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Justin
Gates Joins "Weekend"
 Justin was born in Rockville, Maryland in 1963. Always interested in construction, Justin coupled his normal academic course load with three years of Air Conditioning & Heating classes, and graduated with honors. With these hands-on classes and knowledgeable instructors, Justin worked with nearly 100 other students to build three “student homes” in three years (4,000 sq. ft. upscale homes built with student labor – one per year - and sold with profits funneled back into the program). “The Student Construction Program was a great program. Someday, I would love to help start something like it here in Volusia County,” said Gates. “It helps to gives kids a real sense of pride and accomplishment on a job well done.” These three years gave Justin a taste for construction and general home fix-up, and also made him realize that working with sheet metal and hammers in 10-degree weather was NOT MUCH FUN!
Moving to sunny Florida in 1984 after a brief stint at the University of Maryland, Justin bought his first home with a small down payment. As an older mobile home on ˝ acre of land, it lent many opportunities for home repair! Justin worked at Sea World for three years to put himself through school, graduating from the University of Central Florida, including being placed on the dean’s list his last two semesters.
Justin took his degree and taught middle school in Orange County Florida. “I learned a great deal teaching in the public school system and met a good number of caring, wonderful people. While I loved the interaction with the kids, I found the whole paperwork grind and too-often battles with the school administration too tough to imagine doing for 30 years.” Despite being nominated “Teacher of the Year” at Walker Middle School as a first-year educator in the 1987-88 school year, Justin decided to join a small sports management company and moved to Daytona Beach, Florida.
Justin has since purchased a 1,500 sq. ft. townhouse and has built two homes in the area in the past 12 years. Having either attempted or completed virtually any home project that can be done, Justin maintains a wide range of knowledge on almost any aspect of home improvement. An avowed “do-it-yourself” repair guy, Justin has learned much of home repair, modification and maintenance through necessity. “When I was younger, I just didn’t have the money to call a repairman to do the basic home repair that every house needs,” stated Gates. “Then as I got older, I simply enjoyed doing it myself. As I got older, I have become a better judge of what projects I can do and when I am in over my head and need a professional. I look forward to sharing this knowledge and experience on “Weekend Around the House” with Marc.”
Now living in Ormond Beach with his wife, two young children and a mother who lives just down the road in Port Orange, Justin has a full-time job just being a husband and a father. During his free time, along with serving as Master of Ceremonies at numerous large public functions every year, Justin’s other hobbies are website design, computer construction, watching sports of all kinds, as well as providing color broadcast commentary on WNDB’s Friday Night High School Football with Mike Scudiero.
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