BRISTOL, Tenn. – On a normal Friday, Daryl Montgomery and Bobby Baumgardner would be working on one of the countless roofs that Summit BSR, a popular Bristol-based roofing company, maintains and builds for businesses across the Tri-Cities and Southeast United States.
But on this windy Friday afternoon the two supervising foremen were in Summit’s Industrial Boulevard warehouse, doing lofty work of another kind: They were sealing together wide sheets of high-strength fabric to create tents that will be sent to Haiti – to provide shelter for those recovering from a deadly January earthquake.
“It’s too windy for us to be out on roofs, but we figured we could still do some good,” Montgomery said Friday. “And when you know there’s people hurting somewhere and you can help them, with something as simple as a tent, you can do some good somehow.”
As he watched Montgomery and Baumgartner seal, measure, cut and roll the material, James Riden – president and founder of Summit BSR – blinked back tears.
“We’re not doing this to get any glory from this, because that’s all glory we want Jesus to get,” Riden said. “But I do want people in Bristol to know we’ve got people here who care about people they’ll never meet who are suffering, someplace far away. And they found a way to do something about it. To show it.”
Riden’s company, which has almost 40 employees in Bristol, has been making 18 tents – each measuring 12-by-12 feet – that will be sent to Leogane, Haiti. Leogane was so devastated during the January quake, with thousands killed and nearly every building flattened, that many refer to it as Haiti’s “Lost Town.”
The four-sided tents are made from a state-of-the-art tarpaulin material supplied by the Seaman Corp., a coating and fabric company also based in Bristol’s Industrial Park section. The material is thin enough to allow some light to filter through, yet strong enough to consistently withstand heavy rains – and high winds up to 100 mph.
Summit BSR will ship the rolled-up tents on pallets that hold 960 pounds, along with extra tarp sheets that can be used as door and window flaps.
“These should be able to help a lot of people have shelter, at least, and safe shelter, too,” Riden said. “We’re trying to use our gifts to help some people, and we hope this does that.”
That idea hasn’t been a new one for Summit BSR: Riden notes that the initials legally stand for “Born Again, Saved By Grace, Redeemed By His Blood.” And Neil Hutchins, an executive vice-president at Summit BSR’s North Carolina office, has taken part in Christian missions that range from building churches in the Ukraine to rebuilding buildings in poverty-stricken Guatemala.
“I’ve been blessed to have a lot of special people as employees,” Riden said. “I don’t hunt or fish or golf, because I’d rather hang around with these folks. They’re great employees and even better human beings.”
As they listen to their boss and patiently prepare the tents for shipping, Montgomery and Baumgardner – who could have easily done little on this windy day – start to smile.
“You don’t need have a reason to want to do something good,” Baumgardner said, as Montgomery nodded.
“I know this will help some people who need it,” Baumgardner said. “That’s good enough, really.”
rbrown@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2512
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