Dean Adams Named one of Northern Michigan's 40 Under 40

SEPTEMBER 2010 – Dean Adams, 29, owner of Bay Area Contracting, has been named one of the Traverse City Business News 40 Under 40, a prestigious list of young business and government leaders from the Grand Traverse area.

The list, which is compiled annually, features 40 influential individuals who live and work in the Grand Traverse region. This is the first year Adams has made the list, but it’s not the first award he’s won this year. In May, Adams was recognized as the Distinguished Builder of the Year – a peer recognition award – from the Home Builder’s Association of the Grand Traverse Area. Later in the summer he won the People’s Choice award and seven first place awards for his 2010 Parade of Homes Entry. It was the third year that Adams’ Parade of Home entry received the People’s Choice award.

Adams became an entrepreneur early in life, establishing Adams’ Lawn Care in high school and operating the business through college. He comes from a family of entrepreneurs: his father, grandfather and father-in-law are all business owners. “They’ve inspired me to take the risks I’ve taken,” he says. He also credits Ted Kunnath, owner of TK builders for mentoring him in as a builder and teaching him how to be a general contractor.

Adams is a northern Michigan native who began working in the building industry as a framer in 1998. He studied engineering at Grand Valley State University. After moving back to Traverse City he and his wife Tricia founded Bay Area Contracting in 2007. Tricia Adams, a neonatal nurse at Munson Hospital, is involved with marketing and home design for Bay Area Contracting.