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.

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.

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 assists with marketing for the company. 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!).

Susan Vincent

Susan utilizes her strengths in hospitality by having a sense of serving others.  Helping foster connections between those that have a need with solutions, is what drives her.  Susan relishes the Pennings & Sons small family environment while being able to leverage her 20+ years of experience in administration & finance.  “I enjoy being a part of a team, sharing in the challenges & successes with the people I work with”.

Hobbies/Interests: Time with family & friends, cooking, gardening, kayaking, bowling, golfing, and studying God’s word.

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

Nate relies on listening skills and his experience as a previous business owner, estimator, & a crew member to help his clients’ ideas and dreams become a reality. Seeing these projects come to fruition while building relationships is what Nate enjoys most about working at Pennings & Sons.

Hobbies/Interests: Snowboarding, spending time with kids & grandkids, boating, and traveling. I love Mountain Dew!

Kristina Carpenter

The excitement on the faces of homeowners when they are able to see a first glimpse of their Dream Home coming together is what Kristina enjoys most about being a member of the Pennings & Sons team. Kristina uses her communication skills to keep her clients up to speed on all aspects of a particular project. She loves working as part of a team that all have a commitment to quality.

Hobbies/Interests: My favorite food is absolutely anything I didn’t have to cook (I married a Chef because someone has to feed me!) I flip used furniture for fun and gift a lot of it to family and friends. I also love spending time with my husband, son and whole family

Jason Lewis

Jason feels like he can relate with what his clients want, because it is exactly what he would want too!  Quick and thoughtful communication that helps take their vision & make it a reality.  Jason says “Working in a positive environment with team members that have a strong commitment to providing the best services” is what brings him the greatest enjoyment about working at Pennings & Sons.

Hobbies/Interests:  Watching hockey (Go Redwings!), nature hikes, walking my dog (Pavel).  I enjoy spending time with family, friends, and of course my Grandson!

Ryan Thomas

Making a homeowner’s vison a reality is what Ryan enjoys the most with the building process. His clients appreciate his ability to communicate and simplify the renovation process through constructive dialog.  “I always try to put myself in my client’s shoes, to see the project as they do.  This helps me deliver the best possible experience to meet homeowner’s expectations.”

Hobbies/Interests:  Spending time with my two dogs & playing golf and ice hockey.  I also enjoy Motorcycles, Dogs, and Italian food!

Krystle Pelaez

Krystle is our Selections Coordinator. She assists her clients find all the aspects that personalize the remodeling and building process, from cabinets & flooring to faucets and fixtures. It is like putting a puzzle together, which is her favorite part of the building process. Krystle prides her skill of being able to read people well with helping each homeowner achieve their goals.

Hobbies/Interests: Spending time with family, playing board games, drawing, and redesigning my home! Favorite foods are tacos, sushi, and potatoes.

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.

Ben Beardsley

Ben enjoys the challenge & variety of his work when taking a newly created design to his drafting table. This is where our beautiful designs become building specifications. He leverages his experience to accomplish the goal of helping figure out ways to build what people want. Ben’s ability to learn and add to his knowledge base helps achieve his goals.

Hobbies/Interests: Reading, writing, video games, computers, building stuff, cooking, & drawing.

Micah Ransler

Micah loves what he does and enjoys the positive and friendly environment at Pennings & Sons. The framing stage of a new home is Micah’s favorite aspect of the building process.  His greatest strength is his attention to detail with a prideful sense of maintaining a professional and friendly mindset with all his clients.

Hobbies/Interests:  Listening to music, especially the Christian rock band “Skillet”.  Writing music & playing the drums.  Favorite food is pasta!

Kent A Kooistra

Kent is our estimator, where accuracy counts. His ability to be as precise as possible helps reduce the elements of surprise that naturally come up on home builds and remodels.  One aspect that has been particularly rewarding is the relationships he is developing with our subcontractors and suppliers. Another benefit Kent enjoys about being a part of the Pennings team, is that his son KJ is our electrical apprentice.

Hobbies/Interests: Friday night is pizza night at home; it’s a big mess with an incredible outcome! I am especially fond of my family – particularly my wife!  I enjoy Fishing, Fishing, and Fishing & doing maintenance, tinkering, & gardening on my 120+ year old farmstead.

Natalie Smallcombe

Steve Moxley

Steve’s passion for Marketing was formed in college while attending Western Michigan University. The supportive and friendly environment is what he cherishes most about being part of the Pennings team. His favorite part of the our building process is the design presentation.

Hobbies/Interests: Hanging out with friends & family,  Watching daughter swim competitively, and eating good food!

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 five wonderful daughters and son, fishing, eating blueberries.

Shawn Johnson

Shawn Johnson
Shawn makes sure that a client’s vision becomes a reality during the selection process. “I am fortunate enough to see dreams become a reality In Real Time!” His encouragement and optimism skills are not only appreciated by his clients, but also the entire company working alongside him. It is no surprise that the people Shawn works with & positive environment is what he enjoys the most about working at Pennings & Sons.

Hobbies/Interests: Family is my priority, cooking. I love sports, coaching kids sports & refereeing basketball games.

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.

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

Adam Slater

Jose Cazares-Rojas

Colin Smallcombe

Randall Kamphuis

Randy’s role with Pennings & Sons began in 2019, after retiring from a previous career.  He has known the Pennings family for years, and shares their same core values. He uses his organizational skills as Shop Manager by keeping needed supplies & inventory stocked, and with keeping our facility looking clean and fresh.

Hobbies/Interests:  Spending time with family, working outside on my property, walking my trails, watching sports.

Nathaniel Trexler

Nathaniel combines his skill of decking with his love for putting things together for his work.  Learning new skills, the friendly people, and great work environment are what he enjoys most here at Pennings & Sons.  I pride myself at trying my best at everything I do!

Hobbies/Interests:  Spending time with family & friends. Writing, reading, playing sports, playing music.  Favorite Things include: Baseball, softball, football, basketball, studying weather, hamburgers, pizza, potato salad.

Chad Vander Meeden

KJ Kooistra

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. Kevin 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

David Blasy

Chad Ross

Chad really enjoys being a part of the building process. Starting with the demolition to seeing the project completed of the homeowner’s vision.  Chad’s troubleshooting ability to quickly address issues is a big benefit to keeping his projects on time.  The family atmosphere & the variety of work from day to day are what brings Chad is greatest satisfaction from Pennings & Sons and Pennings Handyman.

Hobbies/Interests:  Hunting, fishing, camping, spending up north, ordering pizza (too many times every week), & attending U of M football games, Go Blue!  I also enjoy playing fetch with my dogs, Tucker and Cooper.