Championing women and supporting local communities

By Dani Sheehan. 

She Build provides critical repairs for women-headed households and women-focused community spaces to empower women to maintain safe and healthy homes, make a difference in their communities and build a supportive community network. 

On April 27, 2024, the National Women in Roofing (NWIR) Seattle Council got together with Rebuilding Together South Sound, Owens Corning, Beacon Building Products, Fields Roof Service and Guardian Roofing, Gutters and Insulation to provide a new roof for a local homeowner. The homeowner had inherited the home in 2018 from her mother who had lived there since 1981 – a single, senior woman of color unable to manage the roof concerns herself due to disabilities from a workplace injury. Thanks to the efforts of the above team, and coordination by Tracy Wendt from Beacon, this homeowner received a brand-new roof on She Build Day. We caught up with Tracy in a recent interview to learn more about the rainy-day endeavor and how NWIR is changing lives through their partnership with Rebuilding Together South Sound. 

In her everyday work at Beacon, Tracy supports the North Central region which includes Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, but she lives in Tacoma, Washington. She explained, “For me, being involved with the Seattle chapter of NWIR is really important. I spent a good ten years of my roofing career in the Pacific Northwest and, while I know the Beacon community here, understand the contractor base, and our customers, it’s not a region I support. Being involved in giving back helps tie me to the local community.” 

This year was her second year stepping in as lead for the project. Even though she doesn’t feel like the time commitment is particularly overwhelming, the payoff is immense. When she thinks about the importance of this project each year and what it means for women specifically in the construction industry, she immediately highlighted the network of women in NWIR and how amazing it is to talk to others with similar backgrounds. But above that, she added, “Working for a company who allows me to go do these things is really unique and it truly reflects the culture [at Beacon]. Beacon is championing women and encouraging me to participate, helping me solidify the female network within my community.” 

Despite the rain, the project went off without a hitch again this year. Currently working in a finance role, she really appreciates getting to be reminded of the operational process and how each company comes together to facilitate the installation. It gives the NWIR Seattle Chapter more exposure and time to come together, but mostly, it’s the joy she sees from the homeowner at the end. She shared, “Seeing the homeowner and their happiness about the community coming together and helping them. That’s the best part.”