Q: Please tell us about yourself.
I’m a husband, dad, and full-time singer/songwriter. I am a middling golfer, but I love to play. I’m passionate about foster care and adoption, and have 3 amazing boys who my wife and I adopted from the foster system. And we spend a lot of time on the road together!

Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
As a singer/songwriter I get to play music for a living. I think my favorite thing about the career path I’ve chosen is the relationships that I’ve built with other musicians and business owners, particularly my local Grand Traverse venues. We’re in a fairly unique position as so much of our living depends on other people and businesses doing well, so looking out for one another and making sure we’re supporting each other well is a big deal.

Q: What is your favorite book?
I’m a huge fantasy fan, so I gravitate to series that create an alternate world I can immerse myself in. I’m a big Harry Potter nerd, and I’d have to say the 6th book (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince) is my favorite of that series. When I read, I’m doing it for fun usually. And I love when a book can transport me to a new place and give my brain a break from the grind for a bit.

Q: What are some of your favorite restaurants in our community?
I love Sparks BBQ, Firefly, Red Mesa Grille, J&S Hamburg, Jennifer’s Roundabout in Mesick, and most recently I have discovered Oakwood Burgers on 8th. I also love some off the new bars in town. North Bar, and The Pub are 2 of my favorites.

Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community? What brought you to Grand Traverse County?
I’ve lived abs worked here for 15 years. I moved from El Paso, TX in 2008 to take a job as Music Director at Faith Reformed Church, initially.

Q: What advice would you give to people who want to visit our community?
More often than not, you can find a local restaurant, brewery, winery, coffee shop, or distillery that will blow the doors off anything that a chain can offer. I highly recommend choosing a locally owned business to support. More often than not, you’ll find higher quality offerings made with love and passion for what they do. And you know that your money is going to support someone right here in our area.

Q: If you could choose anyone today with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would you all meet?
I would choose my mentor, Lainey Wilson. And I’d probably take her right to Sparks for brisket, because Dean is a magician with a smoker and it’s some of the best BBQ I’ve ever found outside of Texas. And let me tell you, for a native Texan that is saying something.

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
I love how our community loves and supports one another. We do our best to eat, drink, and shop local. And we have a passion for artists, and music, and creativity. And it makes our community a really unique place to live.

Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I really am not a fan of chocolate and peanut butter together. I know. I’m probably wrong. But I am who I am. I love them separately. Or together with banana. But just the two of them…pass, usually.

Q: Which yearly event in Grand Traverse County do you enjoy best?
Probably 4th of July fireworks. There’s nothing like watching them reflect off of the bay with my favorite people.

Q: What is your favorite season in Northern Michigan? And what is your favorite activity to do in that season?
It’s summer for me. I spend as much time as possible either in or on the water. I didn’t grow up around water, so I’m doing my best to make up for lost time.

Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Home isn’t as much about ‘where’ as it is about ‘who’. It’s people that make a place home, and it’s love that sustains it.