As I was saying …

I recently read the Colorado Roofing Association's (CRA's) latest (and excellent) newsletter, which included a story on page 4 about CRA's work with Rebuilding Together® Metro Denver. According to the story, recent repairs and reroofing donations for 15 Denver-area homes totaled more than $50,000. A long list of CRA members participated in the effort.

Earlier this year, I placed telephone calls to the Associated Roofing Contractors of the Bay Area Counties, Walnut Creek, Calif.; Union Roofing Contractors Association of Southern California, Orange; and Clark Roofing Co., Chicago, asking for assistance with other Rebuilding Together projects. They all responded not only willingly but enthusiastically.

And in 2008, I asked for help in Tampa, Fla., for Rebuilding Together's annual pre-Super Bowl event, Kickoff to Rebuild, during which about 15 to 20 homes were restored. Keith Swope, president of Tampa Roofing Co., Tampa, coordinated the reroofing of a dozen of those homes (with help from others too numerous to mention here), and Bradco Supply Corp., Avenel, N.J., also was an incredibly generous participant.

CRA's newsletter is a great reminder of the roofing community's nature. Stories about our members' generosity get buried on page 4 of newsletters because companies in the roofing industry don't think their generosity is newsworthy. These companies don't issue press releases or hold media events when they help others; they understand that giving back to their communities is something they are supposed to do.

And the roofing industry's generosity extends to more than repairing and replacing roof systems. Not long ago, The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress instituted a program to "help our own," assisting people in the roofing industry who find themselves in desperate situations not of their own doing. The Alliance has made significant contributions to two roofing community members by helping their families cope with terrible illnesses. In both cases, lives have been transformed.

And two years ago, the Alliance, in an effort to help secure the industry's future, established the Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship Program to help people in the roofing industry receive postsecondary educations. So far, the industry has responded with pledges totaling more than $1.7 million.

I dare say it would be hard to find an NRCA member company that hasn't donated a new roof system to a church or charitable organization. It also would be difficult to find a roofing worker who hasn't volunteered his or her time or roofing materials supplier who hasn't donated materials. Ours is an incredible industry, and it is nice to be reminded.

Bill Good is NRCA's executive vice president.