all the stakeholders. What may be good for a company individually may not be good for all members. It is my role to look out for the organization’s best interests, and I will do my best to live up to the legacy left by all the leaders before me.”

Laying the foundation

When Hernandez was 1 1/2 years old, he emigrated from Cuba to the U.S. with his father, Jose; mother, Doris; and older brother, Jose (named after their father), to escape life under Fidel Castro.

“Castro essentially fooled many Cuban people into thinking there was going to be a democratic overthrow of the prior Batista regime, which was democratic but oppressive,” Hernandez says. “But when he came to power, it came to light that he was a communist, and communist-socialism was imposed. I am so unbelievably grateful my parents were not willing to be part of that.”

In 1966, the Hernandez family boarded a Freedom Flight to Miami and never looked back.

“The core of my family left within five years,” Hernandez says. “It would take 18 more years to get my maternal grandparents and my last uncle out.”

At the time, Hernandez had an aunt, uncle and two cousins living in Atlanta, and his paternal grandparents, an aunt, uncle and three cousins living in Chicago. Hernandez’s parents chose to locate to Chicago, where Hernandez’s father did a residency at Christ Community Hospital to become a credentialed physician in the U.S.

When Hernandez’s father passed the foreign board exam in late 1967, the family moved to the northside of Chicago where Hernandez attended a private Lutheran school through eighth grade. He then attended Mather High School, a public school.

Growing up, Hernandez didn’t have a bicycle and wasn’t allowed outside to play often.

“I think it was my family’s fear for our safety and living in a new and different country with radically different cultures all around,” Hernandez says. “My mom ran the office at my dad’s clinic, so they were always working. My grandparents lived nearby to keep an eye on us, but we did not have much supervision. We were not allowed to go outside, so we had to do what we could to occupy ourselves.”

One day, Hernandez found a box of his grandfather’s tools that changed the trajectory of his life.

“I loved playing with those tools,” Hernandez says. “And my uncle did electrical work; his closet looked like a hardware store. I grabbed those tools every chance I could get; abuelo always let me.”

After graduating high school, the family moved to suburban Skokie, Ill., where Hernandez persuaded his older brother to buy him a table saw in exchange for building an aquarium stand.

“I told my brother I would make the stand in the garage if he bought me the saw,” Hernandez says. “Then, I started doing small projects. And then I started earning money remodeling basements. After that, I did some work at a condominium complex to rebuild balconies. Later, I remodeled entire condominium units on Michigan Avenue; my only occasional employee was my brother John.”

Living in a world before the internet and YouTube videos, Hernandez learned the art of construction by reading.

“I remember going to Skokie Public Library and sitting there for days looking at books on how to do stuff,” Hernandez says. “Years later, I replaced many sections of that library ’s roof.”

Hernandez started his own business, New Look Remodeling, while attending the University of Illinois at Chicago.

“I was an aspiring engineering student for a really long time because I was a really bad student,” he says. “I wanted to go to the Illinois Institute of Technology, but my mom said no. She wanted me to go to a real school, which meant going to a “university.” So I struggled for years. I got through the math and calculus classes, but I hated chemistry. I was more interested in what was happening during the evenings out of school than being in school.

“I dragged my feet and eventually ended up with a bachelor’s of arts degree in economics because I had fulfilled the math requirements and it was the quickest way out. I ended up with an economics degree, which is funny because Mike Promen[former president of Clark Roofing and a former NRCA president] also was an economics major.”

Who is teaching newcomers? Maybe they weren’t lucky enough to have a grandfather with a box of tools like me.

Clark Roofing

Hernandez met Promen while dating Promen’s daughter, Michele. Michele’s grandparents, Harry and Genevieve Promen, founded Clark Roofing in 1946. When Michele met Hernandez in 1990, he was managing his remodeling company while attending night school to learn construction management.

“That’s when I understood that’s what I like to do,” he says.

After Hernandez married Michele in 1994, he was recruited by Promen to work for the family company.

“Mike had two daughters, and both chose careers other than roofing,” Hernandez explains. “He asked whether I wanted to come and help out for a while on a probationary basis, so I started working there.”

More than 30 years later, Hernandez continues to work at Clark Roofing.

“And I’m still on probation,” he laughs.

Hernandez started out in sales in the company.

“I wore a shirt and tie and was doing surveys on roofs in all kinds of weather,” he says. “I worked 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., got home at 6 p.m. and then worked on remodeling our house until 10 or 11 p.m.”

Hernandez held that position until Promen was elected NRCA president in 2001.

“Mike got busy with NRCA, and I ended up being the sales manager,” Hernandez says. “I learned a lot about the business during that time.”

Hernandez continued assuming more responsibility and transitioned to a leadership role in 2010 when Promen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Over the years, Hernandez has recruited more family members into the business. Now, two of his brothers—John, who works in operations, and David, who works in sales—work at Clark Roofing along with Hernandez’s son, Patrick, who is in estimating and sales.

“The whole family is super smart,” says Tom Fuerst, vice president for Clark Roofing. “They all work together in a hallway we call the Hernandez highway.”

Fuerst has been with Clark Roofing for 27 years.

“Alex is hardworking and sets an example for our team,” Fuerst says. “He always helps when we need it. He’s open-minded and doesn’t jump to conclusions. He’s also modest. He’s moved up to become president of the company and still walks around with a business card that only says ‘Alex Hernandez.’”

John Hernandez started working at Clark Roofing four months ago but remembers working with his brother when they were younger.

“I had the opportunity to work with Alex when I was in my early twenties before he was married, and back then I didn’t appreciate the kind of teacher he is,” he says. “Alex still has that quality. He acknowledges people are individuals, and there isn’t one answer for everyone. He makes people feel valuable, and that’s a rare talent.”

David Hernandez has been with Clark Roofing for 19 years and attributes his professional success to his older brother.

“Alex has taught me everything I know about the roofing industry,” he says. “Working with other family members has its pros and cons, but I honestly can say the pros significantly outweigh the cons. I look forward to coming to work every day.”

In addition to being a good teacher and role model for the Clark Roofing team, Patrick Hernandez says his father is an excellent resource.

“People are always asking for his opinion about their houses. Even if it’s not a roofing concern, my dad is going to have a solution. He’s done most things involved in construction, so he’s going to have an answer,” Patrick Hernandez says.

Under Hernandez’s leadership, Clark Roofing now has about 80-110 employees depending on the season. Fuerst attributes part of the company’s success to realizing the value of NRCA membership.

“From day one when I started here, NRCA has been the backbone of Clark Roofing,” Fuerst says. “NRCA sets the standard we follow.”

NRCA scope of work

In 1974, Clark Roofing joined NRCA when Promen was company president. In 2002, Hernandez became involved with NRCA.

“Mike told me to give a presentation at NRCA’s annual convention in San Antonio,” Hernandez says. “That was my first experience, and I was freaking out! Then, people started asking me questions, and I felt like the least informed guy in the room. I still feel like that sometimes; there are so many talented people in the association.”

Hernandez stayed involved with NRCA and has served on numerous committees and task forces including contractor management, health and safety, National Roofing Legal Resource Center, international relations, workforce development, Hispanic outreach, insurance board of governors, safety manual, residential contractor and technical operations.

In 2003, he was elected to the board of directors and has served multiple terms: 2007-10, 2012-15 and 2016-19. He was elected to the Executive Committee in 2010 and also served from 2012-15 and 2023-24. In 2024, he served as chairman of the board-elect.

Hernandez wasn’t sure what to expect when his father-in-law persuaded him to participate in NRCA years ago.

“Little did I know the most rewarding and valuable part is getting to know all the people I would otherwise not know,” he says. “It’s given me access to experts and a network. Mike’s network of people—Mike Beldon, Bob Dalsin and Conrad Kawoluk [all former NRCA presidents]—reached out to me when they heard about Mike’s diagnosis, and I leaned on them quite a bit early on; they were so helpful. And I’ve become friends with so many others I talk to on a regular basis.”

Hernandez says the older generations of roofing contractors have a lot of wisdom to share.

“There used to be more of them coming to events than I’ve seen recently, and I would like to see more of them,” Hernandez says. “Obviously, they are getting older and maybe traveling is an issue, but I would like to see whether there is something we can offer them to reengage with those people.

“Melvin Kruger [a former NRCA president] sent me a handwritten note of congratulations recently; it blew me away,” Hernandez continues. “That’s meaningful. As much as we can, we should foster those relationships.”

On the flipside, Hernandez also recognizes the challenge of attracting younger people to the roofing industry, which requires dissolving the stigma of being a “roofer.”

“The Construction Management Student Competition the Roofing Alliance promotes has gone a long way to addressing that,” he says. “NRCA’s Future Executives Institute is addressing it. And participation in SkillsUSA® is helping.”

The first time Hernandez attended SkillsUSA was in 2024.

“I was so impressed,” he says. “Up until a couple of years ago, roofing was not represented in the competition. I never thought people wouldn’t know what a commercial roof looks like. But they would ask: ‘What is that? Flooring?’ That was really eye-opening. Being right there in the grassroots is important so people can meet us and recognize roofing guys aren’t so bad.”

Hernandez would like NRCA to also connect more with small-sized roofing contractors.

“The association has a lot of folks who are good leaders and good businesspeople,” he says. “I would like to reach out to the contractors who are meeting the customers, selling the jobs, doing the installations and doing the accounting. I know what it’s like to do all those tasks by yourself; it’s a full day. If there is a way we can peek into that world and get those contractors’ attention, we have programs that will benefit them.”

Hernandez also wants to continue addressing the myths and misconceptions about mental health and continue bringing awareness of the issue to the roofing industry, which was addressed by immediate past Chairman of the Board Doug Duncan, regional president of Roofing Corp of America, Atlanta.

“Doug is a great listener, and after hearing a presentation at one of our meetings, he had a lightbulb moment and recognized suicide awareness and prevention was a missing component in our work,” Hernandez says. “It is not an easy subject to address, especially in a construction trade, and he made it his goal to bring awareness to it. It was genius, and he did a great job. I plan to continue that work.”

Another initiative is expanding educational offerings to include more NRCA instructors.

“I would like NRCA to be the resource for trainers,” he says. “For example, I obtained a list of CERTA trainers and hired a couple of them to come and do CERTA training at Clark Roofing, but that got me thinking NRCA should be the one providing that training.

“Also, as a contractor, there are a lot of resources to learn about safety and production, but not every company, including Clark Roofing, has an on-staff trainer,” Hernandez continues. “There may be a person who trains others how to work a forklift, but what about learning how to measure, understanding what on-center spacing is, laying tapered insulation and why screws go where they go? Who is teaching newcomers that stuff? Maybe they weren’t lucky enough to have a grandfather with a box of tools like me.”

Home is where the roof is

Finding his grandfather’s box of tools was a pivotal, life-changing moment for Hernandez that led him to a rewarding career in roofing. He was later guided by other grandparents who also had a hand in the direction of his life.

In 1990, Hernandez was hanging out with a friend at a local college bar on a Wednesday night when he noticed Michele, who was sitting at a table with a friend. Hernandez wrote a joke on a napkin and sent it to Michele via the waitress. The two groups exchanged several rounds of napkin notes until Hernandez walked by the girls’ table on the way to the restroom.

“I was wearing my grandmother’s wedding ring, and it slipped off my hand and fell on the floor,” Michele says. “Alex picked it up, and when he gave it to me, he jokingly said: ‘Did you ever think you would know when you met the person you are going to marry?’”

Soon thereafter, the two began dating, and a couple of years later, they became engaged. Two years later, the couple were married.

“It was beautiful and a great party,” Michele says. “I’m not sure how I ended up marrying someone who is as passionate about roofing as my dad was, but it really was meant to be.”

The couple share two sons: Patrick, 27, who works at Clark Roofing, and Christopher, 25, who works as a readiness leader at GE Aerospace in Cincinnati.

“I have always looked up to my dad,” Christopher Hernandez says. “He’s always learning something new, and whatever it is, he always learns it quickly. He’s a good decision-maker; he tends to be right about everything.”

Growing up, Patrick Hernandez remembers assisting his father with home remodeling projects.

“He got us work uniforms for kids from Home Depot that had an apron and fake construction goggles,” he says. “We would help him with his projects, but I doubt I actually was helpful—certainly not quite the caliber of help asked of me today at Clark Roofing.”

In his spare time, Hernandez is always working on home projects.

“He has a huge workshop with a lot of elaborate tools,” Michele says. “He spends a lot of time out there building things and organizing it the way he wants. It’s quite impressive.”

In between working on multiple, concurrent home construction projects, Hernandez enjoys playing the drums, scuba diving, traveling and attending sports events with his family. One of Christopher’s favorite memories with his father was at a Cubs game.

“I went to every World Series game the year the Cubs won,” he says. “But my favorite was the one where it was just my dad and me. It was freezing cold, but neither of us cared about the weather. We were just happy being together.”

John Hernandez says his brother is successful at whatever he sets his mind to, but his greatest accomplishment is his family.

“He’s the kind of parent everybody aspires to be when they have children,” he says.

Journeyman ahead

As Hernandez begins his chairman of the board term, he is surrounded by family and colleagues who fully support him and know his contributions will add to the legacy of successful NRCA leaders.

“Alex is going to represent the industry in a good light, and he’s going to do great things for NRCA,” David Hernandez says. “He is somebody who is always on the leading edge and he’s aware of what’s going on in the industry, and that’s going to serve NRCA members and the industry well.”

As a self-taught builder from Cuba who thrives on figuring out how to make things work, Hernandez is well-equipped to navigate challenges and circumstances in a manner that benefits all.

“I had no idea how it was going to turn out when my dad asked Alex to work at Clark Roofing, but Alex was born to be in the construction industry and born to do this,” Michele says. “He is exceptionally passionate about NRCA and roofing. NRCA has given him a lot, and Alex is happy to return it.”

---