Local veteran honored as latest recipient of 'roof deployment project'

RIO RANCHO — Marlowe Smith, a local military veteran, didn’t mind hearing hammers banging from a swarm of workers on the roof of his Antigua Road home Oct. 23 because he knew it was for a good cause.

Smith, 87, who was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy, received a new roof from Albuquerque-based All Weather Roofing, a roofing contractor of Ohio-based Owens Corning, as part of the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project. The Owens Corning Foundation donated roofing materials, and All Weather Roofing provided the labor, according to a news release.

“They’re doing a good job,” Smith said.

Smith added with a laugh that with workers installing shingles on his roof, “you know they’re up there.”

Derek Archibeque, senior area sales manager for Owens Corning mountain region, who was on site Thursday, said the roof deployment project involves the company partnering with its “platinum contractors,” of which All Weather Roofing is one. The project, founded in 2016, has seen the installation over 700 roofs to veterans.

“I’m just glad we got to bring it here to the Land of Enchantment,” Archibeque said.

It’s not the first time Owens Corning has done the Roof Deployment Project in New Mexico or Rio Rancho, he noted, but it is the first time it’s been done in the state this year.

“Our feeling is the veterans have served us, and it’s our opportunity to serve them,” Archibeque said. “We want to give them back the peace of mind that they’ve given us in serving our country.”

As someone who comes from a family of service members, All Weather Roofing Manager Samantha Breeding said she heard about the Roof Deployment Project several years ago and it “really spoke to me,” so she wanted to get her company involved.

“As soon as Owens Corning had an application and had a candidate, they reached out to us and we said, ‘Absolutely! We’re all in!” Breeding said.

She noted she’s lost service members close to her who died during and even after combat.

“I’ve seen the struggle that some of our veterans go through, and it’s just really important to me, as an American, that we back up our service members in any way we possibly can,” Breeding said.

Sammy Franco, project manager with All Weather Roofing, said his team of almost half a dozen workers likely spent 10-12 hours installing the new roof. The rainy weather Thursday morning caused the project’s start to be delayed, but before noon, half a dozen workers were installing Owens Corning shingles on Smith’s roof.

“It’s looking good,” Franco said.

The lifespan of the roof depends on whether conditions, he said, but some shingles last almost 30 years.

“I start a project by meeting somebody; we do it, and you see ... people that are happy,” Franco said.

Working on a roofing installation for a veteran “makes you feel good inside,” Franco added.

Owens Corning partnered with Rebuilding Together Sandoval County to select Smith as a recipient for roof installation.

Archibeque said Smith, although fragile, still took the time to review the installation of the new roof and thank everyone involved.

“My first impression is he is just a very nice man who is doing his part and is very appreciative,” Archibeque said.

Smith, who has lived in his Antigua Road home since 1974, said he had a new roof installed several years ago, but the elements took a toll.

When he found out he was the recipient of the Roof Deployment Project, he said he felt happy. Having a new roof is “as important as having a new car,” Smith said.

He was pleased the project was accomplished through the work of “good people.”

“I give them 100% credit for everything,” Smith said.