Giving back: Local firm donates roof for Fremont veteran's home

FREMONT - Hammers started swinging on U.S. Army veteran Steven Ickes roof on Friday, as workers began the latest job in the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project. The project provides free replacement roofs for military veterans.

The installation is part of a multi-organization effort. Through a partnership with Purple Heart Homes, Ickes was approved as the recipient for the roof replacement. The Freedom Roofing Project selected Ickes to receive a new roof on Friday from Freedom Roofing, Windows and Siding, an Owens Corning Platinum Roofing Contractor, as part of the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project.

Freedom Roofing Owners Gina and Brady Donnell have been supporting veterans with a number of programs for more than a decade.

"We've been giving back to the community, in the form of scholarships to graduating seniors, and other programs, since 2011. We are upwards of $75,000 in the scholarships," Gina said. "I said, 'You know what? We are a veteran-owned small business, and we should give back to veterans in a big way. So this is our very first roof giveaway and I hope in the coming years we can do more than one."

Roofing company owner was in national guard

Freedom Roofing is based in Woodville and also has locations in North Carolina. Donnell's husband, Brady, is a veteran who joined the Ohio Army National Guard in 2009, serving as an Infantry Officer, deploying once to Afghanistan.

She explained how there was an application process and vetting process involving the military paperwork.

"Mr. Ickes is who our selection committee chose," Gina said. "We are partnered with Owens Corning. Between them with the materials and us with the labor, we are going to make this an annual project. Freedom Roofing, Windows and Siding is honored and proud to debut the Freedom Roofing Project, which strives to serve and support those who have served our country."

The value of the replacement, between the cost of materials and labor, is estimated at $19,000.

Freedom roofing had a crew of 12 at the break of dawn working on the Ickes house on Buckland Avenue. The entire job is a single day project for the crew, but that doesn't mean it was an easy one.

Ickes and his wife Lori were watching the crew tear off the multiple types of old roofing materials.

"We bought the house about five years ago," Lori said. "It means a lot to us. He served his country and it really means a lot to us that people give back."

Steven was beside himself with gratitude, but got to the essence of the benefit to his family.

"The cost of the work, it has just gone up," Steven said.

'This is a complicated roof'

"This is a complicated roof," said Jim Vargo, Chief Operations Officer and a carpenter with 25 years of experience. "There's a layer of plywood under the old layers of shingles, on top of the original cedar shake shingles, all of which need to be torn off. There's also a flat section of roof which needs a rubber membrane."

"COVID hit the industry hard. With the prices of materials going up, we're still feeling the repercussions of it three years later," Gina said.

Vargo explained that the estimates the Ickes family would have received for replacement would have escalated every year after the pandemic.

"If you look at something like the cedar shakes, you just don't know until you get into it and start tearing the roof off," Gina said.

In addition to the work Freedom Roofing does in Sandusky County and North Carolina, they have done work in Ottawa County, on military bases around the country and in Indiana, Michigan and New York. More about the business and their philanthropy can be found at freedomrws.com.

The Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project is a nationwide effort to show gratitude and honor the veterans who served our country and the families who support them. Since the inception of this program in 2016, more than 475 military members have received new roofs.

More information on the Roof Deployment Project, or to learn more about how to get involved, send an email to roofdeployment@owenscorning.com.

rlapointe@gannett.com

419-332-2674

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: To honor his military service, firm gives Fremont veteran new roof