I grew up in this business. My father became a self-employed remodeler and builder in 1981 when I was 5 years old. I was always curious, and never afraid of working hard - it gave me something to do. Working with him at home, in the workshop, and on job sites are some of the most formative memories of my lifetime.

I grew up in a rural neighborhood in Vienna, where my parents still live. It’s in between DeForest and Waunakee. Even though I went to school in Waunakee, my family went to church in DeForest, and I did karate in Sun Prairie. Do you know what that’s like? It defined me in numerous ways- I had to fit in with a bunch of different crowds, rather than having a tight team around me.

I met my wife Lisa while working at McDonalds in high school. We got back together after I graduated from college at UW-Milwaukee with my degrees in Architecture and Urban Planning. I love to continue learning, so I’ve earned the Certified Graduate Remodeler (CGR), Certified Graduate Builder (CGB) and Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) designations though the NAHB. 

I truly love what I do as a remodeler, yet my family is what truly defines my purpose and passion in life. 

We have 6 amazing kids, and we’re anything but traditional. Zach and Dylan were born into our family. We did a local adoption with Cora when she was a toddler. She grew up with the boys, and many newer friends don’t even realize that we adopted her. Then in the midst of coronavirus, we adopted Katie, Noah, and Alex from Latvia. It all started with the Project 143 orphan hosting program, and over the course of a 2 year process, we doubled to a family of 6 kids. My wife Lisa shares our story in this blog.

Fun fact: Dylan, Katie, and Cora are all within 10.5 months of each other, but were in different grades. They also ended up going to different schools. While the girls now homeschool with Liberty University Online, Alex and Noah are at Abundant Life Christian School. We used to say that Dylan and Cora were twinning, and occasionally the 3 are referred to as “The Triples.”

You’ll find that much of what I talk about on social media involves advocating for orphan hosting and adoption, sharing about Jesus, and talking about my awesome kids! Of course, you’ll also find me bragging up the excellent work of the Degnan Design-Build-Remodel team. 

Lisa and I love to travel. I was in a professional remodeling group for a dozen years. We traveled to a lot of cities to visit my colleagues. We were working on improving our businesses, to best serve our clients. That provided some great opportunities to visit real places, not just tourist destinations.

Besides introducing our American kids to Latvia, we are also working to share the best of America with our Latvian kids. Will we repeat any of our other adventures like Yellowstone, Marathon Key, or Washington, DC? Who knows!

For now, you’ll find us spending our summer weekends at our rustic floodplain cabin near our favorite secluded sandbar on the shallow Wisconsin River near Portage. While we deferred our 20th anniversary trip to Hawaii (in exchange for an adoption trip to Latvia!), we are going back to Maui for our 25th anniversary in 2024. I’m certain that we’ll be returning to Latvia numerous times in the future, too. 

Besides time on the boat, I play racquetball to stay in shape, and I like fishing and bow hunting with the kids. I enjoyed spending time with the kids as a Sunday School teacher and youth group leader, and I was a Boy Scout leader for about 10 years. You’ll find our family at Focus Church in Sun Prairie for all sorts of activities. It’s a big part of our life.

Fun fact #2: We love dogs! My parents owned several Golden Retrievers while I was growing up. The first dog Lisa and I had was a Black Lab mutt, and he chose Lisa. However, my personal favorite was our Scottish Terrier. His name was Logan, and that dog chose ME! He was a 3-year old rescue, and we went to meet several Scotties that were available. I walked over to the little pen, Logan walked up and put his feet up on the fence, and 5 minutes later I realized I was still scratching his head. That’s how I knew he was our dog! Now, we have a Catahoula Leopard dog, Chloe, who chose my daughter Cora. As an adoptive parent, I got to choose 4 of my kids, in a certain sense. As an adoptive pet owner, our dogs have chosen us!

Professionally, it’s all about finding ways to provide the best customer service. Volunteering is one way to help me and the team be better at how we serve our clients and community. These are some of the things I’m proud of doing! In all these things, I try to help people and provide service.

• 2024, Wisconsin Builders Association (WBA) Builder of the Year

• 2023 - 2024, Volunteer Project Manager for the Focus Church Foster Care Home

• 2021 - Present, Children’s Ministry Volunteer at Focus Church

• 2021, Wisconsin Builders Association (WBA) President.

• 2014-Present, State of Wisconsin, Uniform Dwelling Code Committee

• 2013 - 2022, WBA Executive Committee

• 2016 - 2020, Teen Group Leader, Door Creek Church, DeForest

• 2010 - 2020, Den Leader & Assistant Scoutmaster, Boy Scout Troop 155 & Pack 155

• 2013, InBusiness Magazine 40 under 40

• 2013 & 2010, Madison Area Builders Association (MABA) President

• 2011, Professional Builder Magazine & Professional Remodeler Magazine, 40 under 40

• 2010, MABA Builder of the Year

• 2009, WBA Rising Star

• 2008 - 2014, MABA Board of Directors

• 2007, MABA President's Award for creating the Green Built Home Makeover

• 2006, WBA Remodelers Council, Member of the Year

• 2002 - 2007, DeForest Village Board

• 2006 - 2021, DeForest Board of Review

• 2007 - 2021, DeForest Board of Zoning Appeals

• 2002 - 2016, Youth Group Leader and Sunday School Teacher, Lord of Love Lutheran Church

If you want to grab coffee, lunch, or drinks with me, just click here to book a time. I’d also love to have you connect to me on LinkedIn. Thanks for reading!

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