Cenvar Gives - Madison Heights Ruritan Club
Tucked away in a quiet corner of Madison Heights, Virginia sits a beautiful, wooded property with a gently flowing creek. The property houses the Madison Heights Ruritan Club, an organization dedicated to fostering fellowship, goodwill, and community service in rural areas.
Fellowship Hall, Madison Heights VA
Just a few months ago, the club faced a difficult decision. The roof of Fellowship Hall, which serves as a meeting place and social space for the local community, was in dire need of repair. But, the club lacked the funds to replace it properly. The apparent choice was to sell part of their property and use the funds to replace the roof of Fellowship Hall in Amherst, Virginia.
Member of the Ruritan Club, Robert Knott, reported that they originally built the Fellowship Hall in 1956. The club had worked on the roof “here and there” over the years, but never had the financial resources to “do it the right way.” “We knew there was water damage, ”Knott says, “but nobody had a clue as to how bad it was.”
Contacting Local Roofing Companies
A former Cenvar Roofing employee and Ruritan Club member contacted Lynchburg General Manager, Holton Walker, to discuss the possibility of a free roof replacement for the club's benefit. When Walker, his roofing contractors, and roof installers went out to look at the roof, they quickly realized it was in worse shape than anyone anticipated.
“It was one of the worst roofs I’ve seen in a while,” Walker recalls, noting the “multiple leaks, baked shingles, and rotten boards” over a widespread area of the roof. “We tried to do band-aids” on it, Knott explains about the repairs attempted by the club in the years prior, “but the last time they did it [a repair], it was only 2 or 3 layers [of shingles]."
Drawn to the hardworking attitude of the club members, Walker and his team offered to do the roof replacement free of charge. “We are proponents of giving back to the community and places for people to gather,” Walker explains, and especially, “in an area that is blue collar and works hard to make ends meet, you certainly want to help out where you can.”
Several clubs, including a hunting and fishing club, utilize the building for meetings. The Ruritan Club organizes various events for local charities such as Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army, and several local rescue squads. In addition, community members can rent the building for special events.
"We rent the building out, but we don't make much profit from it. We use the proceeds to cover expenses and support community service initiatives, like an annual scholarship for a graduating senior from Amherst County High School," Knott explains.
Type of Roof Repairs
The roughly 30’x 60’ roof posed some challenges during the replacement process. The Fellowship Hall features beautiful roof trusses built in the Amish style, which required some special materials. Knott explains, “The actual roof trusses are 10-12’ across, so we needed beams that would span that distance and that were 3-4” thick.”
To accommodate the size of the trusses, Walker had to cut the special decking, which functions as the framing of the roof and is where the shingles are attached. “Nate [Saunders, the Project Coordinator,] had to get some of the wood specially cut because of the size of the beams,” Knott adds.
We also had to replace the tongue and groove boards that made up the interior of the roof decking. These unique features meant that the roof replacement process took longer than anticipated, but Knott says the club was, “just so happy that someone was finally going to do this the right way.” “Everyone had the patience to get this finished,” he adds, "even though the roofing project required a few extra steps."
Community Service in Amherst Complete
The Fellowship Hall in Madison Heights is now open for meetings or rentals after the roof replacement. The Ruritan Club and the community are enjoying the hall and the surrounding property.
Cenvar Gives is our effort to help change lives and local communities one roof at a time. This initiative began because owner, Chris Good, wanted to help provide roof replacements to families in need. The goal is to help foster a sense of hope and unity within the local communities we serve while promoting a culture of giving. You can read more about past Cenvar Gives initiatives here!
