Our Staff - Acheson Builders Acheson Builders

Jim Acheson, President

Jim Acheson, the founder and owner of Acheson Builders, is highly regarded for his craftsmanship and his eye for design. While you may sometimes see him wearing a “cowboy” hat, he’s really the son of a jeweler (read: extremely meticulous), a well educated, highly disciplined, very gifted designer and builder with a passion for excellence in everything he does. He cares about the fine details, – such as how the placement of windows will light an area, versus how they will function for exterior design or viewing. On many occasions he has consulted with homeowners to help solve construction problems other builders have unknowingly created.

When he’s not on the job site, Jim is a skiing enthusiast, and general outdoorsy kind of guy. When he does find himself indoors he loves to read, especially philosophy and theology. Keeping up with the changing political landscape of our country has always been of importance to him; he believes it’s crucial to be active in communicating with our politicians regarding important issues. He also feels it is important to serve in the community for those who are underprivileged. You’ll frequently find him at Hope Clinic, serving meals to the needy.

Marilyn Acheson, Vice President

With multiple roles, Marilyn has assisted in the company since marrying Jim in 1977. She has done everything from bookkeeping to phone handling, to IT management, HR management, Marketing, Insurance, Accounting, and general business management. She has training as an artist, and likes to do renderings for projects when needed. She has also been instrumental in setting up the company’s logo (recently re-branded) and designing marketing materials. Currently she serves as CFO, and assists Jim Acheson in project management as well.

Ben Stanley, Lead Carpenter

Ben started with Acheson Builders as a 17 year old kid. He was strong and fit, but didn’t know much about construction. He started out working with Jim Acheson as a helper, when Jim was still doing carpentry in the field. Jim taught him, year by year, and Ben was a good student – quiet, but retaining things well. He has worked for Acheson Builders for over 25 years, and now is a skilled leader for job production, and an exceptional cabinet maker, as well. His favorite free time activity is fishing.

Kevin Kish, Lead Carpenter

Kevin is multi-talented. He is as comfortable working in the office helping with estimates or assisting in managing jobs, as he is working as a carpenter in the field. He has training in drafting and computer aided drawing, and studied construction management at Eastern Michigan University. Kevin’s carpentry skills have expanded significantly since he started with Acheson Builders over 15 years ago. He now primarily serves as a lead carpenter on many of our projects, with great success. In Kevin’s free time, he loves to go snowmobiling.

Laurén McCabe, Interior Designer

A cornerstone of Acheson Builders’ Design Team, experienced Interior Designer Laurén McCabe previously designed kitchens and baths for KSI, Ann Arbor, and also assisted with project management. Laurén is passionate about design work, and brings great enthusiasm, skill and creativity to Acheson Builders’ both small and large, more complex projects. Laurén enjoys working with clients to help meet their goals and budgets. She loves to get each client excited about their project, helping them enjoy the sometimes difficult process of pre-visualizing remodeling, and all related tasks from the granular to the grand, such as selecting finishes. Her strong organizational skills, knowledge of materials and products, space planning abilities are a welcome addition to the Acheson Builders Design Team. She is comfortable creating 2D and 3D renderings, both by hand and with Computer Aided Design (CAD) software and other tools. Laurén is a Board Member and Vice President of Academic Relations of National Kitchen and Bath Association, Michigan Chapter, and frequently volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and Relay for Life. Acheson Builders is grateful to have Laurén on its team; our clients’ experience with our company has been much enhanced because of her.

Wayne Purdy, Carpenter

Wayne joined our team after a number of years of experience working for another builder, doing everything from demolition to framing to final punchlist work. He enjoyed being a carpenter, but was looking for an employer of integrity, that cared enough about its employees to pay fair wages “above board”, and provide good benefits including health insurance, so he joined Acheson Builders. We are happy to have him on board! He is a committed, capable worker with plenty of skills and talents to assist in providing the high level of craftsmanship that we require.

Nate Calhoun, Carpenter and CAD Draftsman

Here is another multi-talented fellow, with excellent carpentry skills and a sound understanding of building requirements, gleaned from over 15 years of experience in residential construction before joining Acheson Builders. Nate studied at Baker College and received an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Drafting and Design Technology, Magna Cum Laude. He learned AutoCAD and other office skills, and with his construction knowledge has become invaluable to Acheson Builders as a draftsman, estimator, and preparer of proposals and preliminary price quotations for clients. Nate is meticulous and careful, paying close attention to every detail in all of his work, be it Computer Aided Design, drafting architectural plans, administering jobs, or in his carpentry work in the field.

Jeff Scott, Driver and Skilled Laborer

Jeff has a great attitude, and he works diligently without complaining even on the menial tasks he is often given. He watches carefully to make sure the materials that he picks up to take to jobs are exactly as specified. He is also happy to join the crew in the field and help with general work that needs to be done – especially cleaning up and making sure things are in proper order. He willingly stays late whenever needed to complete a task – rather than leave it only partially accomplished. Jeff is married to Bonnie, and they have one son and some grandchildren!

Ross Acheson, Payroll Clerk

Being the son of the founder of family-run Acheson Builders, Ross has played a role in several spheres of the company. Having done labor work while young, he later spent several summers working here (between college semesters) in the office. He was instrumental in implementing our estimating system, and has served in several other capacities, doing computer work, administrative work, job coordination, product research, and more. He currently serves part-time as our Payroll Clerk, which he is doing remotely from Pennsylvania while working on a Masters in Information Systems at the University of Pittsburgh. He is intensely accurate and precise in all he does – just like his father! We are thankful for his capable assistance.