Volunteers offer labor, love to ‘Covering the Community’ contest winners
Published 7:08 pm Saturday, December 17, 2016
A Wesson woman kept thanking the multitude of volunteers who showed up bright and early Saturday morning to put a new roof over her head.
Alice Ruth Jointer, who works as a secretary at the Jackson Police Department, said she was “giddy and nervous” as volunteers installed the metal roof she won earlier this month from Reed’s Metals in the second annual “Covering the Community” contest.
Jointer and five other winners were chosen from the more than 1,300 nominations the Brookhaven-based company received.
Another winner, Lindy Donald, of Florence, got her roof installed Saturday afternoon, said Jessica Breazeale with Reed’s Metals. Donald, a secretary at Baptist Heart in Jackson, received 15 nominations from friends, family members and coworkers — some from Brookhaven. Breazeale said all the nominators said Donald is the kindest, most deserving person they know.
She had a tarp on her roof before B&W Construction of Bogue Chitto — who volunteered their labor — installed the new metal roof Saturday.
“B&W had a crew of 11 that went above and beyond buying the son a new basketball goal and completely redoing the winner’s front porch,” Breazeale said.
Other volunteers who helped with installation in Florence include Breazeale; Ira Ott, Reed’s Metals of Richland store manager; Matt Bayles of Reed’s Metals of Richland, Hunter Wallace of Bogue Chitto; Eden Prather of Bogue Chitto; Earl Barnett of Bogue Chitto; Steven Reed of Brookhaven; Chris Reed of Wesson; Brad Brock of McComb; Clint Ravencraft of Summit; Thomas Stephens of Wesson; Joseph Gant of Wesson; Michael Williams of Wesson; Landon Carol of McCall Creek, and Dennis McSweeny of Summit.
“Reed’s Metals is so proud to bring Christmas miracles to families in need each year,” Breazeale said.
Jointer was also blessed with a donation of lumber from Huntington Lumber in Hazlehurst to complete the work that needed to be done to her home. Norma Porter from Huntington was one of the women who nominated Jointer for the contest.
Beth King, the other nominator, works at Copiah Bank, and they supplied coffee, juice, donuts and water to the volunteers and Shop ‘N’ Wash supplied them with 50 sausage biscuits for breakfast.
Others who helped with Jointer’s install were Eddie McCalip of McComb, Brandon Malone and Mathew Livings of Quality Metal Roofing, Paxton Cupit and Payton Cupit of Wesson, D.J. Coleman of Hazlehurst, Reggie Purvis of Independence, Louisiana, Graham Parker of Parker’s Construction, Clayton Reed and Kendall Patten of Clay’s Construction, Ben Reid, Jacob Martin and Josh Martin, Fred Banks of Brookhaven, Jeremy Fortenberry of G&J of Foxworth and Johnny Jointer of Pontotoc.
Reed’s employees who helped with the installation were Breazeale and CEO Bernie Reed as well as Chuck Pleasance, Greg Mcguffee, Amy Ferguson, Hope Martin and her family, Carlos Garcia, Justin Spencer, Jacob Martin, Melissa Lambert and Kasie Duval.
“The volunteer response was incredible,” Breazeale said. “There was no one just standing around watching. All were working hard to make Jointer’s home a newer, better, safer, dryer place to live. She, too, had tarps on her roof.”
Reed’s Metals donated metal roofs to families in need as a way to thank the local community for its continued support of the business, which has grown to 10 locations in Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana.
“Mississippi has been so good to us ever since we started the home office on June 1, 1998, out of a small, portable shed in Lawrence County,” Reed said. “We now have 10 stores to better serve our customers. What a long way we’ve come. We just want to show our appreciation and give back to the community.”
Other winners were Bobbie Lou Hill of Baldwyn, Cathy Barker of Jackson, Tenn., Martha Dumars of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Mary Cormier of Sulphur, Louisiana.
“It’s heart-breaking to see just how many people really need this type of assistance in our area. But, it’s amazing to be part of a great team of people who truly believe in this ‘Covering the Community’ project,” Breazeale said. “We get emotionally connected to all the stories that come flooding in. It’s hard choosing a winner but we do have a panel of judges that review each application so that the best winner — the most deserving is chosen.”