Allen Bostrom – Universal Accounting

Saturday, me and my family and several of the Universal associates helped re-roof a good friend’s home. The beneficiary was a fellow named Jim who had recently lost his wife to cancer, and who has helped our Company with our insurance needs for years. He was known by many as a gentle and thoughtful fellow that went well beyond the call of duty.

The day of his wife’s funeral, my brother in-law Vaughn and I were considering what we could do to show Jim our sincere appreciation for his goodness, and his lifetime example of integrity. Vaughn, having grown up as a neighbor and friend of the family, suggested that Jim needed a new roof. The idea clicked, and with a couple weeks of planning we pulled it off over the Thanksgiving break.

It wasn’t hard to rally the troops as so many others within and outside the Company appreciated Jim and eagerly joined in. At one time, we had nearly 30 people peeling off the old shingles in preparation for the professionals to install the new shingles.

It was all done without Jim knowing, and as Vaughn was loading the large dumpster on the back of his truck, Jim saw the project for the first time. I wish I would have been there to see his joy. Vaughn uttered the key words, It’s easy to do nice things for nice people.

It truly was.

Special thanks go to Brady Roofing, and ABC Shingle Company for their financial help, time, and contributions in making this project such a great experience and a wonderful tribute to a nice person. Also, I wanted to thank all those that helped out including several from Universal and Jim’s family by giving up several hours of their valuable time off over the holiday.

Allen Bostrom
Universal Accounting Center