Sarasota roofing firm provides pick-me-up with crane for water skiing nonprofit

A roofing company was working with its crane on Longboat Key in the weeks after Hurricane Milton when the superintendent received a phone call. It was someone from Ski-A-Rees, the nonprofit that performs water ski shows on City Island, asking if the company could help: The group’s bleachers had been thrown into the water during the hurricane. Could Sutter Roofing help get them out with its crane?

“I heard them talking about it, and they said we’re too busy,” Doug Sutter, president of Sutter Roofing, recalls of his team. It’s true: his Sarasota-based company, with $82.78 million in revenue in 2023, has been on nonstop calls since Hurricane Milton. But he felt strongly that it should lend a hand to a group in need. “I said, ‘That’s a great organization for the community. We’re going to help them out.’ We have the equipment and expertise to do that, so I told them to make it happen, and they made it happen.”

Once Sutter Roofing got the call from the Ski-A-Rees, it took a couple of days to coordinate, according to Sutter. At first, he says, his employees thought they might have to take a swim, but the crane ended up getting the job done. Afterward, he says, the team experienced the gratification that came with providing assistance to an organization in need.