Taylor Spiers (left to right), Michele Klem, homeowner Chris Shafer and Kevin Alberto at the Williamstown home of Chris Shafer, who got a new, free roof through the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project.
During his two tours of service during the Vietnam War, U.S Navy Seabee Chris Shafer and his unit erected bridges, pontoons and buildings inspired by the motto, “We build, we fight.”
“We were on the ground under the shells of the USS New Jersey that could hit Viet Cong targets from the South China Sea with bombs traveling as far as 23 miles,” said Shafer, a surveyor helping to build roads for the U.S. Army.
Once home, he worked as a heavy-equipment mechanic before retiring and purchased his home on Micawber Drive in Williamstown 40 years ago.
“I am the original owner,” Shafer noted.
On a sunny June 17, his property was a flurry of activity as Veterans Roofing workers tore down his old roof and put up a new one at no cost as part of the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project.
“I’m really happy and pleased,” noted Shafer, who was thrilled that fellow veterans were doing the work and that a corporation was helping the former soldiers. “I researched the shingles and the manufacturers, and it is high-quality material.”
Veterans Roofing, an Owens Corning Platinum Roofing Contractor, is a veteran-owned and operated roofing company started by Taylor Speirs and Paul Kabala. Spiers and his general manager Kevin Alberto both served with the Marine Corps.
Upon returning home, “A lot of guys realize their identity was military,” Spiers explained, adding that it is important to keep fellow vets employed to help transition others back into society.
“Taylor reached out to me,” recalled Alberto, who met Spiers in the Marines. “This is a wonderful and worthwhile program and it helps fellow veterans.”
Michele Klem was the Owens Corning senior area sales manager on the Williamstown site.
“I think it is going amazing,” he said. “We can support a local veteran in need with a new roof. It is life changing. We supply all the material and Veterans Roofing donates the labor.”
Shafer was selected as a beneficiary of the roof replacement through a partnership with Purple Heart Homes, an agency that offers housing solutions to vets. The Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project is a nationwide effort to show gratitude to veterans and the families who support them. Since its inception in 2016, more than 675 military members have received new roofs.
“This is the second one in the South Jersey area,” noted Klem, who was proud of the work being done by Veterans Roofing at Shafer’s home. “Nationally, we donate roofs to many veterans.”
“I’ve been roofing since I was a kid,” recalled Spiers, who returned to Absecon after his military service in June 2020 “at the height of COVID. I got right back into construction.”
It took one day for Spiers’ workers at Veterans Roofing to put the new roof on Shafer’s home; they came back the next day to put up the new gutters and soffits.
