Shop NRCA has the industry resources you need
News Nov. 23, 2018

NRCA member donates roof system for veteran's custom-built home

NRCA member TAMKO Building Products Inc., Joplin, Mo., is donating a roof for a Texas veteran's custom-built, mortgage-free home through nonprofit organization Operation FINALLY HOME.

Wounded Texas veteran Charlotte Ferris is one of the latest Dallas-Fort Worth area veterans to receive a house through Operation FINALLY HOME, and in early November, she was surprised with a groundbreaking at the site of her new home.

This is the first time TAMKO has participated in an Operation FINALLY HOME project, and the company is donating the roof for Ferris' new home. TAMKO has a long history of supporting veterans, who make up 15 percent of the company's workforce, and the company has provided financial and flight support for the Hero Flights and Honor Flights organizations. TAMKO has a manufacturing facility in Dallas and a growing corporate extension office in Irving, Texas.

While deployed in Iraq, Specialist Ferris was driving an armored truck that was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device. Ferris searched for her crew, who all survived, before realizing her ankle was broken and her eardrum ruptured. She was medically evacuated and underwent surgery.

Ferris was recalled to active duty but was deemed medically unfit because of her injuries. She suffers from PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, post-concussive headaches, an ankle fracture and tinnitus. For her service and bravery, Ferris was awarded the Purple Heart, as well as the Army Commendation Medal and National Defense Service Medal.

"Specialist Ferris, and others like her, are American heroes, and it's our great honor to say 'Thank You' in this way," says TAMKO President and CEO David Humphreys. "This is especially meaningful to us because it's in the Dallas area that we've called home for more than 30 years."

Operation FINALLY HOME has completed 151 mortgage-free homes and 18 home modifications and has an additional 50 projects under construction or in planning. The nonprofit partners with builder associations, builders, developers, corporate sponsors and volunteers to raise the funds, provide materials and complete the planning and labor for each project. Each home is custom-built to accommodate the physical needs of wounded veterans and then provided mortgage-free to veterans and widows of the fallen.

In addition to TAMKO, this project was made possible through the generosity of several businesses in the region, including McBee Homes, the lead builder for the project, and financial contributors Heritage Real Estate and Roger Williams Automall.

"We are so blessed to work with great builders, builders associations and manufacturers such as TAMKO to lift the burden of a mortgage off the shoulders of our wounded veterans," says Dan Wallrath, founder of Operation FINALLY HOME. "While Specialist Ferris will not have a mortgage, she has certainly paid a price for this home."

Operation FINALLY HOME and McBee Homes expect Ferris' new home to be completed in 2019.

Advertisement

Subscribe for Updates Join 25,000+ roofing professionals following NRCA

Subscribe to NRCA