This blog post wasn’t supposed to be written about this. It was supposed to be something light. It might have been something about maintenance for your roof, our quality workmanship, or our dedication to our craft. Unfortunately, the weather we had this week has changed my perspective on what we do for a living. You see, I once thought that my job was a super awesome trade that we do with homeowners. We climb up and inform you of the damage to your roof from the storm that came through. Then we work with your insurance company by meeting the adjuster and showing him the damage to the roof with the ideal outcome being a new roof on your home provided by your insurance company. The homeowner walks away with a new roof and only their deductible/upgrades being an out of pocket expense, which is a far better deal than paying for all of it out of pocket. However, the storm that came through the mid-south on January 11, 2020, humbled me beyond belief.
When these major storms come through the area, I find myself getting excited, while others fear the outcomes of the storm. You see for me this means business is about to pick up because I know after major storms like this there will be plenty of roofs that will need repairing or replacing. Just like anyone else I get excited about the prospects of being able to put more on the table for my family at home. I guess I never realized the power storms can actually have. Sure, I have seen photos of devastation in places like Joplin, Missouri but it was never real to me until what I saw this past weekend.
We prepped as usual for the storm by stocking our trucks with tarps, yard signs, and folders with information about our company. We headed down to Olive Branch, MS to prepare to help people in their time of need. We heard the storm was bad, but we had no idea what we were about to run into. Upon arrival, I saw the worst storm damage I have ever seen. Every fence in the neighborhood was blown down, hundreds of shingles were missing off of homes, 2x4’s were sticking through people’s roofs from blowing through their decking, and countless other perils like mailboxes, garage doors, etc. were completely destroyed. I had never seen a storm this bad, but that neighborhood didn’t even get the worst of it.
As we continued our drive around the city to help those in need we stumbled upon the area where the storm had its most heinous reign. This is what I remembered from the visuals of the Joplin, Missouri tornado. Every tree for what seemed like miles had crumbled in the storm. Homes that had been standing for generations were completely blown over to where only the slabs remained. Utility repairmen lined the roads along with tree services, insurance adjusters, contractors, agents, police officers, EMT’s, and firefighters. It was a community that had come together to begin trying to piece this town back together.
I was amazed that in the midst of all the chaos around me, that the lasting image I will have of the day is the people going around helping each other. Neighbors who I’m sure barely knew each other were giving waters and food out to those in need. People grabbing their chainsaws to help clear the thousands of trees that were down. Even children playing with the kids who just lost the roof that was over their head earlier that morning. It all just made me think that my profession and what I am truly there for is to put these peoples home back together.
We can put your home back together and at least give you the peace of mind that it is done correctly, efficiently, and EXACTLY the way it needs to be done. Our knowledge of insurance companies and general construction should be able to make the process carry on quickly and efficiently. We know the only thing that the homeowners affected by these storms care about is the safety of their families. This includes getting the family back in their living room together with the peace of mind that their home has been put back together exactly the way it was. That’s what we can do to help in these situations. We have our crews running non-stop until we get you the peace of mind you deserve. It is a long struggle for the community to make it back from a storm like this, but with the help from the people I mentioned above a community can be fixed and become safe again.
Contact us today to schedule a free estimate.
