I am often asked where the name Hunsicker originated.  It’s uncommon.  It doesn’t conjure any specific image.  It’s mysterious. And candidly, that’s part of what I liked about it. The potential energy.

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But more than that, just like the inspiration for starting our company, the name Hunsicker is also deeply personal.

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I was fortunate to grow up in a family of business owners and entrepreneurs. My great-grandfather started a homebuilding business in 1928. My grandfather (who I called Pop Pop) took the homebuilding business over when his dad retired. Pop Pop subsequently launched a land development company, a general contracting business, an excavation business, a building supply retailer, and a property management company. (This ignores his foray into peacock farming which is a story for another occasion.) My dad ultimately took over most of these companies and continues to grow them today, along with building others.  

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It was a lot to grow up with, but of course, it was my normal, so I didn’t think to question it. It meant that I grew up steeped in business. I went to school like everyone else, but the grades I earned were far less important to my dad and grandfather than what I was learning about business and the value of hard work.

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Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were dominated by conversations about business and the workday ahead. It wasn’t that we didn’t have other things to talk about, but rather, this is what they loved. As a teenager, these conversations had me oscillating between curiosity and annoyance. I wanted to make my family proud, and at the same time, I wanted to do what teenagers do. It wasn’t until later in life that I realized the compounded interest these conversations and experiences would return. 

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With all my first-hand experience in the construction industry, by the time I went to college, the most advanced equipment I used was a digging iron. My family and their businesses immersed me in an environment of hard work. But it also made me feel at ease working with individuals from all walks of life. With this intentional investment in my upbringing, I grew up to appreciate differing perspectives on life, work, family, and money and simultaneously recognize my privilege.  

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As an adult, meanwhile, with the opportunity to sit and listen in conference rooms, I have also witnessed the delicate balance business owners manage in the decisions they are required to make: pay, benefits, hiring, firing, layoffs, expansion, and contraction.

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At nearly forty-five, I look back on my youth differently than I did as a teenager. I had front-row seats to business conversations, decisions, and strategies that many never experience, especially at such a young age. My early business literacy and experiences ultimately laid the foundation of my thinking and approach to building successful ventures.

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For most of my youth, our family would meet at my grandfather’s house for holidays and celebratory meals. As the de facto patriarch of our family, we looked up to him and listened to his guidance. After Pop Pop passed away in 2016, my dad moved into the same home. That home was the center of so much influence and remains so today, and it resides on a street named Hunsicker. 

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By carrying this name forward, I hope to have grafted the same spirit of entrepreneurialism and community commitment that I absorbed in my youth into Hunsicker’s work today. In this way, the lessons of that treasured place will continue to bear fruit through the communal gains of the businesses we co-found.

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