Our Staff

Bruce Dean

While Bruce is officially the finance manager, he is responsible for so much more than just the finances. He handles a lot of the HR responsibilities, and also plays a big part in the IT department as well. Bruce enjoys the give and take, learning and teaching that takes place. He excels with the daily office operations and processes and keeps an eagle eye on all the expenses. To ensure good customer and subcontractor relationships are maintained, he strives for accurate and timely communication.

Hobbies/Interests: Playing with his grandchildren, working in his yard, and fishing.

Dan Mejeur

Dan handles the monthly billing procedures – reviewing each job and ensuring that our clients are properly invoiced for work that is completed each month. He also handles most of the marketing for Pennings & Sons. A friendly smile and willingness to go above and beyond to help a customer is one of Dan’s key attributes.

Hobbies/Interests: Spending time with his wife and kids, playing golf, and watching sports (especially U of M!).

Karen Smallcombe

Karen plays a vital role in the office – she handles all of the phone calls and is the first point of contact with our clients! She loves being a part of that very first discussion about a potential project. Being solution-oriented and having a desire to provide quality customer service allow her to excel in her role. When asked why she enjoys working at Pennings & Sons, Karen said she believes in the company’s core values and processes, and she enjoys the people she gets to work with!

Hobbies/Interests: Traveling, skiing, house projects, and spending time with kids and grandkids.

Dena LaFond

Dena joined Pennings & Sons to take on a key role as the Human Resources Manager. She helps keep the administrative side of the company moving by handling all of the HR responsibilities – and is always willing to lend a helping hand wherever else it may be needed! Dena enjoys the amazing group of co-workers that she gets to work with and really appreciates being a part of well-functioning team.

Hobbies/Interests: Reading, traveling, spending time with her daughter, and watching the Pittsburgh Steelers!

Susan Vincent

Brian Pennings

One of the original “sons”, Brian began working with his dad in the mid-1970s. Creating great solutions leaves Brian little time to be bored! With the job constantly challenging and the learning never stopping, Brian feels fortunate to be able to constantly use all the skills he has. He relishes the design part of the job, spends time with customers helping them set realistic expectations, and is then committed to meeting those expectations.

Hobbies/Interests: Kayaking, playing the drums, touring historic homes

Nate Smallcombe

Kristina Carpenter

Don Glas

Jason Lewis

Tami Caperton

Tami is Brian & Sue’s daughter, and as such says she has worked in the family business since she was old enough to turn on the computer. She is a critical part of the design team and gets a lot of satisfaction showing clients what their finished project will look like. Using computer capabilities to produce 3D imaging helps to ensure the customer can visualize their design and helps prevent an unexpected surprise ending. Although she lives in Texas, Tami regularly meets with clients and even “attends” meetings via Skype. For Tami the job is all about family, she loves that she can mix work with family which helps her stay connected.

Hobbies/Interests: Vacationing with her family, showing her kids new places and experiencing new things, and enjoying a good piece of chocolate cake.

Brian Rumsey

Brian has had a long lasting relationship with Pennings & Sons. When his previous company, Rumsey Builders, was still in business, they worked alongside Pennings & Sons on several projects throughout the years. The Rumsey team joined the Pennings & Sons team and Brian (along with the others) was a terrific fit right from the start. He currently puts his talents to use as a construction drafter- meaning he helps with the design aspect of many of our projects. He also does some estimating as well. Brian is passionate about what he does and is always willing to help out however he can.

Hobbies/Interests: Volunteering with the Van Buren Youth Fair, spending time with his wife and family, collecting model trains & viewing life size trains.

Micah Ransler

Natalie Smallcombe

Scott Pennings

As the grandson of the original founder, Scott has worked in the family business for pretty much as long as he can remember. Don’t be fooled by his quiet demeanor, it simply means he is a good listener and deep thinker, both of which make him a great production manager. Having gained practical experience from a variety of roles in the past, Scott is a good problem-solver and nothing is more satisfying to him than when a project finishes strong. Scott’s major responsibilities are to ensure projects run smoothly, carefully orchestrate schedules, and effectively manage expectations of customers, sub-contractors, and work crews.

Hobbies/Interests: Spending time with his wife, playing with his four wonderful daughters, fishing, eating blueberries.

Shawn Johnson

Marty Benthin

Marty really enjoys the professional environment that Pennings & Sons provides. He has found his niche in the Handyman division where there seems to be something different to do every day. With a variety of problems to solve, Marty never gets tired of learning new skill sets and putting them to use. Marty is in charge of setting and coordinating project schedules, ordering supplies in a timely matter, and being the go between for the client and subcontractor. Marty believes upfront and continuous communication is key to ensure that each project runs smoothly and is completed on time.

Hobbies/Interests: Traveling up North, cutting firewood, and fly fishing.

Gail Smoker

Brad Pennings

Brad has been in the family business for over 43 years and has served in just about every capacity. Nothing pleases Brad more than a well completed project that exceeds the client’s expectations! He enjoys all aspects of the remodeling process; from the demolition which provides a fresh template, to the fine trim work that provides a ‘WOW!’ factor. It’s all in the details and Brad enjoys the detail work, especially beautiful stair railings that he helps create.

Hobbies/Interests: Relaxing & vacationing with his family, fishing, and riding his wave runner.

Nate Kamphuis

In the 15+ years that he has worked for Pennings and Sons, Nate has really enjoyed the high quality of workmanship and the reputation that comes with that workmanship. He finds fulfillment when clients are happy with the completion of a job. To ensure client satisfaction, Nate leads his crew efficiently and is good at listening and responding to the client’s needs. Whether at work or home you won’t find Nate wasting precious time. Don’t be surprised to see Nate on the job site bright and early, he often enjoys beginning work early in the morning, even before the sun rises!

Hobbies/Interests: Spending time with his family, working on his own home improvement projects.

Mark Haupert

Mark came to Pennings & Sons with a lot of building experience. He enjoys the design aspect and finishing process of the building process. Mark focuses on customer relations and he works hard to share in the customer’s dreams. He strives to do quality work with a flair, and you can tell he definitely takes Pennings “Building Character Into Homes” motto seriously!

Hobbies/Interests: Traveling, running, good steak and wine.

KJ Kooistra

Paul Bilodeau

Dan Doorn

Dan loves the camaraderie he has established with his co-workers whom he now considers to be some of his closest friends. Dan started off as a general laborer and has since acquired the skill sets necessary for both framing and roofing. Many times you will see Dan up on the roof, as he has become the go-to supervisor for roofing jobs. Nothing brings him more satisfaction than knowing a client is happy with the completed job.

Hobbies/Interests: Camping, cold beer & pizza, coaching sports, and volunteering with his church’s annual mission trips.

Justin Bos

Justin very much enjoys the challenge of custom remodels and his skill set as a framer often allows him to be in on the start of the remodel. During the few years that he has been with Pennings & Sons, Justin has demonstrated his ability to learn quickly and is always picking up new skills on the job. Everyone who works alongside Justin say his positive attitude and willingness to help where needed make him a pleasure to be around.

Hobbies/Interests: Being outdoors, fishing, and camping.

Lee Haefner

James Grisnich

Todd Gailhouse

Michael Lara-Sanchez

Adam Slater

Jose Cazares-Rojas

Colin Smallcombe

Chad Vander Meeden

Arturo (Carlos) Bautista

Kevin Grand

The appeal of a small, family-owned business and dedication to quality are the two main reasons Kevin has been with Pennings & Sons for over 15 years. Kevin is a detail man. As a job supervisor, he helped both crew members and customers work their way through the remodel process. He exceled at trim work and always enjoyed seeing an idea ‘come to life.’ Kevin then spent some time as a project estimator, putting together detailed proposals for our clients, and now currently works in the Handyman division as a Project Specialist, taking on all sorts of projects.

Hobbies/Interests: Camping with his family, playing with his children, and eating seafood.

David Lilac

Rick Mancini

With a vast array of knowledge and a knack for problem solving, Rick has been a perfect fit in the Handyman division. Always up to the task, Rick can handle any type of project you throw at him – he thoroughly enjoys the new challenge that each day brings. Client satisfaction is very important to Rick and he makes sure to maintain clear and constant communication with clients and ensures the end product exceeds their expectations. Although all phases of the building process appeal to Rick, he especially enjoys working out details and constantly learning new things from co-workers.

Hobbies/Interests: Spending time with family, running, biking, snowmobiling (winter is the best season!).

David Blasy