VFW gets big boost from spray foam installers

The new Medford VFW building project in Medford got a major boost last week as contractors from around the country came together to install spray foam insulation in the new building.

The labor was donated by the individuals participating and the insulation and equipment was donated by suppliers.

“It is probably the biggest donation that I’ve ever been part of on a project,” said Jeff Meyer, owner of Meyer Buildings, the general contractor for the new VFW building. He estimated the value of the donated time and materials to be worth $80,000 to $100,000.

“There's people here from South Carolina; Houston, Texas; Michigan; Minnesota; California, and they all fly in on their own dime,” Meyer said.

The volunteers are all part of Spray Foam World Wide, a group of professionals in the spray foam industry. According to Eric Gladson, of Integrity Plus Insulation of Prentice, the group includes tens of thousands of spray foam installers from around the country.

In addition to sharing information and advances in the spray foam insulation industry, he explained that several years ago, members of the group started to come together to help with worthwhile projects. He said they have done four other projects in the past starting with one in Massachusetts and ones in South Carolina and North Carolina in areas impacted by flooding.

Gladson knows Medford VFW Post Commander Nick Lemke and was familiar with the plans to build a new VFW hall in Medford. He suggested it to the group and others jumped on board agreeing it would be a great project.

He recounted letting Lemke know the insulation would be taken care of by the group. He said they put out the word to the group and had manufacturers and suppliers donate material and equipment. Some of the installers traveled from places like Michigan with their rigs, donating time and expertise to the project.

“It's kind of just a whole group effort. Our motto is ‘An industry united, cannot fail,’” Gladson said, that doing projects like this to help groups and communities is an outgrowth of that. The motto for their project at the Medford VFW is “Change the world one set of foam at a time.”

Gladson said the spray foam industry is like no other. He said they like coming together to help each other out and are constantly bouncing ideas off of each other with different tips and ways to improve what they are doing. He said you don’t often see that in other skilled trade positions.

The fact that the Medford VFW project helps veterans was a major attraction for many who helped with the project “We wouldn't be free if it wasn't for them. We wouldn’t be here doing it,” Gladson said of the appreciation they have for the sacrifice of veterans.

“So that's why we're like, heck, yeah we're gonna we're going to get her done,” he said.