MHS Alum Done Good
Submitted by Rich Binsacca
Hello!
As an MHS alum ('83), I wanted to share with you a very small-world experience I shared recently with another alum, Chris Schell ('92).
As the editorial director of Pro Builder, a national B2B media brand for the U.S. housing industry, I have the privilege of selecting our annual Builder of the Year, which we profile in our November/December issue.
This year, I selected Schell Brothers, a home builder based in Rehoboth Beach, Del., a company started in 2003 by Chris Schell with his identical twin brother (and also a 1992 MHS alum), Preston.
While I was there to interview Chris and other members of the leadership team for the article, he and I were talking about the baseball teams we rooted for. I mentioned I was an Oakland A's fan as a kid because it was my "hometown" team, and Chris asked me where I grew up. I said "Orinda" and his eyes lit up. "Me, too!" he said, then asked what high school I went to. When I told him Miramonte, his mouth dropped in disbelief.
At first, he thought I was joking with him, that I'd researched where he was from and was (for some reason) claiming I was from there, as well. When he realized I was serious, we had a great laugh but also were stunned how two MHS grads would find themselves together in that situation, about as far away from Orinda as you can get.
What's even better is that Chris' company is rooted in the goal of delivering and achieving happiness to its home buyers, partners, vendors, and employees—a mission that Chris initiated when he and Preston founded the company and has cultivated into a sincere and inspiring business model. Yes, Schell Brothers is successful by common business metrics—it is the largest home builder in its market and the most profitable—but all that is secondary to "Building Happiness," and my staff and I are proud to profile the company in our next issue.
Anyway, we took a photo together (with one of my other editors, James McClister, who joined me for the interviews), which I have attached for you (L-R: James; Chris, holding the Builder of the Year "trophy;" and me).
I hope this brings you some happiness, too, knowing that an alum has done quite well for himself far away from the halls of MHS ... and that another one is a journalist 😉.
Thanks, Happy Friday, and Go Mats!
Rich
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