That’s how much of the mail addressed to CUSTOM HOME begins. Dennis Dixon, who writes our “From the Trenches” column, is a great story teller, and after nearly a quarter century in the home building business, he’s collected plenty of stories. Dennis’ stories can be dramatic, suspenseful, or humorous, and always hit home.
None of Dennis’ columns has elicited a response as strong as did “Full Disclosure” in the November/December 2007 issue. It dealt with “referral fees”—or what some of you called kickbacks—for Realtors and other professionals in the custom building chain. One builder, Gary A. Larson of Larson Construction, said he read the story three times, and was really bothered by the subtitle: “Local customs can look shady to uninformed clients.” “LOOK shady!!” he wrote. “… That level of bill padding, payoffs, kickback arrangements, and over billing should be prosecuted.” (To set the record straight, Dennis did not write the subtitle, we did, and we should have been more precise.)
Many readers see themselves in Dennis’ stories. Greg Tabert of Integrity Homes could really relate to “Over Budget” (September/October 2007). “This is exactly what I’m up against on every home I bid: competitors and architects not knowing what they are talking about.” Christy George-Elick of Crossroads Construction Co. thought “Language Lesson” (January/February 2007) must be about her company. Like the builder in Dennis’ story, Crossroads was having a hard time extracting the last payment from a client who kept coming up with niggling items like electrical outlets that differed in height by 1/16 inch. One of my favorite Dennis stories was “Combustible Combination” (May/June 2007) about the hazards of carelessly handling potentially combustible materials. Dana Kierstead Jr. of GLMG General Contractors thought it was a great story, too. He had a similar experience when two days in a row a crystal glass the owner had left on a window-sill ignited newspapers on the unfinished kitchen floor. “The simplest things can turn bad if we are not always aware of our surroundings,” Kierstead wrote.
Dennis is as generous with his building business knowledge and experience as he is entertaining and informative. His responses to reader questions and comments often include specific advice and always offer encouragement. As he said in a sign-off to one reader: “My goal is to help, educate, and assist.” Dennis not only has the admiration and affection of CUSTOM HOME’s readers and staff, but his work has also been recognized by the magazine publishing industry. His “From the Trenches” column was honored with the 2007 Gold Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award. I am honored that he is part of this magazine and our Web site, and look forward to seeing more messages from you that begin with “Dear Dennis.”
