As a kid, Mike Purcell loved to build things. His parents even have a photograph of him putting together what he called a Tinker Toy air conditioner. So no one was surprised when he chose to become an engineer.
As an adult, Purcell has always loved real estate. He and his wife, Brenda, used to drive around on weekends, dreaming about purchasing this property or that house. Over the years, they turned their vision into reality by investing in rental properties and building three houses for themselves. So no one was surprised when Purcell retired from his engineering job and became a Realtor.
Purcell must also like his wife, Brenda, a real estate broker at Re/Max Renaissance Realtors, because he’s working with her. “We talked about working as a team when I retired,” he says. “We complement each other. She’s great with people and I’m a numbers guy.”
Purcell’s way with numbers has made him curious about commercial real estate. Being a licensed professional engineer, he’s drawn to the idea of negotiating terms and designing a space. He even has a commercial listing – the former Nana’s Frozen Custard at 6707 Hixson Pike. But for now, he’s concentrating mostly on helping Brenda with the residential side of things. “I had my first closing today,” he says. “It was exciting.”
For Purcell, the big draw to real estate at this point in his life is making his time his own. For 36 years, his job at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) held him to a rigid schedule. While that appealed to the engineer in him, he’s ready to do more of the things he wants to do, when he wants to do them. “I realized we don’t live to work, we work to live, and I believe real estate will allow me to do that,” he says.
Even though Purcell was looking for more freedom, he found old habits do indeed die hard. “I’m a schedule-oriented guy. I’m used to being at work at 6:30 in the morning and not talking with anyone outside the scope of my job,” he says. “Getting over that has been difficult, but it’s becoming easier. While I still have a daily routine that includes going to the office, I also schedule a round of golf.”
Purcell hasn’t completely put engineering behind him. But instead of laboring for TVA, he consults on his own.
He’s also learning that retirement can be one of the busiest times in a person’s life. Not only does Purcell still work, he is staying active as a volunteer. For years, he’s been involved with a missions effort to send food, clothing, and other supplies to Emmanuel Orphanage in Guaimaca, Honduras. He’s even made trips to the orphanage to help with various projects, such as building a residence for volunteers.
“That was rewarding; I got more out of it than they did,” Purcell says. “I’d be laying tile, and the kids would be right there with me.”
Purcell also volunteers locally. He’s a board member with Mustard Tree Ministries, an outreach ministry of First-Centenary United Methodist Church, and a past president of the University of Chattanooga (UTC) Alumni Association Board. He hopes retiring from TVA will allow him to do more volunteer work.
Talking about the end of his time with TVA prompts Purcell to recall the beginning. He was a student at Lookout Valley High School when the father of a friend suggested he become an engineer. Purcell thought likewise after meeting one, and started taking classes at Tennessee Technological University. While there, he became involved with the co-op program at TVA. The work Purcell did took him across the region the company serves and up smoke stacks to measure emissions.
After graduation, Purcell considered offers to work for companies in Kansas, Louisiana, and North and South Carolina. A girl named Brenda provided him with the motivation to stay in Chattanooga, though, and he took a job with TVA.
At the time, TVA was switching to nuclear power. Purcell was unsure about working in the field, so he toured the company’s Sequoyah Nuclear Plant. He was impressed. “I was used to sitting on a hundred-degree boiler with coal dust all over me, so when I walked in there, I thought it was pretty cool,” he says.
Although Purcell initially worked as a system engineer, he wound up doing a variety of jobs for TVA over the years, including more work with fossil fuels. Purcell also led a training group, did licensing work, and went through the executive MBA program at UTC while with the company. When Purcell retired, he was the quality assurance manager at Sequoyah. “When I would interact with people around the country, I would feel like I needed to change companies. But TVA always gave me the opportunity to grow and learn,” he says. “It’s a diverse company, and I was able to switch careers three or four times without leaving.”
Purcell plans on sticking with real estate, though. In addition to the freedom and the opportunities it provides, it allows him to enjoy the fruits of his labor, including spending time with his grandchildren. Purcell and his wife have two sons, both of whom are grown and have left the family’s Hixson home, and their oldest has given them a granddaughter and a grandson.
“When you raise boys, you never find out how special little girls can be,” he says. “If there’s one thing I’d like to do more than real estate, it’s take my granddaughter to Disney World every day. We did that for my retirement party in October.”
No matter what Purcell will be doing in the years to come, he won’t be sitting at home, bored. Instead, he’ll be using his technical knowledge to help his engineering clients, his real estate experience to serve his buyers and sellers, and his heart for others to motivate his missions and community work. And, from time to time, he’ll be taking an afternoon off to play golf.
“I’m not ready to take a seat on my rocker and be done,” he says. “I want to stay active and continue to use my brain.”
Contact Purcell at (423) 635-2146. v