As I was saying...

We've always been a weather-dependent industry, but enough is enough already.

The rebuilding of the four states ravaged by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma has begun in earnest with the types of problems, I suppose, that shouldn't surprise us. For example, Burger King restaurants in New Orleans are offering $6,000 signing bonuses and starting wages of $14 per hour. Logistics are nightmarish as the transportation infrastructure, in particular, is stretched beyond reasonable limits. And the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as only a government body can do, has bought up a huge inventory of manufactured houses for people displaced by the storms; the homes now sit empty as construction workers desperately try to find temporary housing.

One more thing that shouldn't surprise us is the outpouring of help from the roofing industry. The National Roofing Foundation's (NRF's) Disaster Relief Fund, established quickly in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, has raised more than $300,000. And NRCA's national charity partner, Rebuilding Together, was given $100,000 from the fund to help find new roofs for the neediest homeowners in the area.

The Disaster Relief Fund Task Force also is coordinating efforts to provide a new roof for the Greater St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church in New Orleans' Ninth Ward—perhaps the hardest hit area. The church, despite severe damage, has continued its self-appointed role of providing food to storm victims. An NRCA member from Maryland offered to donate the materials. Contractors from California, Texas and Wisconsin will be supplying the labor.

Manufacturers, too, have been quick to respond. Firestone Building Products Co., Indianapolis, gave $1 million to the American Red Cross. Atlanta-based Atlas Roofing Corp.'s parent company gave $3 million. W.R. Grace & Co., Cambridge, Mass., has offered to help sponsor our media relations efforts. Bradco Supply Corp., Avenel, N.J., made a significant contribution to the NRF fund. And GAF Materials Corp., Wayne, N.J., made perhaps the most valuable contribution of all: Its chief executive officer, Bill Collins, took a leave of absence to work for Habitat for Humanity.

At this month's 2006 International Roofing Expo, NRCA President Reid Ribble, president of The Ribble Group, Kaukauna, Wis., will report on the full extent of the roofing industry's response to the disaster. It's a compelling story, and it should make us all proud.