I understand you’re all about family life these days?

Absolutely! My fiancée, Kayley, and I have a baby girl, Maisee Gwenn, who is not quite one year old. She started crawling a few months ago and is wide open! She keeps us on our toes, and watching her grow is amazing. We’re getting married in May at The Spillway on Millpond Road, and doing research now on honeymoon cruises, but I know an hour and a half after we leave, Kayley will be missing Maisee and wondering what Maverick is doing. He’s our rescue Yorkie mix that she just had to have and is the coolest little fella! He has so much energy and is very entertaining.

What are some family traditions you like to hold on to?

My daddy and I like to go fishing and then make a meal for the family. He likes to season the catfish, bluegill or whatever we’ve caught with a lot of salt and pepper, they fry them in a cast iron skillet. It’s delicious, but it’s what goes with it that makes it really tasty. We make a slaw with a secret homemade recipe and serve it over rice.

We used to hunt a lot when I was growing up, too, and when Maisee gets old enough, I want to teach her to hunt and fish, like my daddy did for us. I’m thinking that 5 or 6 years old will be a good time to start, if I can get Kayley to agree!

What are some things you do just for you to relax?

I started woodworking in high school, and with practice got good at it. I recently built us a coffee bar that looks great and is very useful. I’ve made dining room tables, chopping blocks — I enjoy taking nothing and turning it into something. I put my headphones on and get into it. It clears my mind.

One of our favorite things to do is going to West Jefferson in the mountains, we just love it. And on our list is going to Montana and Wyoming, to see Yellowstone National Park and explore
the West.