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CoolAir and Ferguson Enterprises team up with Lee BIA Builders Care to surprise cancer survivor with new air conditioning unit

A group of nine people, representing Ferguson Enterprises and the Building Industry Association, pose in a living room. Two individuals are seated on a couch with a white dog.

Replacement to aid homeowners during warm summer months

Photo-1On Thursday, June 23, Lee BIA (Building Industry Association) Builders Care surprised a local veteran and cancer survivor, Margit Fagan, with a new air conditioning unit with the help of CoolAir Air Conditioning and Heating and Ferguson Enterprises. The new unit will aid in Margit Fagan’s overall health and keep her home cool during the warm summer months.

Margit and her husband, Norman Fagan, are both veterans. Norman served in the Navy, stationed in the Pacific, and Margit served in the Army, stationed in Panama working as a finance administrator. Margit and Norman purchased their Cape Coral home in 2002 while Margit was working as a real estate professional and Norman ran his own lawn care business. This was until Margit was diagnosed with lung cancer and received radiation treatment in early 2011. Today, Margit is cancer free. However, likely due to the side effects of radiation treatment, Margit was diagnosed with advanced Osteoporosis. With her posture significantly altered as a result of spinal fractures, it is increasingly difficult for her to breathe without the help of oxygen, as she only has 30 percent utilization of her lungs. Norman serves as Margit’s full time caretaker and even became a Florida Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), working part time as a hospice caretaker. Their one son now also serves in the Army.

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To the Fagans’ surprise, team members of CoolAir Air Conditioning and Heating and Ferguson Enterprises marched down the street with trucks full of materials to surprise the couple. The failing unit was replaced with a three-ton American Standard unit, consumer rated No. 1 most reliable product. A Honeywell Thermostat Vision Pro 8000 with a handheld remote was also donated to help Margit live more comfortably, especially during the heat of the summer. The project was completed in just one day.

During the summer months, Builders Care receives an increase in the number of air conditioning requests and is currently seeking additional support. Businesses who wish to provide materials, services or financial support can contact Christi Pritchett Sarlo, executive director, Lee BIA Builders Care.

“Air conditioning issues are one of the most common requests that come into our office this time of year,” said Sarlo. “These companies have relieved major stress off of a family that will be appreciated for many years to come.”

About Builders Care

Builders Care is the nonprofit charitable arm of the Lee Building Industry Association (BIA). Its mission is to provide emergency home repairs and construction services to elderly, disabled and economically disadvantaged people who are unable to obtain home repairs through traditional means. To date, Lee BIA Builders Care has put more than $3.8 Million in construction services back into the community at no cost to homeowners in need.  Builders Care enlists the volunteer services of Lee BIA members and leverages grants and donated materials to provide construction and remodeling services to qualified homeowners throughout Lee County. Builders Care is headquartered at the Lee BIA offices at 10501 Six Mile Cypress Parkway, Suite 118 in Fort Myers. The Building Industry Association (www.BIA.net ) is a 62-year-old association affiliated with National Home Builders Association and Florida Home Builders Association that serves to strengthen our community by advancing a professional building industry through advocacy, education and services. Donations can be made online at www.LeeBuildersCare.org, or to the Builders Care general fund at BB&T Page Field branch at 4959 South Cleveland Ave. in Fort Myers. More information is available by calling 239-938-0056. Follow Builders Care at Facebook.com/LeeBuildersCare or on Twitter @LeeBuildersCare.

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