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van

About the Owner

My passion for woodwork actually began when I was very young.  I have always been creative, though my first real talent was drawing. I would spend hours a day drawing and designing these beautiful pieces. Looking to protect and display my work, I would eventually realize that picture frames were not cheap. In middle school, I signed up for woodshop with the intention of learning how to build my own.  As I progressed through school, I took every woodshop class I could fit into my schedule…picture frames turned into end tables, end tables turned into entertainment centers, and so on.  I began utilizing my drawing and woodworking skills together to design my own furniture pieces, fine-tuning my style, and focusing on the creativity.  

After graduating I found myself working for a company that embraced my passion for woodworking design.  I traveled the country on behalf of this company creating and installing high-end architectural millwork/cabinets and trim in restaurants, courthouses, casinos, hotels, hospitals, etc.  As my skills and knowledge increased, so did my desire to do more.  I began building and remodeling homes. I eventually joined the Carpenter’s Union where I was trained to become a commercial superintendent.  Throughout all the years working for other companies in the field, I continued to do my own woodworking and remodeling projects on the side…eventually fate would lead me to a run-in with my high school woodshop teacher at Lowes, while I was simply there to grab some supplies. Back in school, I always wanted to be like him, a woodshop teacher, I mean how cool of a job would that be, right? We talked of how he would be retiring soon, and he thought his position would be a great fit for me. I took his advice, signed up for college the next day and proceeded to obtain my master’s degree in teaching. Even while in college, I never left the construction field. I continued to work/run high end jobs for the union during the week all the while completing my college courses and starting up my business.  

A Carpenter & Teacher

I am now a teacher and a business owner.  I currently teach Construction Trades at a local high school during the school year and still run Anything But Board every other second of my life.  With all my experience as a superintendent, a business owner, and now a teacher, I am able to provide my students with first-hand knowledge and opportunities to achieve success in not only the construction field, but hopefully life in general.  

As you can see, I am very passionate about what I do and believe hard work is the key to success.  I believe that you can accomplish anything with hard work and obviously, the desire to do so.  I take pride in everything I do and have built this company from the ground up, on my own, simply by word of mouth over the yearsI try to instill these traits in my students to show them that honesty and a good work ethic will help them achieve whatever it is that they want. I teach them that they create their own reputation, and their choices dictate the path they travel through life. Reputation and word of mouth is extremely important in this field. I take my reputation very serious and thoroughly enjoy what I do.