Meet the Team

Billy was raised in Michigan and started in the building & construction industry right out of high school. He first moved down to FL in 1999 to get out of the severe cold, stayed until Charlie hit in 2004 where he moved to TN where he continued doing construction. After 12 years Billy moved back to FL in 2016. He has 5 ‘kids’, ranging in the ages of 3 to 18, and when he’s not working he loves hanging out with is family, and getting out fishing or onto a local golf course.

Rich grew up in New Hampshire where at a young age, like many of our technicians, started working with tile, mixing mud, and installing mosaics. He and his family moved down to Florida in 2022 where he has been installing tile since he arrived. Rich has proven over and over again how talented he is as one of our outstanding tile setters. When he’s not at work, Rich is spending time with his wife and kids, concentrating on his health & fitness regime, doing woodworking projects with his eldest daughter, going to gun ranges and reading.

Oh Walter, where do we start?!?  It all began in the late 1800’s when Walter (not his real name, but no one knows how to say his real name so he’s “Walter”) was born to a young peasant girl in an old barn in Poland.  As a young child living on the streets of Warsaw, Walter learned the construction trade by going from jobsite to jobsite lending a hand to anyone willing to trade him cheese for his help.

Finally in 1979 he boarded the Mayflower, I mean a cargo ship as a castaway where he ended up in New Jersey.  Speaking only Polish and Russian, Walter got a job as a carpenter building all sorts of structures for Eastern Block families who knew no English.  A beautiful lady eventually swept him off his feet and bore him 2 wonderful children.  Walter has been working with Tropic four days a week for a few years, taking Fridays off to go on a 2-day fishing expedition with 40 others in the middle of the Gulf.

When he’s not fishing, you can usually find Walter arguing in Russian with Raphael over the correct way of doing remodeling, a site and sounds all of our clients have come to enjoy!

 Growing up in New Jersey, Corey learned the tile trade at a young age and has spent the last 15 years mastering tile setting.  He is meticulous and even OCD when doing shower walls, backsplash and flooring which is a really good thing in the final outcome!  

Corey moved with his family to Florida in 2004 where he worked as a professional tile setter for another remodeling company before accepting a position with Tropic Renovations.   When Corey isn’t setting tile, he is hanging out and spending quality time with his beautiful wife and 3 wonderful kids.

Our British connection, Mick was born in rural Oxfordshire, UK.  He served in the British Army and 14 years as a reserve in the Royal Air Force.

Mick and his really cool accent came to the States in 2003 where he lived in Santa Fe, NM. for 3 years and then moved to Colorado for 5 years where he did carpentry, building decks, installing cabinets, etc.  In 2011 Mick moved to sunny Sarasota where he resides with his wife.  Jeff and Mick met a few years back while Tropic Renovations was remodeling all the hotel rooms at the Kon Tiki on Venice island where Mick was owner’s personal lead carpenter.

Fortunately for us he accepted our invitation to come work with an entire team of remodeling professionals.  Even though Mick is in his 70’s, he works like a 30-year-old British ‘beast’!

Konstantin was born in Ukraine, who at a very young age moved to the U.S. with his parents where he grew up in the beautiful parts of northern California.

It was there that Konstantin got the “fixer/builder” bug so right out of high school he went to work for remodeling companies.  He moved to Florida just a few years ago to get out of the “crazyness” of CA and absolutely loves it being in the quiet town of North Port.  Konstantin is married with kids ranging from the ages of 2-18.  when he isn’t working, he’s spending time with his family, or lifting weights at the local gym where he works out every morning.

Tropic Renovations is blessed to have Konstantin with all the years of experience he brings and his outstanding hard work ethics!

Wally grew up in Newark, Ohio where he learned at a very young age the importance of hard work.  After graduation, he joined the United States Miliary, where he served.

On his return home, Wally fine-tuned his tile setting skills and took on many years of painstaking shower, tub, and flooring projects.  He has 2 biological children and 5 bonus children with his bride who he spends every moment he can outside of work.

You will surely appreciate Wally’s outstanding skills especially if he is tiling your tub or shower, as he is a true tile setting master, as we are blessed to have 3 tile tech masters!

Matt was born and raised in Stafford, VA where he began learning at a young age how to work professionally with his hands on all sorts of engines and in the construction industry.  He has 3 wonderful children and an awesome wife (as he describes) who he enjoys spending time with when he isn’t at work.  When he does get an extra moment, he enjoys riding dirt bikes, 4 wheelers, drag racing, and casting his fishing pole he keeps in his vehicle into the waters.  

When asked where he would go for 2 weeks on an all-expense paid vacation, Matt says he would take his family to the mountains of Utah to ride snowmobiles.  Matt and his hard-working ethics has been a great addition to Team Tropic!

Austin is our youngest team member at Tropic Renovations.  We are happy he chose to come to work with us after taking carpentry and remodeling classes and getting a degree in this field from a local college.  Currently, Austin lives at home and is saving every penny to someday move out and get his own place.  He has been paired with one of our supervisors and renovations expert, Damian, where he is learning numerous hands-on skills every single day.  

Austin is rather shy and quiet, but don’t let that keep you from getting to know this fine young man. 

Mike was born in Germany, and moved to New Jersey with his family at 4 years old where he lived till he was 9. After 5 years of dealing with the snow and bustle of Jersey, his family headed south to Florida where he has lived ever since.  Mike has been mastering the arts of drywall finishing for the past 28 years since he started working the ‘mud’ in 1994.

Mike not only is a master at all facets of drywall, but lends a helpful hand at painting, and many other tasks of remodeling.  Outside of work hours, Mike loves spending time with his 3 daughters, 2 grandchildren, reading Scripture in the Bible, and playing guitar.

Our clients enjoy talking about the Bible and God with Mike as he is quite the Biblical intellect, which every remodeling crew should have!

When it comes to tile setting whether it’s in an elaborate bathroom shower or flooring throughout, “Gru” has the magic touch!  

As a lad and young man, Raphael grew up in Ukraine, where much of his relatives still live today.  He obviously speaks fluent Russian and English.  “Gru” was taught at a very young age, like many of our technicians, to do work it needs to be done with precision, otherwise it shouldn’t be done at all.  A man of many professional skills!

Our master carpenter was born in Poland in 1974 near a beautiful lake.  In 1993, at the age of 19 Rafal moved to the US state of New Jersey where for 28 years he owned and operated his own home construction company.

In 2021 he moved his family to sunny Florida with his wife transferring in her occupation.  When Rafal isn’t loving his job while working with his hands, he is probably at home hanging out with his wonderful wife and 2 great kids.

Team Tropic is blessed to have Rafal’s fine carpentry skills and dedicated integrity!

Born & raised near Milwaukee, WI. Damian proudly served six years in the military as a combat skills instructor and drill sergeant.

After his military service, he worked for the TLC Home Improvement Company where he remodeled residential homes and condos for nearly six years till he moved to St. Paul, MN where he built homes as the lead carpenter of Ludden Construction.  Damian is proficient in all aspects of remodeling and elegant renovations from rough-in to finish .

His other skills and expertise is landscaping, decks, and additions.  When he’s not doing home renovations, Damian loves to cook where he also holds a degree in Culinary Arts and a license with ServSafe foodservice.  We call him “Sergeant Chef” of Team Tropic!  Damian has been with Team Tropic the longest than anyone else.

Growing up in Minnesota as an English teacher’s daughter, Dori learned at a very young age the importance of dotting all the “i’s” and crossing every “t” across all fields of life, especially in the professional world of business.

Over the years, Dori has managed numerous employees and perfected the skill of customer relations while on staff with both private and state run offices. Hers is the sweet voice of Team Tropic, so when you call you will hopefully be speaking with DoriLynn! (she really is this sweet!!, I can write that cuz I’m beyond blessed to be married to her…..)

During the off hours of work, Dori enjoys spending time with her husband, and their two little puppy dogs, Alex and Casey.

Jeff was born & raised in MinneSNOWta on a farm where he learned at a very young age what hard work, dedication to detail, and integrity in workmanship really means. After years in sales, Jeff was called into ministry, went to seminary where he received a masters in Christian Education with an emphasis in Youth & Family Ministry. Raising his two sons, Jacob and Tyler, as pastor kids going on all the mission trips, bible camps, and outreach activities was surely a highlight for Jeff in his younger years. During these 16 years, Jeff also worked for Featherstone Construction where he learned advanced skills and experience in residential renovations.

Jeff and Dori moved to FL in 2012 to enjoy a tropical lifestyle away from all the cold, sleet, grey skies and cold yucky weather. A few years later Jeff started Tropic Renovations, got his FL State contractor’s license, and has been pursuing 5-Star-Rated remodeling projects ever since. When Jeff isn’t on the road meeting with clients or delivering supplies for his crews, he is typically at home drafting estimates. He enjoys golfing, but admits once a month on the golf course isn’t enough and looks forward to the day when he can schedule golf twice a month!

Jeff’s goal for Tropic is to deliver pure excellence!!