The winner of National Women in Roofing’s 2024 WORLD Award Veteran honor couldn’t be there in person during NWiR Days to deliver her acceptance speech, but her powerful message resonated nonetheless when read aloud.

“I’m proud of myself. Yep, I just said that,” Devri Pieratt, director of marketing and organizational development at Integrity Insurance & Bonding Inc. in Happy Valley, Ore., wrote. “I am wholeheartedly claiming this honor. Too often we shy away from taking credit for our accomplishments. It’s so easy to just blush and say ‘Aww, you shouldn’t have’ or ‘I don’t deserve it.’ Not today, friends.”

It’s that spirit and confidence that helped NWiR members choose Pieratt as the recipient among a pool of eight nominees. Started in 2019, the WORLD (Woman of Outstanding Roofing Leadership Distinction) Award Veteran is someone who exhibits commitment and leadership in the roofing industry, along with demonstrating perseverance, growth and creating opportunities for others.

Accepting the award in her absence was Stephanie Baird, general manager of Bliss Roofing in Oregon and the 2023 WORLD Award Veteran. She read Pieratt’s acceptance speech to NWiR Days attendees on Feb. 4, noting she has known Pieratt since 2016, working alongside her at NWiR’s Oregon Council.

“She is a true badass, and she hits it out of the park at everything she does,” Baird said.

Pieratt, a member of the roofing industry for almost 30 years, is a founding member of the NWiR’s Oregon Council. According to a biography on Integrity Insurance’s website, she joined Integrity Insurance in 2022 after 26 years in the roofing industry, a career that began in 1996 as a receptionist for a commercial roofing contractor.

“I’d like to tell my teenage self, answering phones at a reception desk, that I’m so darn proud of her for not being afraid to strive for a leadership position in an industry dominated by males,” Pieratt wrote.

She worked full time while earning an associate’s degree in Business Administration at Clackamas Community College and took on a career in business marketing. She continued her studies at Portland State University and started a marketing department at her firm, which grew from one location to five under her guidance.

She is a former chair and of the Oregon Chapter of NWiR, where she remains a member to this day.

“Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees and to all of you that have made the choice to join this amazing organization,” Pieratt wrote. “It is a true honor to be recognized by some of the women that I respect most in the industry.”

Rising Star Award

In addition to recognizing a veteran in the industry, NWiR seeks to honor those who are shining brightly with the Rising Star award. This is given to a “young professional who exhibits outstanding leadership in the roofing industry" and helps innovate and inspire those around them, according to NWiR literature.

This year’s winner is Amanda Veinott, owner and founder of Maven Roofing & Exteriors in Roxbury, N.J.

Lisa Garcia, a member of the Rising Star committee, described Veinott as an active member of NWiR who constantly promotes the organization to increase membership, mentors other women, and is doing what she can to change the mantra that “roofing is a man’s world.”

“This woman checks every box of our Rising Star criteria list plus many more that we haven’t even thought of,” Garcia said in a written statement.

Veinott has spoken at various events and has been featured in podcasts, magazines and more both locally and nationally. Her previous roofing and construction experience includes working as an exterior designer specializing in roofing and siding sales at a company in New Jersey.

Upon accepting the award, she told the story of how, 11 months ago, she attended her first-ever NWiR event in Dallas. She was so inspired that, on the flight home, she put together a business plan for her roofing company.

“I recently left a sales position … in New Jersey and I was in this weird, six-week period of time where I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life,” she said. “Then I saw every single woman in here who is an owner and I said, ‘I can do that.’ And it’s because of every single one of you telling me that I could, that I did.”