BARKHAMSTED, Conn. — It was good news for a Barkhamsted Marine Corps veteran and his family on Thursday as the community came together to give him a new roof.
Tom Tribou, who served in Iraq, has been feeling the stress, anxiety and financial burden of a leaky roof for some time now.
“Anytime it rained we would run around and put buckets out,” he told FOX61 News. “We have not been able to do a lot as a family because we have been saving for our wedding and saving for the roof, so this is just one less thing to have to worry about.”
Rhino-Back Roofing, Owens Corning, Velux, Habitat for Humanity and others stepped up to him out.
“I think that when we saw the opportunity to be involved, we just saw that there was a way that we could give back,” said Rhino-Back Roofing co-owner, Mike Trouern-Trend. “And we really appreciate the service men and women of this country, and it was amazing to see the whole company rally behind us.”
Ripping off old shingling and replacing the rotted-out wood underneath was slated to take about a day. The donation of materials and labor had an estimated price tag north of $18,000.
“Just to have this home for our kids, the American dream, everybody wants that, we got into some unforeseen problems when we bought the house, So the fact that this is happening, we really are so grateful, said Tribou’s fiancé Monica Fecto.
Tribou is a dad of 5 who served in Iraq.
“I am thinking about all the friends can I have lost overseas and stuff in a rock and everything I am grateful to have in my life and to have this gift to us and our family, and I am hoping to give back and help others as well,” he said.
Habit for Humanity helped organize the project.
Keith McGilvery is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at kmcgilvery@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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