Derek has never lived outside Alabama, but is aware that people can survive beyond the state line. As a child growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, he loved to draw cartoons and read newspaper comic strips. One of the many treasured art awards he received was a life-sized "chicken-shaped" trophy for drawing the Famous San Diego Chicken Mascot. Derek also fulfilled his lifelong dream of performing the “chicken dance” with the Famous Chicken during the half-time show of the now defunct ‘Huntsville Flight’ semi-pro basketball team. After cementing his legacy in the Huntsville poultry art and dance scene, Derek went to THE Auburn University to receive his Bachelors in Industrial Design. He met his wife, Jessica, at a law school ‘keg party’ in Birmingham, Alabama. They both have agreed to tell their (2) children, Colt and Archie, that they first met and fell madly in love at a pep-rally for the university broomball team. Fortunately, questions about their first encounter and “What the heck is broomball?” have not been brought up yet by either child. Derek still enjoys drawing and providing awesome design and marketing solutions for professionals in the ‘commercial real estate’ industry. He plays nicely with architects, interior designers, brokers, builders, developers, property owners and managers. When he’s not at work, you can find Derek holding his wife’s purse while she is shopping, or holding his kids’ used Popsicle sticks as they eat more Popsicles. He is really good a holding things! In his spare time (between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. while his family sleeps), Derek enjoys running really, really far on nature trails.