Roofing News

Owens Corning Donates Shingles for Texas Town Ravaged by Tornado

Repairs continue as Panhandle town regroups after EF3 tornado wreaked havoc

Last month, an EF3 tornado tore through small Perryton, Texas, leaving millions of dollars in damage, as this photo from the Texas Farm Bureau of the downtown shopping district shows. The town, population 8,492, is still in the midst of recovery.
— Photo courtesy of the Texas Farm Bureau

As reported last month by Roofing Contractor, the town of Perryton, Texas, located in the state’s Panhandle region, continues to clean up after a devastating EF3 tornado ripped through the rural community last month.

Amid the wreckage, Amarillo-based Roof Spotters rode in to help the townsfolk with recovery and repair efforts. The roofing contracting concern, founded in 1999, has made helping rebuild the community its mission.

It has also rallied some of its suppliers and big-name concerns to lend their heft to the effort. As first reported by KFDA, manufacturer Owens Corning recently donated three truckloads of shingles, worth approximately $80,000, to Roof Spotters for its efforts in restoring those victimized by the storm.

Roof Spotters Owner, “el Presidente” Leland Long, told Amarillo’s NewsChannel 10 how valuable OC’s donation is to the restoration efforts.

“We are grateful for the support we have received thus far, but there is still much work to be done; we are calling upon homeowners in the Texas Panhandle who require roof replacements to reach out to Roof Spotters or their preferred contractor,” Long said. “We kindly request that they consider asking other roofing contractors to donate 10 percent of the sale to the Perryton Relief Fund, held in reserve at Interstate Bank in Perryton.”

Roof Spotters has already contributed $50,000 of its own funds toward recovery efforts, but the need has far outstripped supply in terms of funding. The contracting firm is encouraging everyone to help support the reconstruction of the town’s housing stock.

“This contribution will help fulfill other reconstruction needs and facilitate the return of over 40 families to their homes,” Long said of the OC donation.

For more information, visit roofspotters.com.

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Bryan Gottlieb is the online editor at Engineering News-Record (ENR).

Gottlieb is a five-time Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism award winner with more than a decade of experience covering business, construction, and community issues. He has worked at Adweek, managed a community newsroom in Santa Monica, Calif., and reported on finance, law, and real estate for the San Diego Daily Transcript. He later served as editor-in-chief of the Detroit Metro Times and was managing editor at Roofing Contractor, where he helped shape national industry coverage.

Gottlieb covers breaking news, large-scale infrastructure projects, new products and business.