The Van Tuinen Painting Team
Nick Barber: Owner
Interest outside of work: Nick’s favorite activity is spending time with his two boys, whether it is attending their sporting events or just hanging out camping, playing sports, hiking, fishing. He also enjoys just being outside and breathing in the fresh air.
What do you enjoy most about your job: What Nick loves most about his job are his employees and meeting new people. It’s very rewarding to see employees excel and enjoy the place they work, feel appreciated and take pride in their work. Providing a quality service to our customers and seeing their excitement in the projects VTP completes is another very rewarding aspect of his position. Van Tuinen Painting would not be as successful as it is without the great employees that help us reach the finish line. Nick is very thankful for that and enjoys the opportunity to give back thanks to his employees.
Favorite time of the year: Spring and fall are his favorite times of the year. Spring brings back warmer weather to get back to outdoor activities and fall brings in the cooler temps after warmer summer months along with all the color changes nature brings.
Nick Newhouse: Assistant Manager
Interest outside of work: Nick values family time-whether that’s watching his son in sports or helping him with activities. Nick enjoys being outdoors, and you can often find him camping, fishing, hunting or biking.
What do you enjoy most about your job: I’m energized by meeting new customers and helping our team grow in their knowledge and skills. I enjoy building relationships and being part of our company’s success.
Favorite time of the year:Nick’s favorite time of the year is fall. He loves the cooler weather, the chance to spend more time hunting, and ending his days around a good bonfire.
Favorite projects to work on: Nick is especially drawn to cabinet work and remodels. There’s something meaningful about seeing a homeowner’s vision come together and witnessing the joy it brings them upon completion.
Shelly Eickhoff: Office Manager
Interest outside of work: Shelly enjoys hiking, reading, gardening, and Detroit Lions football.
What do you enjoy about your job and why you like working at VTP: She enjoys working at VTP because of the variety of work she gets to do daily. Shelly has many responsibilities from accounting, human resources, marketing, and helping to assist in the day-to-day office operations. This allows her to stay engaged with the employees and make a meaningful impact on the success of the business.
Favorite time of the year: Shelly loves the spring and summer months because everything feels alive again. The warm temperatures lift your mood, the longer days to enjoy being outside, and nature is full of color and energy. Flowers bloom, the world feels a bit brighter, and you can finally enjoy those small, simple moments like sun on your skin, fresh air, and the beauty all around you.
One thing you’d like to do on your bucket list? She would love the opportunity to visit all the U.S. National Parks someday.
Jason Robinson: Project Manager/Painter
Interest outside of work: Jason enjoys playing golf, softball and spending time with his family in his free time.
What do you enjoy most about your job: He enjoys the variety of work and people that he meets on different projects and providing a quality service to our customers. Jason also helps out with our training and takes pride in helping others excel at their jobs.
Favorite time of the year: His favorite time of year is fall. He loves the cooler temps, color change on the trees and the smell of nature.
Favorite project you have completed for VTP: Jason does not have one particular job that stands out to him but loves the positive reaction he gets from a customers after he’s completed a project for them that they have always wanted to get completed and they are happy with the end results.
Andy Degraw: Crew Leader
Interest outside of work: Andy enjoys looking at plants and birds. He also enjoys playing disc golf and badminton. Watching his daughter compete in various sports also give him great joy.
What do you enjoy about your job and why you like working at VTP: What Andy enjoys most about his job is working on historic homes. It’s very rewarding to him to take a 100-year-old home and making it look sharp and fresh. “VTP has provided me with an educational culture where I can grow and expand my skills.”
Favorite time of the year: Andy’s favorite time of year is early October because it’s the new mid-September.
Favorite project you have completed for VTP: His favorite project was a historic home in Plainwell. It was in very rough shape when they started the project. It was a very detail-oriented job, huge color transformation. He also enjoyed being part of the history and story of the home. The customers were very complimentary of the transformation and craftsmanship that went into the project.
Cesar Nolasco: Painter
Interest outside of work: Cesar likes to spend as much time with his family as possible when he is not working and enjoys the outdoors.
What do you enjoy most about your job: He enjoys working outside and the different types of projects he works on.
Favorite time of the year: Summer is his favorite time of the year because the birds are singing and that brings him happiness.
Favorite project you have completed for VTP: He enjoys all projects because he meets new people and brings customers happiness.
David Turney: Crew Leader
Interest outside of work: David enjoys spending time with his son playing baseball, riding his motorcycle, exercising, and hanging on the beach.
What do you enjoy about your job and why you like working at VTP: He really enjoys and appreciates the company camaraderie and the difficult projects he works on that require critical thinking and problem solving.
Favorite time of the year: David’s favorite time of the year is summer to be able to ride his motorcycle and spend time on the beach.
Favorite project you have completed for VTP: His favorite project completed was a large cedar sided home that had to be stripped back down to bare wood, sanded and restained with a semi-transparent product. The project consisted of about 600 man hours to complete. It was a very difficult job that turned out excellent and exceeded the customer’s expectations which was very rewarding.
Donovan Friel: Crew Leader
Interest outside of work: What Donovan loves most is spending time with his daughters and taking them to the zoo and overall just being with them, they are the blessing of his life. He also enjoys playing disc golf, vacations and traveling in his remaining free time.
What do you enjoy most about your job: He enjoys the people he works with the most and the company morale and atmosphere. He also greatly appreciates the company outings we do a few times a year as a thanks from the owner of the company for everyone’s hard work.
Favorite time of the year: His favorite time of the year is spring. That means warmer weather and moving outside on painting projects. He also enjoys this time of year because he can get back outside and start disc golfing again.
Favorite project you have completed for VTP: Donovan’s favorite painting project thus far has been a kitchen cabinet project. He ran into a few challenges on that project and was able to overcome the challenge and complete and deliver an excellent product and the customer was thrilled with the results. Overall he really enjoys spraying.
Jake Watson: Crew Leader
Interest outside of work: Jake enjoys spending time with his family, riding dirt bikes in his free time.
What do you enjoy about your job and why you like working at VTP: His coworkers, it feels more like a small community and a place people care and have respect for one another.
Favorite time of the year: Springtime, the plants start to grow in, the birds are singing and the sunsets are amazing.
Favorite project you have completed for VTP: The very first job I completed by myself. It was a small job but I’ll never forget it as the customer was so happy with my work which made it very rewarding.
Jason Nowicki: Lead Painter
Interest outside of work: Jason enjoys yoga, cooking, reading, meditating and overall practicing nature healing remedies.
What do you enjoy most about your job: The high standards of workmanship, camaraderie and integrity, is a great foundation for a positive and productive work environment that allows you to excel.
Favorite time of the year: Jason’s favorite time of year is fall due to changing color of the leaves. He enjoys just living in the moment and not taking things for granted.
Favorite project you have completed for VTP: He really enjoys working on Frank Lloyd Wright houses because he is his favorite architect.
Joey Glinka: Painter
Interest outside of work: Joey enjoys anything to do with sports, particularly basketball and golf. He also enjoys fitness, his sauna and has a love for food.
What do you enjoy about your job and why you like working at VTP: What Joey loves most about his job is the people and the quality of work we provide to our customers. He enjoys always bringing smiles and laughter to the jobsite while remaining professional.
Favorite time of the year: My favorite time of the year is spring/summer. It brings warmer weather and the sun brings him happiness. Along with spending time on the beach he can also enjoy the sports he loves most.
Favorite project you have completed for VTP: His favorite project thus far was the painting of the exterior of the Red Cross building. The job had many challenges and he was able to use very tall ladders. It was also a detail-oriented project that turned out great.
Matt Klaassen: Lead Painter
Interest outside of work: Matt enjoys spending time with his family, watching sports, working out and anything that keeps him busy.
What do you enjoy most about your job: He really enjoys the responsibility of running his own projects from start to finish and the smiles he puts on customers faces. He takes great pride in his work and appreciates the trust VTP and our customers have in him in completing projects.
Favorite time of the year: Summer is Matt’s favorite time of year. He loves the fresh air and working on exterior painting projects.
Favorite project you have completed for VTP: There is not one particular job that Matt has a favorite. He enjoys all his projects as they are all a bit different and he likes working through challenges that may arise and over coming those with support and encouragement from management.
Steve Peters: Crew Leader
Interest outside of work: Steve enjoys spending his free time on the beach/water, with his dogs, riding motorcycles, scuba diving, grilling and food.
What do you enjoy most about your job: Making customers happy and expanding my skills through different/varying projects. Steve likes to lead/manage people and see them excel. He enjoys working at VTP due to great work atmosphere and opportunities.
Favorite time of the year: Summer, it means boats, water, and warmer temps. He does not prefer the cold.
Favorite project you have completed for VTP: Steve’s favorite type of work is gel staining projects due to transformation, every job on a lake, and fine finish projects such as cabinets. He takes great pride in the work he performs.
Wes Oliver: Crew Leader
Interest outside of work: Wes enjoys playing golf, bike riding and reading when he is not working.
What do you enjoy about your job and why you like working at VTP: The professional atmosphere and the ever-changing projects as each job is different and presents different challenges to overcome. He appreciates the support he receives from management.
Favorite time of the year: Beginning of spring through end of summer. Wes enjoys the sunshine and being outside.
Favorite project you have completed for VTP: He enjoys every project he works on as they are all different. He takes pride in his work and finds it rewarding to see completed.
