About Gutter Helmet

Family Business, Family Culture

It started as a side business in their spare bedroom. Little did Lannie and Bonnie Grages know that they would soon be constructing an office building across their driveway to serve their exploding customer base.

The Glencoe, Minnesota-based couple already worked full-time jobs back in 2001, Bonnie as a health aide at the local high school, Lannie in the farm building industry. After learning about the Gutter Helmet product, they decided to start the first Minnesota dealership with only one employee: Lannie’s nephew, Ryan.

Within three years, Lannie would be running Gutter Helmet full time, soon joined by Bonnie. Today, Gutter Helmet Minnesota has been passed down to the second generation of family. The company is now owned and operated by their daughters, son-in-law and nephew. The company has nearly 40 employees, over 45,000 customers, and over 15,000 square feet of office and warehouse space — slightly more than that second bedroom …

Lannie & Bonnie Grages

Co-Founders

Jeff Menke

President of Sales & Marketing

Jodi Menke

Treasurer

“My mom and dad have always been honest people with sky-high integrity and incredible work ethic,” says their daughter, Jodi Menke, who serves as company treasurer. “To this day, those are exactly the kinds of people we hire.”

“We sell the industry’s best product, but what fuels our growth is the fact that we’re extremely service-oriented,” says Jeff Menke, Jodi’s husband and our sales and marketing manager. “We treat our employees like family, and they treat our homeowners as family. That’s what truly separates us in the marketplace.”

It’s fitting that a business that helps preserve homes actually started in one. Today, nearly a quarter of our current employees are related to Lannie and Bonnie Grages. But the real secret to our success is that everyone who touches our brand feels like they’re part of our extended family.