As the CEO of MD Chadwick Homes, LLC and 1st American Realty, LLC, Michael Dean Chadwick builds and develops communities throughout the Triangle. His life and work are based on the idea of "paying it forward." His philosophy is that people should use their talents and abilities to do something great for those who do not have the means to do it for themselves. He hopes the idea will catch on; that the person helped will want to "pay the favor forward" to someone else.
Starting as a construction worker with Washington, D.C.-based Ryan Homes in 1978, Michael Dean Chadwick rose quickly. Within six years, he was senior vice president at Costain Homes, an international homebuilder based in Tysons Corner, Va. In 1984, Chadwick went out on his own, starting Chadwick American, a land development firm, and the construction firm of Chadwick Building and Development, both based in Washington, D.C.
The enterprises prospered, but when recession hit in the early 1990s, Chadwick was caught by surprise. "I didn't know what it was," he says.
As the recession deepened in 1992, the Resolution Trust Corp., formed by Congress in 1989 to sell the assets of insolvent savings and loans - especially real estate assets - called in loans on deals Chadwick had secured with land. That crippled his businesses. "I saw my $10 (million) to $12 million financial statement go to negative $1 million," he says.
But far worse awaited. That September, Chadwick's son, 8-year-old Michael, died when he was hit by a car while crossing the street at a wedding.
The loss echoes today, from Michael's football jersey, neatly framed and displayed in Chadwick's office, to the way Chadwick talks about his boy, describing football practices and pratfalls - and how hard it was to keep going after the death.
"I miss him terribly," Chadwick says. "But I know I'll see him again."
Chadwick and his wife, Janice, relocated in 1994 to Raleigh, where Chadwick worked as president of Westminster Homes. A daughter, Krista, was born to them in 1995. And Chadwick made a move that was the genesis of his recouped fortunes: He sought a loan at Triangle Bank to finance his first independent deal in the Triangle.
Larry Barbour, now CEO of Raleigh-based North State Bank, remembers it well. As senior vice president with Triangle Bank at the time, he checked out Chadwick's hard-luck story with Washington bankers familiar with Chadwick. They gave him a clean bill of health.
Chadwick, it turned out, had refused to declare bankruptcy after 1992's meltdown. Instead, he had sold his personal assets, including his family's home, to pay off creditors.
Barbour approved the loan. "That's the kind of person you want in your bank's portfolio," he says. "That really stuck with me. If he'll do that in adversity, what would he do in good times?"
During his 28-year career in the building industry, he has continually worked to make a positive impact in the communities he has helped develop, including worthy projects with Washington Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs and The V Foundation for Cancer Research.
His philosophy of "paying if forward" can be seen each day at MD Chadwick Homes, which is involved in the acquisition, development and construction of single-family and town homes throughout North Carolina.
In his spare time, Chadwick assists many local organizations through Mike Chadwick Ministries-a nonprofit he started to share his faith and to assist in making a positive difference in people's lives.
Chadwick also assists his daughter and son-in-law, Katie and Josh Hamilton with their own ministry, Triple Play Ministries.