Hillsboro Times-Gazette - Friday March 11, 2005

Jeremy Decker, a graduate of Hillsboro High School and a lead slater for The Durable Slate Company, received the Most Valuable Player Award at the International Roofing Expo in Orlando, Fla. These annual awards are sponsored by the National Roofing Contractors Association and the Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress.

"Jeremy is consistently one of our high producers in one of the less glamorous, dirtier and more difficult aspects of our business — slate repair," said Matt Wolf, Durable Slate's assistant vice-president of production.

As the 28-year-old Decker explained, "If you know the basics, you can figure out what to do in an unusual situation. Plus I'm always looking for a faster, more efficient way to do things that results in a functional, aesthetic product.

"This comes easy to me — maybe it's genetic because my dad and my grandfather were both in the construction business. But for whatever reason, I learn quickly."

Decker makes sure that his crew complies with the safety standards set by the company which are in strict compliance with OSHA guidelines. There has never been an accident on his crew that was attributable to a safety violation. One of the men on his crew commented, "He's very particular how safe we are on the job, and that's a plus."

After Decker was hired, he encouraged four friends — Chad Chambers, Justin Willis, Jamie Purdin and Billy Smart, all of Hillsboro — to come to work with him.

"When you're excited about the work you do, people can tell that," he said. "I love this work and I love the company – the materials we work with are the best, the craftsmanship is the best. Talking about that gets other people interested."

"Everybody wants a job that makes them happy – maybe what we have to offer is what they're looking for too."

Decker's supervisor, Matt Wolf, gives high praise for Decker's contribution to employee retention: "There were two employees who were in danger of being fired for various reasons. We had reached a point where nobody else wanted to have them on their crew, so Jeremy volunteered to work with them on his crew, and he turned them around."

According to Decker, "I'd worked with them before; I felt they deserved a second shot. You need to be more patient and take your time with them and keep their morale up. I wanted to do this because it bothered me that people would come and go and keeping employees can be such a problem. Everybody should strive to be the best. I try to make that possible for people who work with me."

Richard Pozo, had been doing well as a laborer, but had a language barrier. Most of the foremen and crew leaders were discouraged by the difficulty they had in communicating with this employee, but Jeremy took him on his crew, worked with him closely, and gave him the opportunity to become a good mechanic.

Decker related his experience with this employee. "His English is poor so it takes a little more time. But he's really smart, you just need to take time with him. Now he knows how to flash chimneys and valleys. Guys who work with me don't want to work with anyone else because I let them learn new things."

Pozo shared his comments about working on Decker's crew: "I like work with him. He teach me everything. He take his time. If I don't understand, he try to do it again and again and again until I got it. He don't get mad. He's a good person, and I like him.

"He taught me flashing chimney, open valley, closed valley, new roof, everything. He check everything if it's good, fine. If it's not right, he come to you and say, 'No, not that way. This is the way. So do it.' And he trusts you. You do your best because he trusts you and he thinks you can do it. That make you feel good."

When asked about the difference between working with Decker compared to working with others, Tim Ramage was emphatic in crediting Decker with his success.

"With Jeremy, I learned a lot very quickly. And I don't even think he realizes that he is that good. He's just naturally good at sharing his abilities and bringing out other people's abilities in themselves."