I have spent the past 33 years building in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area. Up until the last few months, I have worn the tool belt, personally building and directing construction of first-quality new homes, additions and renovations. During that time, I have always delivered the kind of top-quality work that I could unhesitatingly stand behind. I don't know any other way to do business.
As I got older, I increasingly began to see the value of making my houses as nearly barrier-free as feasible. Then my recent total hip replacement surgery further sharpened my focus on mobility issues. Suddenly, wider bathroom doors and thoughtfully-located grab bars weren't just something I had learned about from a book.
I'm back to work now, but the time I spent depending on my wheelchair, walker and cane have provided me with priceless insights into what people with mobility problems have to deal with each and every day.
I am a 1970 graduate of the University of North Carolina and a life-long resident of the Tar Heel state. In my younger days, I was a U.S. Army medical corpsman (1965-67), a newspaper reporter, and the original owner of Chapel Hill's legendary Endangered Species Tavern.
