Alan Sanford, Minnesota Roofer
Hello!
Thank you for stopping by, it’s a pleasure to meet you.
Here is a little bit about me. My name is Alan Sanford. I grew up locally in Bloomington, MN and currently live in Eden Prairie, MN with my wife, daughter and two dogs. As a young boy, I admired my dad (as most boys do) and considered him a jack-of-all-trades. He remodeled our house, fixed cars and started his own side business, to list a few things. To me, there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do. Unfortunately, when I was 14 years old, my dad passed away in an unfortunate accident, and to this day, I feel like I didn’t get a chance to learn everything he had to teach me. My mom was also an inspiration. After my dad passed away, she put herself through college at the same time I was in high school. She showed me it’s never too late to do something new and continue to grow. Besides my mom and dad, I learned valuable life skills and a good work ethic from my grandparents. I spent many days on their farm, in Northern MN, picking rocks, milking the cows, mending fences, among many other things. My grandparents have continued to live in their home into their 90’s, still chopping wood and tending an extraordinary garden, which is a testament to the work ethic I learned from them. This among other life challenges has helped me realize how important it is to gain knowledge from those around me, and I carry that with me in my everyday life.
I believe my passion for wood crafting and love of construction started when I was young. Growing up, we had a neighbor that built a makeshift wood shop in his garage. I would spend hours, and hours, marveling at what he could create out of simple pieces of wood. This is most likely the reason I began my career in construction early on. When I was 19, I started my first job in construction building hotels while I was in college studying law enforcement. I quickly realized I wanted to continue my career in construction instead of law enforcement. Interesting enough, I went from hotel construction to landscaping, which may seem odd, but I love being outdoors, so it seemed a natural fit for me. The first company I worked for taught me some invaluable techniques. I assisted another landscape company get off the ground and moved through several transitions before moving onto a young landscape company that was just taking off. I not only grew in my landscaping career, but I was also able to continue my love of construction when I earned a Residential Contractor builders license to include pergolas, decks, and other structures, as well as remodel bathrooms, kitchens, and basements during the winter months for the company. My years of landscaping taught me resiliency, multi-tasking, communication skills, customer service skills, teamwork, management skills, problem solving skills, and much more. When I teamed up with Bob, I already had an extensive knowledge of residential construction, so under Bob’s tutelage, I learned the complexities of properly installing a roofing system and running a successful small business.
My wife has taught me about good communication, from her years in the corporate world as an administrator, and what that can bring to a company. Just as I believed my dad was, I also consider myself a jack-of-all-trades. When I learn something new, no matter what it may be, I dive in headfirst to learn everything I can. I enjoy educating myself, from a new skill or craft to continuing my education in construction and roofing. I haven’t looked at my career as creative, but the more I learn and the older I get, I am able to see the creative aspect in all I have done. I also find the value in sharing my knowledge and educating others to bring them comfort and peace of mind.
I consider myself lucky to have the support of my family and friends that have been with me through many journeys; career, health related and otherwise. And even though some of those journeys have been more difficult than others, I have learned valuable life lessons from each of them. I value my time with my family and friends, teaching myself to slow down to enjoy the little moments, and extending my knowledge and skills. I enjoy finding new, creative places to eat, tinkering in the garage and creating something wonderful out of simple pieces of wood, like I learned from my neighbor years ago. And I look forward to traveling the world with my wife and daughter when we get down time now and then.
Thank you for taking the time to read a little bit about me. I look forward to hearing from you soon and helping you with your roofing needs.