Veteran gets roof replaced for free after winning contest

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An Army veteran in Columbia got her roof replaced for free Friday as part of a nationwide effort.

Owens Corning partnered with Purple Heart Homes for their "Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project"  which helps replace veterans' roofs as way to show gratitude and honor the veterans who served the country.

Nicole Cope said her mom entered her application after she heard about the contest on the radio.

After Cope beat out 62 other applicants, Owens Corning sent Fortified Roofing & Siding to Cope's house to get the job completed. Cope said her roof was in bad shape and would have cost her at least $20,000 in repairs.

"I was like 'holy cow!' I never win things like this," Cope said. "So it was really really a wonderful great phone call. Like I said I was starting to save up and it was gonna take me several years to save up the money to be able to replace the roof with all the work that needs to be done on it."

Cope, who is now retired, served for 24 years in the Army medical corps. She was a flight medic and senior non-commissioned officer.

Cope's home on Ash Street is the first one she bought and she has now lived in it for four years.

Fortified Roofing & Siding is based in Columbia and is owned by veteran Larry Herzing, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1988 until 1992. He said giving back is one of his company's core missions so he was happy to do the job.

Cope's home is Fortified Roofing & Siding's first veteran home roof replacement. Herzing says the goal for his company is to replace one to three veteran roofs a year.

Since the inception of this program in 2016, Owens Corning says it has replaced more than 350 military members' roofs.