NTCA Partners in Veteran’s Custom Home
CARBONDALE, Ill. – There’s a new home here for a disabled U.S. Army veteran, built with the help of many … including members of the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA).
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The custom-built residence for Sgt. 1st Class Jared Bullock (Ret.) and his family, dedicated in late June, came as a result of efforts of the Gary Sinise Foundation under its Restoring Independence and Supporting Empowerment (R.I.S.E.)
NTCA partnered with Crossville and MAPEI to provide all of the porcelain tile and setting materials for this home, with installation by California Flooring.
Bullock served two tours in Iraq, trained for Special Forces, and received his Green Beret. On Nov. 13, 2013, one month after deployment to Afghanistan, his ATV ran over an improvised explosive device (IED). The blast took the life of his best friend and, though he survived, Jared lost his right arm above the elbow and his right leg above the knee.
“It was my honor to donate my time and money to help Jared transition to an active lifestyle with his family,” said California Flooring’s Kevin Insalato, who’s also a U.S. Army veteran. “The most impressive feature of Jared’s recovery is his ability to view his injury as just another obstacle he will overcome.”
Insalato, a regional evaluator coordinator for the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF), attended the home dedication on June 29, and said the opportunity to work on the project “was an easy decision for me.
“I’m an active board member of NTCA. I worked very closely with both Crossville and MAPEI and they requested I represent them at the home dedication. My employees are all Certified Tile Installers (CTIs) and they all took turns installing the different areas we tiled.
“This was a labor of love we will all remember for a very long time.”
NTCA is a non-profit trade association serving every segment of the industry, spearheading education for the professional installation of ceramic-tile, natural-stone and allied products. For more information, please contact NTCA Executive Director Bart Bettiga at bart@tile-assn.com, (601) 939-2071, or visit www.tile-assn.com.
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