NATIONAL ROOFING CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION

As a gift to the country, The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) decided to coordinate the reroofing of the Pentagon. NRCA involved staff members, volunteer leadership, members at large and the office of Representative Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat for New York, to work with Pentagon officials to coordinate the project.

The Pentagon had no system in place to accept charitable donations of this multitude. NRCA appealed to its membership for monetary, labor and material donations. The Association also produced a video consisting of interviews with volunteer workers and showed the video at its annual convention in February. The luncheon’s keynote speaker was former President George H. W. Bush, who vocalized his support of the program.

NRCA helped identify a lead roofing contractor, James Myers Company, located in Beltsville, Maryland, to coordinate much of the project work. In addition, NRCA helped coordinate and collect material and financial donations, as well as guarantee housing at a reduced rate at nearby hotels for volunteer workers. NRCA has kept in constant contact with the roofing contractor, general contractor and Pentagon officials to ensure the project is proceeding as planned. The work, which encompasses about 60,000 square feet, has an anticipated completion date of September 11, 2002.

To date, 140 members have made financial contributions, totaling $154,000 dollars; 21 have made material donations and 17 provide labor. Home Depotâ donated nearly $100,000 dollars worth of lumber for the roof sheathing. NRCA donated about $10,000 dollars of in kind.

As a result of the rebuilding of the nation’s Department of Defense’s headquarters, NRCA has received support from members who contributed to the project, as well as from other roofing-related industry groups. The NRCA Pentagon Project created solidarity and brought together all industry segments, such as contractors, manufacturers, distributors, architects and consultants, to work toward a common goal. The NRCA Pentagon Project has received a great deal of interest from national, regional and local media.