After returning home from the Navy in 1970, I went to work for a large local department store. I worked in the areas of display, merchandising and advertising. I have always said this is where it all started. The big display windows (and there were quite a few) required the ability to use space, color and texture to catch the eye. Since this was only a part-time job, I started looking for a full-time position in maintenance. Boy did I ever find one! I became the maintenance man and manager of a 200 apartment complex, and hence the beginning of my remodeling education. I just seemed to have an understanding of how things worked. From the structural aspect (what is behind the walls) to plumbing, electrical, heating and air, I loved what I did and it showed in my work. The gentleman who owned the apartments seemed very impressed with my skills, not just with hammer or paint brush, but with people. So we entered into a partnership that lasted many years.
At the start of the partnership, we purchased land and began building single-family detached homes. I built my very first home around 1974-75 and dug the entire footer with a shovel by hand as I could not afford a backhoe. While building this home we started a unique project, converting an old tobacco barn into an upscale one of a kind custom home. I often drive by both of these homes just to remember and to think how far I have come and how each home we build gives me the same feeling as that very first home did. I knew at the completion of the two projects that I wanted nothing more than to be a home builder. After a dozen homes and a few years later I was approached to join our local Home Builders Association. I joined in 1978 and I’m still an active member. I truly love what I do! I’m still building total custom single family homes. I play a very active role in each and every home we build. I’m at every job site every day, working right along with the subs. There is nothing I love more than building a house and watching a family turn it into a home.