By the grace of God

The Hope Community Bible Church needed storm protection. The owner of a hurricane shutter business wanted to give back.

By AUSTIN BOGUES
Published July 9, 2007

	Hope Community Church member John Ludwick hangs a bracket for the hurricane shutters being put on the church building through cooperation with American Hurricane Specialists of Brooksville.
[Times photo: Ron Thompson]

SPRING HILL – Wayne Bennett put down the power drill and wiped the sweat off of his brow. The thick late-morning humidity can be brutal, and distracting, and he wanted to be sure the job was done right.

Bennett, the owner of American Hurricane Specialists Inc. of Brooksville, and his crew were on a special mission. They were helping to keep the Hope Community Bible Church safe from the storms.

The story starts back in 2004, when Pastor David Pletincks nervously watched tree after tree topple near the church during that year's turbulent summer.

Church leaders decided that they needed to help secure the building better. Although the building will not be used as a shelter, "the idea was that after the disaster, we still have a building that can serve the community where people can get aid," he said.

The church sought bids to install metal hurricane shutters, but when the offers came in, the leaders felt the costs were too high for them to afford.

That's when Bennett offered a novel solution. He would donate shutters left over from materials his crews had used on other jobs. The material was high quality, and he could put up the shutters for a much lower price.

And so, on a recent morning, Bennett and a half-dozen employees unloaded the metal sheets at the church on Spring Hill Drive and spent the next seven hours putting them up in the Florida heat.

The corrugated steel shutters are designed to withstand hurricane-force winds up to 155 mph and to keep windows from shattering and water from flowing in.

The church said it could afford $4,000 for a job that Bennett said would typically cost around $10,000 to $12,000. They arrived at a deal: The church would give Bennett $2,850 for the work, and he, in turn, would give the money away.

Bennett donated $2,000 to the Tampa Shriners Children's Hospital and $850 to a needy family identified by the church's congregation.

"The Lord has been very good to me and my family, and I feel like in order to receive blessings, you have to give them back," Bennett said.

Austin Bogues can be reached at abogues@sptimes.com or (352) 754-6117.

[Last modified July 8, 2007, 20:46:39]