A business built on values lasts. That is what Tim Leeper knows as the owner of Tim Leeper Roofing and sister company, Mama’s Metal Roofing.
Leeper got his start in the industry after high school, apprenticing at the local Union in West Nashville. That experience is where his passion for roofing began, but the values that drove him to start his business in 2004 formed much earlier.
Tim’s grandfather, Leon Leeper, affectionately known as Papaw, would pay Tim in quarters to clean his Pontiac. The early experience shaped Tim’s work ethic and instilled a passion for entrepreneurship.
Tim says, “He taught me from an early age that if you are willing to work, you could be rewarded for a job well done.”
Leeper has taken that entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to hard work into his company. Tim Leeper Roofing has been in business for over 20 years—an impressive milestone that highlights the care Leeper and his team bring to their work.
Leeper says, “We have been extremely lucky to have good support from our friends and neighbors over many years. I attribute much of our success to a good team that is results-driven and customer-focused. I also would say that many of the relationships we have built are long-term, and we work to preserve them at all costs.”
Honesty and integrity are other values that Leeper credits as the backbone of a business that endures.
Leeper says, “All you have is your word, and if your customers find out they cannot trust you, they will tell everyone they know. Reputation and credibility take years to build, yet can be undone in a single unethical transaction.”
He has learned many lessons about building and maintaining success in any field. The top three on his list are: Have a good attitude and show gratitude, work hard at what you do and do not quit when things get tough.
Leeper says, “Those three lessons would serve anyone well.”
Leeper’s commitment to service shines through his business and his work in the community. Tim Leeper Roofing partners with the Gary Sinise Foundation to provide veterans with roof replacements.
“We have done this work for many years, long before we became involved in the foundation,” Leeper says. “To see people who have served our country not knowing if they would come home from deployments and then come home and have struggles in their lives was difficult for us to accept, so we began asking the community for applications for veterans who may be in need of help with their roofs, and we would replace them at no charge with help from our suppliers who were happy to donate the materials and us the labor. We truly owe these men and women a debt of gratitude that we can never really repay.”
Leeper is the past President of Lebanon Noon Rotary Club, a current Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow, and an active board member of BBB of Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky, Our Sisters Keeper and the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home golf board.
Leeper is also the founder and executive director of Kylan’s Light—his most personal mission to date. Kylan’s Light is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that is “Bringing dignity, rehabilitation and reintegration planning for Tennessee’s incarcerated.”
The nonprofit is named after Leeper’s son, Kylan, who passed away while incarcerated in 2023.
“I was in a customer's home picking out colors for their new roof replacement when I got the call. You are never the same after your child dies; there is only your life before and the new version of you that was formed to survive that level of loss,” Leeper says.
Leeper began to look into Tennessee prisons to see what rehabilitation opportunities were available for inmates and found them lacking. Kylan’s Light is now a vehicle for providing incarcerated individuals with support, tools, and assistance during their time in prison and to prepare them to reenter society.
Leeper says, “If you knew that all men incarcerated are not the worst of the worst and many have stories of extreme trauma, you would realize we are treating the symptom of the problem with corrections rather than the actual problems. Until we work to address the brokenness of the people inside of our prisons, we will continue to release them unprepared into our communities.”
Bettering the community is what Tim Leeper views as his mission, whether that is done through his roofing businesses or his nonprofit work.
Leeper says, “The future for Tim Leeper Roofing and Mama’s Metal Roofing is to continue working to provide exceptional service to Middle Tennessee and to work in our communities to make them better through Rotary, Kylan’s Light and supporting other nonprofits.”
Above all, Leeper says, “When it is all done, and my obituary is written, I don’t want people to remember me as a roofing contractor. I want them to remember me as someone who cared more for people than business.”
He taught me from an early age that if you are willing to work, you could be rewarded for a job well done.
SIDEBAR: Tim Leeper Roofing and Mama's Metal Roofing proudly serve the Middle Tennessee region. Contact the teams or learn how to support Leeper’s personal mission by visiting their platforms online.
TimLeeperRoofing.com | MamasMetalRoofing.com | KylansLight.org