About 20 people gathered Thursday afternoon to celebrate a new deck built at Brian Daughters' home in Glen Burnie. There was food, balloons and generally festive mood.

Staff Sgt. Daughters wasn't there. He's in Iraq with the National Guard, the latest in a long string of deployments since Sept. 11.

So Ray Steward, owner of RWS Contacting in Towson, helped the sergeant's wife, Jill, cut the ribbon. It was only fitting, since his company built the $20,000 addition to the Daughters home for free.

"I'm in complete awe of everything," Mrs. Daughters said. "I can't wait for him to see it."

The deck was donated by the...