- July 26, 2024
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From left to right: Suncoast Roofers' Billy Grimsley, Vettes for Vets' Ron Boisvert, veteran Christopher Preveziotis, DAV Cmdr. Bill May and R&K co-owners Kenneth and Don Reed. Photo by Sierra Williams
Suncoast Roofers Supply employees unload the donated shingles needed to replace a veteran's roof. Photo by Sierra Williams
The Bunnell construction company R&K donated the labor needed to install the new shingles. Photo by Sierra Williams
The Suncoast Roofers Supply team: Michael Ottlein, Davian Jerrel Lopez, Nick Rutter and branch manager Billy Grimsley. Photo by Sierra Williams
The national nonprofit Vettes for Vets has replaced the roof on a Palm Coast veteran’s housing, using donated materials and labor.
U.S. Air Force veteran Christopher Preveziotis, who retired in 2017 after 20 years in service, received his new roof on May 10. Vettes for Vets reached out to Preveziotis for free home repairs in October, and this is the first project the nonprofit has completed for him.
Preveziotis said he has no idea when his roof was last replaced. He purchased the home in 2019, and, since then he said, storms over the years have damaged the roof, even causing a leak on one side. Having the roof replaced is a relief, he said.
“I feel pretty good, I’m very grateful,” Preveziotis said.
The roofing materials were supplied by Suncoast Roofing Supply in Flagler Beach while the local Bunnell roofing business R&K supplied a team of roofers to install the new shingles.
R&K is co-owned by four members of the Reed family, including business founder Kenneth, an Army veteran and his son, Don, a Navy veteran. Both father and son said, knowing the troubles veterans across the nation face, it was nice to be able to support a fellow veteran.
“We’re proud to do it,” Kenneth Reed said.
Don Reed said the statistics of veteran suicide and the lack of services available to veterans are “atrocious.”
“We have so many veterans in desperate situations, and they're being marginalized,” he said. “So we have to step up and do our part.”
Vettes for Vets Florida Director Ron Boisvert said what other repairs are done at Preveziotis’ home will depend on what help the nonprofit can organize through local businesses.
“It's all volunteer businesses,” Boisvert said. “So that's what I'm still doing is going around and getting volunteer businesses to help Christopher and the family out [to see] what we can actually get done.”
Vettes for Vets began as a helping-hand volunteer group to help a South Carolina veteran get a new roof. It has since expanded to include the Washington D.C. area, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.
Suncoast Roofing Supply branch manager Billy Grimsley said the national company is big supporter of the United States military and its veterans. It’s a corporate initiative to give back to local communities, Grimsley said, and when his branch was contacted by Vettes for Vets, the team was happy to help.
“Immediately we were on board to try to help someone out the community and get back where we could,” Grimsley said. “Personally, it just feels good to do the right things for the right reasons.”
Preveziotis retired as an E6, or technical sergeant, specializing in healthcare administration. He initially enlisted in 1990 but left the service in 1994. In the summer of 2001, he returned to the Air Force and remained enlisted for the next 16 years. Preveziotis is now a disabled veteran who is unable to work.
Palm Coast’s Disabled American Veterans Chapter 86 connected Vettes for Vets with Preveziotis last fall. In a statement from DAV Chapter 86 Commander Bill May, May said “Chapter 86 is honored to work with Vettes for Vets to support this very deserving veteran and his family.”
