For Memorial Day 2026, Chapelboro.com ran a feature by Brighton McConnell on two Chatham County efforts to help veterans stay in their homes: the county’s part in Helping Homebound Heroes, and Skyline Exterior Group’s 100 Roof Pledge.
It is the fullest account anywhere of how the pledge started.
What Chapelboro reported about Skyline
Skyline started in late 2025 and is run by Brian Rice, who served in the Air Force for more than a decade. The Pittsboro company handles roofing, gutters, siding, and storm repairs.
In its earliest days it made a pledge: for every 100 roofs sold, the crew would donate and install a new roof for a North Carolina veteran.
In February 2026 the company named its first recipient, Greensboro resident and Army veteran Grady Bendel, discharged after losing his leg to an IED in Afghanistan. Skyline reached him through Veterans Bridge Home. The whole roof was replaced on March 28, 2026, in one day.
Skyline was only months old at the time, with no profits to draw on. The company covered the entire cost anyway. Rice told Chapelboro he wanted the business built on that principle from the first day, not once the books looked good.
The article also quoted Rice on why veterans and first responders rarely ask for help, and on his view that a disabled veteran may not look broken from the outside.
The county program alongside it
The other half of the feature covered Helping Homebound Heroes, the national Home Depot Foundation and Meals on Wheels America effort that Chatham County’s Aging Services department joined in 2019. The county takes applications and contracts the nonprofit Preserving Home for roof, wall, floor, and exterior repairs for veterans.
Jimmy Lewis of Aging Services told Chapelboro that 200 to 250 veterans are registered with the county’s Centers for Active Living in Pittsboro and Siler City. The goal is to keep older adults in their homes and out of costly institutional care.
Why it matters
Chapelboro is the local news outlet for Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Chatham County, the heart of Skyline’s service area. The feature ties the 100 Roof Promise to the county’s own veteran housing work and puts the company’s founding on the record.
Homeowners who want the background on the company will find it there. Veterans in Chatham County who need repairs beyond a roof can contact Chatham County Aging Services about Helping Homebound Heroes.