Ohio Contractor Gives Back Through “Got You Covered” Initiative

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor.  

New initiative was launched this year to help those in need. 

Austintown, Ohio-based Boak & Sons Inc. launched their Got You Covered program this summer to give back to their community. The first project the company took on, as reported by Mahoning Matters, was to partner with their local veterans service commission to donate a roof to 75-year-old veteran Johnny Rivers.  

Company owner Sam Boak shared with Mahoning Matters, “We have employees who are veterans. I myself am not, but I'm blessed that men and women have gone out there, represented all of us in this country and protected us." 

Rivers property needed a lot of work and the project started out by clearing away weeds from outside the home. They plan to paint the inside of the home as well and they put on a brand-new roof for Rivers.  

“We felt that it was a no-brainer for the gentleman that we picked,” owner Sam Boak told Mahoning Matters. “He needed a lot of work on his house. He was a responsible person, and so we had no second thought. Let’s help and go and move on from there.” 

Boak noted that he has employees at his company who are veterans and shared that team member Brianna Figley, who is a vital part of this project, also serves in the National Guard.  

Boak & Sons teamed up with other businesses for the project, including Owens Corning, who donated the roofing materials and My Second Nature, a local landscaping company who is cleaning up the yard.  

Sam Boak said that the team first experienced the joy that comes with giving when they participated in a 2005 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project.  “We felt so honored to help with it, and our employees felt so gratified helping with the project, that every year we pick a couple of projects to give back in the community,” he said. 

The company has also recently renovated the house of a former long-time employee who died in 2019. “We take it as part of our responsibility to give back,” said Sam.  

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.