A little extra pride ... a little extra care

Abbey Nutter, The Lebanon Democrat, Tenn.
·2 min read

Nov. 22—A Lebanon veteran received a new roof last Thursday as a part of the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project.

The Owens Corning Foundation donated roofing materials, and Tim Leeper Roofing donated the labor to provide a new roof for Army veteran Elizabeth Henderson.

The Owens Corning Foundation and Tim Leeper Roofing partnered with Purple Heart Homes, which selected and approved Henderson as the recipient.

Since 2016, the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project has helped more than 375 members of the U.S. military receive new roofs.

Tim Leeper Roofing General Manager Paul Olson said that one of the things that the company prides itself on is how involved it is in the community.

"We have several veterans that work at Tim Leeper, so that's certainly something that's near and dear to our hearts," Olson said.

At least once a year, the company tries to identify and provide a roof for a veteran in need. They've worked with veteran affairs in Lebanon to find candidates for the last two years.

"You take a little extra pride and a little extra care for somebody like Miss Henderson, who has served our country well," Olson said.

Tim Leeper Roofing took Henderson's roof "down to the decking," made sure that everything was as it should be, and then put a new roof on her house.

"We put the best roof that we offer on her house, so she'll have a roof that carries with it a limited lifetime warranty on the shingles and a 20-year workmanship warranty on installation," Olson said. "So, if something happens, and it's not an insurance claim in the next 20 years, we will go out and fix it for free."

The company got involved through Owens Corning and split project costs between the two. Olsen said that providing the labor was the easy part as the people who work at Tim Leeper Roofing were excited at the opportunity.

"The short version of how we got involved is we were like, 'We care about this, how do we make it happen,' and then, we found a way to make it happen," Olson said.

Henderson is not the only member of her family to serve. Her niece, her brother, and her nephew also spent time in the military.

"It's a military family, so getting to meet some of them today was really, for me, that was the highlight of my day," Olson said.