While Hurricane Florence was ripping through Myrtle Beach, SC, local resident Waredell Reaves was recuperating at a family member’s house from a stroke and multiple surgeries. When the veteran Army sergeant returned home, he was devastated to see that water had damaged his ceiling, insulation and floors.

Reaves got help tarping about 90% of his roof but couldn’t afford to get it fixed. So, he called Up & Over Roofing to get an estimate and discuss financing options.

“Since Mr. Reaves is no longer able to work due to his medical issues, financing was going to be a long shot,” explains Jeremy Coleman, salesperson for Up & Over and an Air Force veteran.

When Coleman left the Reaves house, he called Matt Merolle, owner of Up & Over, and asked if the company could give him a price break to make a new roof more attainable.

“I have a lot of respect for veterans,” Merolle says, “so I wanted to do better than that.”

Instead of a discount, Merolle offered to cover all costs associated with labor and dumping if Coleman could get Atlas Roofing and ABC Supply to help with a materials donation.

Green Light

Answering his boss’ challenge, Coleman immediately reached out to Stephanie Daniels, the Southeast sales director for Atlas, who enthusiastically said “Yes!”

“Atlas is always proud to partner with our contractors on everything they do,” she says. “When they feel moved to help someone in their community, we stand by their side to do all we can. Up & Over Roofing brought us this story of one of our veterans in need and we were very glad that we could team up with such a great company to help someone so deserving.”

Stuart Wilson, coastal regional sales director for Atlas, and Jeremy Ratliff, territory sales representative for SMS Group, then helped coordinate getting all of the products to the local ABC Supply, No. 517. There, branch manager and Army veteran Dan Warner and sales representative Heather Shields didn’t hesitate to help out with other materials and provided delivery at no cost.

Atlas donated its Pinnacle® Pristine shingles in Pristine Dove, as well as matching Pro-Cut® Starter (10X) shingles and Pro-Cut® Hip and Ridge shingles. ABC donated Atlas Roofing’s WeatherMaster® Ice and Water 200 and Summit® 60 synthetic underlayment, plus nails and the drip edge. And Up & Over supplied the labor and plywood. The roof was installed in July 2019.

“Up & Over Roofing and its team are leaders, not only for their quality and professionalism in the Myrtle Beach market, but also for supporting local business groups and charities and are fantastic contributors to the local community.” Ratliff says. “Other businesses should aspire to be as supportive as this company is.”

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

Without the dedication of everyone involved, the Reaves project might have never happened — but it did, thanks to the effort by a team of passionate people.

“Up & Over Roofing and Mr. Reaves will never be able to thank Stephanie, Stuart, Jeremy, Dan, Heather and everyone from Atlas and ABC Supply enough for the help they provided with this project,” Coleman says. “It is appreciated more than words can express! Mr. Reaves now has a dry home with a beautiful new Atlas roof and he can finally begin to make his home more livable again. The enthusiastic responses and willingness to help that we have gotten from all parties involved make us at Up & Over Roofing proud to partner with great companies like Atlas and ABC Supply.

“And on a personal note, it makes my heart smile to see that there are good people in the world willing to help someone in need. God bless America!”