Our Team

 From early childhood, Michael was interested in building.  First with "Lincoln Logs" then moved up to forts and rafts.  When his dad went back to college (engineering) they lived in a  small apartment with little room for building projects.  In high school he found the drafting class fascinating and determined to become a structural engineer.    Those plans were laid aside when a calling to the Gospel ministry caused redirection.  During the 30 years he spent in the ministry, he was involved in several building projects, both on the annual church convention sites and alongside his friends as they worked on their own additions.  In 2006 a change was necessary, and Michael attended Arapahoe Community College to receive an Architecture Technology degree and has several CAD and Drafting certificates.    When Michael is not at his computer or in meetings he likes to work in the shop (building smaller items), hike Colorado's mountains, work in the garden and forge knives from lawnmower blades or railroad ties.    

Steve is a Registered Architect. His work experience encompasses a variety of project types including residential design, hospitality design including restaurants, higher education dining facilities and tenant finish projects. Steve has a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and Architectural Design from the University of Wyoming.

Architectural Design has been a lifelong passion of Steve's starting at a very early age. Steve has studied architecture in Italy, Scandinavia and Russia through study tours of these countries and areas as well as personal travel. 

Another of Steve's passions is cooking and to that end has won several blue ribbons in county and state fair competitions. 

Steve is a member of Institute of Classical Architecture and Art

DeAnn takes a keen interest in the day-to-day activities of Empire Drafting and Design and other projects around the home and community.  

DeAnn grew up taking things apart and hopefully putting them back together again always wondering how things worked.  As she has pursued various avenues in life this has been a great advantage.  DeAnn spent 18 years in the Gospel ministry and since then was in a senior administrative position in a Fortune 500 company for many years and now does administrative work for Empire Drafting and Design and another family business.  

DeAnn has great attention to detail and loves organizing.  This quality has served her well in all work and personal experiences.

General, DeAnn's service dog has been her 24/7 companion for the last 9 years detecting peanut products and altering her to any possible allergens.   

It was with great sadness we had to put General down October 2021.  

General was with Empire Drafting and Design / Michael and DeAnn from June 2009 to October 2021

 General, DeAnn's service dog had been her 24/7 companion detecting peanut products and alerting her to any possible allergens.    

The last year we had noticed aging issues including - not able to move without pain, eat and work.  Life was no longer a joy for him.

So, at almost 12 years of age, we made the hardest decision - to put him down.

We miss him and his constant companionship but are glad he is no longer in pain.  

RIP General.  

Empire Drafting & Design is a proud member of:

AIBD - American Institute of Building Design

NAHB - National Association of Home Builders

PWB/HBA - Professional Women Builders of Home Builders Association

AIBD: https://aibd.org/denver-metro-chapter/

NAHB:  http://business.hbadenver.com/list/Member/empire-drafting-and-design-llc-lakewood-468603

HBA:

 Home - HBA of Metro Denver (hbadenver.com)   

 Congratulations to Michael Payne LEED-AP, CPBD, AIBD, BIM-R, HBA of Metro Denver for obtaining the Passive House Tradesperson Certificate