Our team has over 100 years of combined experience in the home building industry. Each member contributes unique talents to our team; however, all share the same commitment to the highest level of craftsmanship attainable in every home we build.
Mitch Melheim – President
Mitch’s construction career began in 1977 with the formation and operation of a successful drywall enterprise while still in junior high school in his hometown of Cedar Rapids, IA. He operated this business throughout high school and college. Immediately upon graduation from Iowa State University in 1984 with a degree in Finance, Mitch married his high school sweetheart, Lori Kurtz, and moved to Naples, FL and opened a drywall and painting company. In 1986 he was given the opportunity to plan and coordinate the opening of Northern Trust Bank’s new branch located in The Villages on Venetian Bay in Naples and serve as its Manager of Banking Services. In 1988, after the successful launch of the new branch bank office, Mitch elected to move on to create Lease Resource, Inc., a successful equipment lease finance company, with his business partner Lee Eilers.
In 1992, Mitch and his wife Lori decided to move back to the Midwest to raise their 3 children. Mitch accepted a position with the Wisconsin investment banking firm Robert W. Baird & Company and served as Senior Vice President of Public Finance. After the loss of his Mom in 2004 and his Father-in-law in 2005, both to cancer at young ages, Mitch decided to make a significant life change and get back to his roots and his love of construction. He and his now grown family moved back to Naples in early 2006 to pursue his true calling and lifelong passion for building. With the establishment of Matthew Mitchell Custom Homes, he has dedicated himself to creating high-quality, beautiful living spaces for his clients.
More commonly known as Papa, when he’s not in the office or on the job site, Mitch enjoys spending time with his family, including his wife Lori, and their 3 kids, and 10 grandkids.
Matt Melheim – Project Estimator
Matt brings his mechanical engineering background and wealth of project management experience to Matthew Mitchell Custom Homes. His primary focus is making the home building experience more enjoyable for our clients, trade partners and the entire Matthew Mitchell Team through the implementation and constant improvement of new, streamlined forms of scheduling, communication, and information sharing. His responsibilities include staying ahead of the fast-paced technology curve to ensure that Matthew Mitchell offers the smoothest and most transparent home building process possible. Matt’s personal life is centered around his wife and their new daughter, with the occasional time available for UCF and Packer football.
Lori Melheim – Selections Coordinator
Lori Melheim serves as Selections Coordinator for Matthew Mitchell Custom Homes. Home building has been an integral part of her entire life. Her Mom and Dad, Ron & Nancy Kurtz, founded Kurtz Homes in Cedar Rapids, IA in the early ‘70’s when she was still a young girl and relocated the business to Naples, FL in 1982 where it has continued to thrive. Her primary role with Matthew Mitchell is client selections and communications. She works closely with our clients and their Interior Decorators to ensure that once completed, the home looks and feels like the home they envisioned. She enjoys having the one on one contact with clients, from picking out tile to keeping them informed during the building process. She is also very adept at keeping two of her coworkers in line, her husband Mitch and son Matt. When not busy working, Lori loves spending time boating, traveling, and hanging out with her husband, three kids and 10 grandchildren.
Mike Hofer – Project Manager
With 50 years of experience in the construction industry, Mike started his career as a carpenter. He then served for 26 years as a Builder Developer in Michigan where he built over 1,200 homes. Over the years Mike has devoted his time to the Board of Directors for the Michigan and National Home Builders Association and served as President of the 10,000 member Michigan Association of Home Builders. As a skilled builder, Mike was awarded the Builder Business Management Certificate from The Home Builders Institute in Washington D.C. in 1986. After a successful career, Mike retired to Florida in 2004, but he couldn’t stay away from the industry for long. In 2005, he became the Project Manager for a custom home builder in Southwest Florida and then joined the Matthew Mitchell team as Project Manager in 2013.
Eric Hofer – Project Manager
Eric is the son of Mike Hofer and his career in the building industry in Michigan at the age of 14, cleaning job sites for his father’s building company. Eric continued to gain experience in the industry alongside his schooling as he worked in excavation during high school and then built and installed cabinetry during college. He graduated from Walsh College in Michigan 1991 with a BBA majoring in Finance.
After college, Eric went to work for Norwest Mortgage as a Loan Officer in Michigan before deciding to move to Naples. While his plan was to transfer to Norwest Mortgage in Naples, he realized that he had a passion for creating and decided to pursue a job in construction instead.
Eric has worked as a Superintendent in construction in both Collier and Lee Counties since 1997. He became a Certified Residential Contractor in the State of Florida in 2007 and has been an integral part of the Matthew Mitchell team since 2008.
Jon Beach – Superintendent
Dedicating the last 8 years of his 35 years of experience in the construction industry to the Matthew Mitchell team, Jon truly enjoys the home building process and takes pride in his work by approaching every project as if it were his own. Jon has called Florida home for the last 30 years and enjoys traveling, camping and dining out with his family.
Tom Klinker – Superintendent
Tom construction career began in 1983 when he started a painting business while attending Purdue University. One of his customers flew Tom to Naples on multiple occasions to work on houses he owned and like many people, Tom fell in love with Naples. He relocated to Naples from Indiana in 1986 and went to work for Mitch and Precision Wall Inc. In 1987 Tom attained his contractor’s license and started his own painting business.
In 1997 when Florida Gulf Coast University opened, Tom went back to school while continuing to operate his business. He graduated with a B.S in Finance in 1999.
Upon graduation, Tom took a management position with Home Depot. After fifteen months, he decided the position was not a good fit for his family and went back to painting the beautiful houses of Naples.
When Mitch moved back to Naples and started Matthew Mitchell in 2006, Tom and Mitch renewed their friendship. Tom was the painting subcontractor of choice for Matthew Mitchell Custom Homes until 2018. Tom officially joined the Matthew Mitchell team in 2018 as a Superintendent. His attention to detail and high standards makes him a valuable member of the team.
In his free time, Tom enjoys spending time with his family, friends and being on the beach. If you ask his wife, Ernie the family dog gets most of Tom’s attention.