Service of Veteran Connie Chadwick Acknowledged With Free Roof Replacement

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

Community steps in to support the 65-year-old woman in regaining control of her home repairs.  

Connie Chadwick is a 65-year-old self-made woman, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and the National Guard. She works hard to maintain her home in Virginia Beach, telling 13 NewsNow, "I've had to fix the stairs in my house...but every now and then I have to take a break...I had to take all the paneling down in the house."  

While Connie loves doing home improvements, she knows her injuries from her military days, shaky hands from carpel tunnel and bad knee, make big projects like replacing the roof impossible. Further, she knew she wouldn't be able to pay contractors to come and fix her roof.  

Connie had tried to complete other home projects, but the HVAC leak was too much and the projects kept piling on. “I’ve been having to live on bare concrete floors, I’ve been doing a lot of research on Google,” Connie told WAVY. “I didn’t realize how bad it was.” 

Luckily, Reitzel Home Improvement, the Chesapeake VFW and the Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads teamed up with Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project to replace Connie’s roof.  

Her roof was replaced in six hours, and in addition to the repairs, smaller side projects like her gutters will be fixed at no extra fee. 

"The VFW, thank God, is a group of people that come out and help deserving veterans," Habitat for Humanity South Hampton Roads' Director of Development and Communications Dan Lear said. "We love helping projects like this that include people in the VFW." 

“For us, we’re really happy that we can just take one thing off of her plate and that’s one less thing she has to worry about,” Home Improvement's Visionary Leader Marc Reitzel, told WAVY. “We need to fix the roof first, so she can get other repairs done in her house. You can't do the other repairs until the roof is fixed." 

Connie, as a female veteran, says she feels overwhelmed by the support, and that it feels like an honor. "Well, it makes me feel good. It makes me feel...what I did in the service counted and I'm getting acknowledged for it," Connie said to 13 NewsNow. "It makes me feel like someone cares, you know?" 

Connie told WAVY “I’m starting to feel like it more becoming a home again.” 

Do you know of someone in the industry who is ‘doing good deeds’ in their community? Help us catch them at it. Send news and information to info@rooferscoffeeshop.com.