IRE attendees, exhibitors and show management were invited to arrive the day before the show, roll up their sleeves and give back to the Las Vegas area by participating in the fifth annual Community Service Day, sponsored by Sika Sarnafil. Approximately 75 volunteers donated their time and energy to help renovate and revitalize three houses belonging to elderly and disabled Las Vegas residents. This year’s event was held in conjunction with the Southern Nevada chapter of Rebuilding Together, and lunch was sponsored by OMG Roofing Products. Additional sponsors include Commercial Roofers Inc., Par-3 Landscape & Maintenance, First Choice Tree Service, Frazee Paint, Quest Construction Products and Port of Subs.
At the home of Sharon Wilson, volunteers cleaned up the property and did exterior painting. At the Humberto Santana residence, the roof was replaced in December by Commercial Roofers Inc. of Las Vegas. Volunteers also landscaped the front yard, handled exterior painting, cleaned up the property and trimmed the trees. At the home of Maria Hernandez, volunteers installed 40 feet of new wooden fencing, painted the exterior of home and cleared debris from the backyard.
Senior Conference Manager Brandi McElhaney has participated in all five Community Service Day events and looks forward to it every year. “The energy is amazing,” she said. “A lot of these volunteers are just getting to know each other, but we just get together and get it done. It’s amazing how quickly they got things done today. Mrs. Hernandez came out to show her appreciation, and she was in tears.”
Jay Thomas, vice president of marketing for Sika Sarnafil, has also been on hand to work on the event every year, and Sika Sarnafil has been the event’s sponsor since it was launched. Thomas noted his company planned to sponsor it again next year, when the show returns to New Orleans. “It’s an honor to be involved,” he said. “It’s a great organization with great people to work with, and we’re happy to do it, and we enjoy it and get a lot out of it personally — and the weather is good!”
Michelle Shetrom of Comercial Roofers Inc., served as the house captain for the Santana residence. “We re-roofed Mr. Santana’s house in December, so I was familiar with it,” she said. “Quest donated the foam for the re-roof. Today we removed a cement planter, painted the house, and put landscaping rock in the front and the back. We have a great team. Our team rocks — no pun intended.”
Tracy Donels, service department manager of KPost Company in Dallas, participated in the event for the first time, but he says he’ll be back. “It felt good to get out and give back to the community,” he said. “I met people from across the country, and we all pitched in to do our part.”
