Taking action to help a serviceman

By Emma Peterson. 

Last November, Action Roofing celebrated Veterans Day by giving back to a local national guard veteran.  

Mike S., a U.S. National Guard veteran living in Gainesville, Florida, was expecting a knock on his door one morning. His ten-year-old roof had started leaking, and a local organization, Operation Healing Forces, had told him they were sending representatives out to discuss the problem.  

What he wasn’t expecting, however, was to open the door to a full roofing crew ready to climb onto his roof and get the job done, then and there! But that’s what Mike found on his doorstep. As the crew began measuring his roof, Mike was told by the Operation Healing Forces representatives that his family had already been chosen by Action Roofing, a Tampa-based roofing company, for their Veterans Day roof giveaway!  

This gift could not have come at a better time, Mike told Main St. Daily News. He explained the roof’s condition, and how it was in great need of fixing. He shared, “There’s a lot of water damage over on the side of the roof. I knew I could maybe get by a little while without a new roof, but I have a deployment coming up. So, it was like, do I get it done before? Or do I run the risk of getting a new roof while I’m gone and my wife managing all of that?” 

Thanks to the kindness of Action Roofing, he no longer has to worry about coordinating a roof replacement or worry about the cost of such a project before he leaves for deployment. He shared a bit of what this gift means to him, saying, “This is one of the reasons I love my job: [Seeing how my] community gives back to me [by helping my family] when I’m spending time away from [them].” 

With measurements in hand, the Action Roofing crews left Mike with a booklet of shingle colors to show his wife and the promise of a new roof to protect his family. This is a great example of how a little care and kindness can go a long way, especially for those who have already given so much for our country. As Phil Fong, program manager with Operation Healing Forces and a fellow veteran puts it, “The big thing with the Special Operations community is that no one’s ever going to raise their hand and say ‘I need help.’ [But the reality is] there’s always veterans in need... It’s important to highlight [and help them].”