A Toledo program that gave a Vietnam veteran a free new roof last year is choosing its next recipient this week, and the veteran who benefited last time has a simple message for whoever is picked next: do not be afraid to accept the help. Project Homefront, run by Great Lakes Home Remodeling, will select a veteran homeowner in northwest Ohio or southeast Michigan and replace their roof at no cost, the company said in its account of the program.
Last year’s recipient was Floyd “Butch” Stewart, a Vietnam War veteran who grew up in Toledo and lives with his wife, Jody, in east Toledo. Stewart was drafted in the late 1960s, and two years into his service he was driving a truck full of soldiers when it crashed; doctors told him the injuries were permanent, and he told WTOL 11 he has lived with that disability for close to 39 years, according to Great Lakes Home Remodeling’s account of the WTOL 11 report, which aired Nov. 10.
Years later, the Stewarts noticed their roof failing. Stewart described hearing it snap and crack as the structure shifted, and with a limited income, the couple told WTOL 11 a replacement was out of reach, the company reported. Stewart’s brother, Bob, heard about the plan to give a free roof to a local veteran and told him about it, and the Stewarts were chosen.
The company’s crew tore off the old roof and installed the new one in two days, with manufacturer GAF joining on install day, and the crew hauled away the debris and cleaned the yard before leaving, according to the company. The Stewarts paid nothing for materials, labor or disposal. Jody Stewart told WTOL 11 she broke down and cried when the work was finished, because the couple no longer had to worry about the roof, the company reported.
“We install roofs every day, so if we can take that and give it to somebody who really deserves it, then that means the world to us,” the company’s social media manager, Jenson Strock, told WTOL 11, according to Great Lakes Home Remodeling. Stewart, for his part, told WTOL 11 the program is not a scam and that the people behind it are trying to help, the company reported.
Anyone can submit a nomination for this year’s Project Homefront roof, and veterans can nominate themselves, through the nomination form on the company’s website. The program is open to veteran homeowners in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, and the company said it will share the 2026 recipient’s story once that roof is finished.