Explorer Homes - Custom Designed Green Homes in Sussex County, Delaware

Born in Philadelphia, PA and raised as the youngest of four in NJ. Mike grew up tough. It was probably that toughness that led him into a career in construction at age thirteen. Starting as a jobsite cleaner and gopher, he learned the business from the ground up. By age seventeen, Mike was a skilled laborer and found a job working for a construction company at the Jersey Shore. It was there that he began building houses from start to finish and learned something about each of the trades. During these years, Mike made good use of his free time and was able to finish a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences (History) from Rowan University.

At twenty-three, Mike married his high school sweetheart and decided to join the U.S. Army, so they could see the world. Using this opportunity to “be all he could be,” Mike was assigned to a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, where he was a member of a distinguished crew as both a driver and gunner. After winning Battalion Soldier of the Quarter and taking runner up at the Division level, Mike was offered a job working for the 1st Infantry Division Commander and Command Sergeant Major. This afforded him the opportunity to further his boxing career which had been taking shape (see video this page), finishing with a record of 7-1. After a year at Division Headquarters, he was offered a job running the post management office, planning renovations, scheduling work orders with German and American contractors, and inspecting facilities for completed work. Often times while traveling, Mike would stop at construction sites and compare our methods to the Europeans. After a short deployment to Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Mike decided it was time to move on. During his three years in Germany, he completed his Master’s Degree in Human Relations with the University of Oklahoma. He left the U.S. Army honorably as a Sergeant E-5P.

Upon his return to the states, Mike looked up his old Semi-Pro Football coach and joined the NJ Broncos as a linebacker. In 2000, the Broncos went 15-0 and won the Mason-Dixon Football League title, earning them a national ranking of 4th out of 760 teams. The loss of his father led Mike to look for a new start. In 2001, his growing family moved to Bayard, DE where he worked for some of the areas largest builders. To date, Mike has been a Purchaser, Estimator, Site Superintendent, Sales and Marketing Associate, Real Estate Agent, and now a General Contractor.