It’s not every day that graduates of Cañon City High School get the chance to give back to the community that helped build them, but that’s exactly what 1976 graduate Scott Gaines and 1997 graduate Phillip Gaines did.
Scott has been in the roofing business since 1984 and was instrumental in the opening and operation of Skyline Roofing for many years. His son Phillip has followed in his footsteps over the years.
“He [Scott] “I’ve always had a roofing company and I’ve always done things at Canon,” said Phillip.
Though the family slowly moved north to the Denver area, the impact Fremont County made on their lives has not faded. Phillip currently owns and operates Good Knight Roofing based in north Denver and looks forward to supporting the community in which he grew up.
“I’ve always had a passion for the roofing trade because there are a lot of roofing companies that see it as a quick easy buck…but I grew up thinking it was more of a passion since I was a kid,” said Phillip.
For every roof Good Knight Roofing works on in Fremont County, $200 goes to The Pride at Cañon City High School.
Founded in 2014 by Kevin Marushack and other CCHS pillars, The Pride is committed to bringing together students with vastly different backgrounds, lifestyles, values and interests so that they can at least learn from and appreciate one another. Outdoor cinemas, black light dancing and bowling, and tailgate parties before every Friday night soccer game are just a few examples of what The Pride does.
As part of The Pride’s unifying force, organizers have worked with students interested in graphic design to design and sell special t-shirts each year. The grand unveiling of next year’s t-shirt takes place at the end of the year when The Pride makes a large donation (from the previous year’s t-shirt sales) to a local charity. The Orchard of Hope, CASA, Solvista and Fremont Search and Rescue are just a few of the organizations that have received The Pride’s generous donations.
Good Knight Roofing contributes to Fremont County’s continuous cycle of return.
“It’s nice to have the opportunity to support the community,” Phillip said. “I thought, ‘What a great way to give back.'”
About six months ago, Phillip reached out to Fremont County residents Heather and Anthony Lippis. After brainstorming, they settled on the wonderful idea of Good Knight Roofing supporting CCHS seniors. Although the idea of giving back to sports teams did come up, they decided that the financial support would best benefit a wide range of students if donated to The Pride.
“It’s great, there’s this blessed feeling [to me] to be able to help,” said Phillip.
Pride can look forward to another successful year of community support – which now includes alumni who, although no longer living in the area, still love Cañon City.
“What we advocate at The Pride is that everyone is someone… and for an outside organization and alumni to come in and basically help us get that message across is meaningful not only to me and the staff, but also hugely meaningful to the students,” said CCHS Director Bill Summers. “You hear a lot from the staff, but sometimes it’s very meaningful to hear it from the community and Good Knight Roofing.”
To contact Good Knight Roofing, call (719) 422-6200 or visit https://www.goodknightroofing.com/contact
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https://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/2023/07/20/hometown-pride-canon-city-high-school-alumni-give-back-through-roofing-project/
