Our family has deep roots in Colorado Springs. My paternal grandmother’s side of the family arrived in Colorado Springs in 1880 from Salt Lake City. My great-great-grandfather, Michael Stockdale, built a family home on West Dale St. A couple decades later, his son, my great-grandfather, Charles Stockdale, built a home next door to his mother and father’s house. A few years after that, Charles built a carriage house to serve as a mechanic’s garage. Not only was Charles a mechanic, but he also drove the Knob Hill trolley car in the early years of the 1900’s.

When my grandmother got married, she and her husband converted the Dale Street carriage house into their home and that’s where my dad grew up. All 3 of the family homes are still standing on West Dale. You can see a short video of me at the houses.

My wife, Beth, and I still live in the area. We go to church here. We do business with other local companies, and we have no plans or desires to ever move. We love it here!

I graduated from Wasson High School in 1981 and my first real job was at Zeezo’s Magic Castle in the Citadel Mall. That was a lot of fun and I learned lots of magic tricks and also how to juggle. After graduation I worked for a few years at Colorado Springs’ original lumber store, Crissey-Fowler Lumber, building doors and stairs.

After that, I worked at a local camera store before jumping into the hi-tech industry. That lasted for almost 13 years before a layoff left me unemployed and wondering what I was going to do. After starting two other businesses, I ended up working for a roofing company and the rest is history.

Beth and I have 6 children, all of whom we have homeschooled, and several grandchildren.