15 Things You Need to Know This Morning

Title: Principal, DFS Construction.
Photo: Outer Banks.
Company: DC metro focus; 48 employees; annual revenue over $51M; 120-140 projects, 1.8M SF per year.
Memorable project: 1776 Eye St. – removed columns and large section of second floor slab to create new building lobby and entrance. Landmark project for DFS given size, downtown location, and industry recognition. 
Current project: Full-scale renovation of Market Square (701 and 801 Pennsylvania Ave.). Both main building lobbies and entrances will be reconstructed over next six months. 
CRE career: Work as roofer in hot South Carolina sun led to finishing master’s in construction. 
Grew up: Navy brat – tours in Honolulu, San Diego, Aiken, SC, and DC.
Current home: Bethesda.
School: Clemson.
First job: Breaking okra at age 10 for $20/day. Grandmother insisted on “not sitting around all summer.”
Job in another life: Weatherman.
Daily habit: Walking job sites and meeting with project teams.
Favorite apps: Scrabble and Intellicast.
Favorite movie: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
Favorite restaurant: Guapos.
Favorite band and song: The Marshall Tucker Band – "In My Own Way".
Favorite vacation spot: St. Thomas.
Guilty pleasures: Gucci shoes and NASCAR.
Bucket list: Scuba diving in Antarctica.
Family: Married 9 years in September and two sons (ages 2 and 4).
Hobbies: Scuba, sailing, surfing, golf, and car racing.
Startling fact: Worked between undergrad and grad school as a DJ at a gospel, jazz, and R&B radio station (WLGI) outside Myrtle Beach.