Dennis and his wife Judy moved to Fountain Hills in December of 1996. He was born and raised in northwest Oklahoma where his father was a general contractor. Starting at the age of four he spent most of his free time learning the construction trade. His proudest accomplishment to date happened during the summer he turned 16 when he hired two high school buddies and they built a 1200-square-foot home with a single-car garage that is still standing today.

He attended Northwestern Oklahoma State University and has led a lifetime of building. He has built on three continents and in 27 states. Projects have included a church in Argentina, a palace in Saudi Arabia, specialty work at a nuclear bomb assembly plant, shopping center, local churches and countless homes.

In 1999 he opened Echelon Fine Homebuilders, spent eight years on the Planning and Zoning Commission and, following that, served on the Town Council for 12 years. He’s proud of the fact that the building permit process was streamlined during his tenure and that many permanent projects were accomplished including the Centennial Circle, the Avenue’s linear park, Community Garden, the Avenue roundabout and designating Fountain Hills as a Dark Sky Community.