I consider it a great honor and privilege to be nominated and to serve as the Veteran Liaison for the IGEC.  As a young boy growing up in New York, I have always wanted to help and to serve my neighbors and my country.  After graduating from the University of Dayton with a B.S. in Criminal Justice, I made a commitment to serve our great nation.  I was fortunate to serve with the U.S. Army’s 2/75th Ranger Battalion in Ft. Lewis, WA.  After five years of service, I was decorated with the Distinguished Leadership Award from the NCOA and was honorably discharged as a Sergeant. I learned that our country’s most precious resources were the men and women, who sacrificed their lives to serve and protect our country, and I made a pledge to myself to always protect and honor these men and women in uniform.

In 1998, I was introduced to the roofing industry where I quickly learned that change was not a welcomed idea.  It became apparent to me that the majority of the roofing industry placed profit before our environment and our nation’s security.  The roofing industry, as a whole, still promotes petroleum based roofing products, which are hazardous to our environment. 

The environmental impact was obvious in many ways.  Petroleum based roofs averaged between 130 to 200 plus degrees during the summer months.  This increase in surface temperature was a direct correlation to the increase in Urban Heat Island Effect.  These roofing systems also contributed to the contamination of our storm water, since petroleum residue would wash off with the rain water.  The biggest challenge with these roofing systems was what to do with them when they failed.  Furthermore, the EPA estimates that 20 million tons of toxic roofing is disposed in our landfills annually.

The National Security impact was obvious, as well.  Petroleum based roofing increased our dependency on foreign oil in two ways:  First, the roofing products themselves were composed of petroleum.  Second, the increase of the roofs surface temperature would increase the utility load of the building thus increasing the demand for energy.

I was determined to change the industry and made it my goal and commitment to create a product that would be safe for the environment.  Over the next 13 years I have educated the public and industry of the negative impact that the petroleum based roofing products had on our environment and our national security.  At the same time, I set out to create a roofing product that would protect our buildings, environment, and our soldiers.  In 2007, I introduced Final Flat Roof to the world and set out to revolutionize the roofing industry.  My company’s FFR-K1 product uses no petroleum and performs equivalent to R-19 insulation, reducing Global Warming and the utility demand for the building.  FFR-K1 also lessens the amount of toxic roofing in our landfills by restoring old roofs and extending their functional life for up to 20 years as well as encapsulates the toxins in both metal and petroleum based roofs to help protect our storm water aqueducts.   FFR-K1 is a low tech “Green Job” application which allows my company to train returning soldiers thus helping them to transition into successful careers.  My company’s number one goal of is to keep our soldiers home and out of harm’s way.  I believe that the changes in the roofing industry is not a “should” but a “must” that needs to be mandated.  In closing, my mission is clear:  if you don’t stand for something then you will fall for anything. 

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