As I was saying ...

When NRCA President Reid Ribble, president of The Ribble Group, Kaukauna, Wis., decided NRCA must respond to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, he first polled NRCA's Executive Committee. Ribble said before NRCA can ask its members to help, it needs to show their leaders are on board by committing $5,000 each to a yet-unspecified relief effort. All he heard was "yes" and not a single "no."

Next, NRCA sent a letter to all NRCA members asking for help. Those of us who have been in the industry for a while were not surprised by the response: immediate, overwhelming and positive.

One NRCA member sent an e-mail that said, in effect: You may not use my name because that's not why I do this. But when you tell the story of the roofing industry, I want you to know I have spent $11,000 to send bottled water to the affected area. Through my church, I sent one of my trucks and trailers loaded with supplies to Biloxi, Miss.

He continued by saying, "I'm prepared to spend $25,000 to help because I try hard to live the life of a cheerful giver."

Repeat that story a few hundred times, and you begin to get a real picture of this industry.

NRCA, meanwhile, has established a Roof Relief Fund in cooperation with its long-time partner, Rebuilding Together. Rebuilding Together's mission is to rehabilitate single-family homes for the elderly and needy, and virtually all the homes it repairs need new roofs. The fund will be administered by NRCA and Rebuilding Together and used exclusively to help needy homeowners repair their roofs in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. We think it's the most effective way to do our part and help make a statement about the generosity of our industry.

Contributions should be made to the National Roofing Foundation, 10255 W. Higgins Road, Suite 600, Rosemont, IL 60018. Contributions are tax-deductible as charitable contributions.

NRCA and the foundation also will review other ways to help the relief effort, including helping employees of NRCA members who have been displaced by the storm and working with the supplier community to provide materials.

These are trying times. The industry will be tested once again. And once again, it will show it not only can respond but can respond with character ... cheerfully.

Bill Good is NRCA's executive vice president.