I'm the specialist for first homes, and your first home is my favorite assignment yet.

Northwest Indiana isn't just where I sell real estate. It's where my story began.

I grew up in Schererville and graduated from Lake Central, but some of my most important lessons were learned at our family's flower and gift shop, Brumm's Bloomin Barn in Highland. My mom and dad founded the business in 1972, and together with our family and an incredible staff, they operated it for more than 53 years.

I grew up in that business, and I truly learned it from the bottom up. I learned about personal service and attention to detail, marketing and merchandising, taking care of customers—and yes, even cleaning the toilets. No job was beneath anyone when it came to taking care of the business and the people who supported us.

But what stayed with me most were the relationships.

We didn't just sell flowers. We journeyed through life with our customers. We created their wedding bouquets, helped celebrate their baby showers, made flowers for their daughters' proms, and were trusted to help honor their parents when they passed away. Then, before we knew it, we were serving the next generation. Some families stayed with us for more than three generations, and many of those customers became like family to us.

That experience shaped the way I approach real estate today.

I've lived in Crown Point, moved back to Schererville, and now call Lowell home. I've experienced different Northwest Indiana communities at different stages of my own life, and the genuine people and relationships I've built here are a huge part of why I can't imagine calling anywhere else home.

In some ways, I feel like I'm still doing what I grew up doing—just in a different way.

At Brumm's Bloomin Barn, I helped families celebrate the important moments in their lives with flowers. Today, I help families find the homes where those moments and memories will happen.

A first home. Bringing a baby home. Birthday parties in the backyard. Proms and graduation pictures on the front porch. Holidays around the kitchen table. And eventually, sometimes, helping that same family move into their next chapter.

That's what home means to me, and it's why real estate has never felt like it's simply about selling houses. It's about people, relationships, community, and being trusted to be there for some of life's biggest moments.