Mike and Deane met each other in summer football camp in 1984 and became fast friends. Both grew up in the Richmond area, Mike in Hanover and Deane in Henrico. They played football together, joined the same fraternity, Kappa Alpha, and kept in touch during the summers back home.

Between his junior and senior years Mike decided he wanted to go into the real estate business and got his license. After graduation he joined his mother, Bonnie Chenault, in opening a real estate company, Hometown Realty, in their native Hanover. He is now the firm's president and principal broker.

Deane, on the other hand, went to work for Hampden-Sydney's admissions office upon graduation and worked his way up in the office until he was Associate Dean of Admissions in 1994.

It doesn't take much to get them talking about their days at Hampden-Sydney. Deane played offensive guard on the football team and Mike was a linebacker. Mike got his degree in management economics and Deane majored in history. Deane also played on the lacrosse team and made All-Conference before being injured. Besides their devotion to Hampden-Sydney, they both share a love for the outdoors and hunting.

A fateful conversation took place between Mike and Deane as they hunted over the Christmas holiday in 1994. Sitting in a goose blind, Mike told Deane he should come to work with him at Hometown Realty and sell real estate. Deane says, "It was like a light bulb going off, and I instantly knew he was right. I went back to the school after the holiday, talked to my boss, and gave my notice."

Deane joined Hometown Realty and jumped in feet first by renewing lots of contacts with Hampden-Sydney alumni in the Richmond area. He says, "Real estate is a relationship business, and calling fellow alumni asking for referrals and listings and helping them buy a home got me going in the business." The process must have worked well because Deane has been one of Hometown's top agents the past three years, selling over 100 homes each year. He's the sales trainer for the firm and recently became a partner as well.

Mike says the success of both Hometown and Deane can be attributed to Hampden-Sydney. He notes, "We literally run our business by the Hampden-Sydney honor code, and the one core rule we have is to treat customers as you yourself would want to be treated. If you like Hampden-Sydney, you'll like dealing with our people and working with us."

Hometown Realty's Hampden-Sydney team: (from left) Jeff La Vangie '89, Trey Hicks '93, Matt Romani '01, Mike Chenault '88, Deane Cheatham '88, Billy Reid '91, Mike Lavecchia '02, and Adrian Spears '01 (not pictured: Mark Meitz '95 and Ben Winters '02).

It must be true, because the two can rattle off a long list of alumni who have joined them at Hometown Realty, including Jeff La Vangie '89, Billy Reid '91, Paul P. "Trey" Hicks '93, Mark Meitz '95, Matt Romani '01, Adrian Spears '01, Mike Lavecchia '02, and Ben Winters '02, to name a few. Deane has even hired Lucy Brightwell, former Hampden-Sydney admissions office manager, as his personal assistant.

The two make no secret about wanting to attract more Hampden-Sydney alumni to Hometown Realty. Mike says, "We plan to go to the campus and actively recruit graduates for the first time this year. We are excited about the prospect of bringing in more Tigers to join our workforce."

The addition of Hampden-Sydney alumni to Hometown Realty has paralleled the firm's growth. A small, one-office firm when Mike and his mom started it in 1988, it has grown to be one of the largest real estate sales and development companies in metropolitan Richmond, with over 165 agents in offices from Innsbrook in Henrico's west end, throughout Hanover to Tappahannock.

Mike and Deane continue their friendship outside of work, too. Both are married with three children. As Mike says, "Our children have been raised together. Our wives do things together. We hunt together, vacation together, and have a condominium together at Wintergreen where we take our families. I'm really looking forward to going back to the campus together with Deane to recruit."

Deane has been active in the Richmond chapter of the Hampden-Sydney alumni association and is the group's immediate past president, having just finished a two-year term. Both enjoy taking in a Tiger basketball or football game when the opportunity arises.

It's hard to imagine when they have much time for that with all their work and family commitments, but they seem to find a way. Deane says, "Hampden-Sydney provided us with a lot of really great role models. I'll never forget General Wilson saying, 'If you can cut a hole and pull somebody up, you should do it.' I feel some people did that for me at Hampden-Sydney. Then I got to help a lot of students in my work in admissions and watch them grow and mature as students. I'm getting to do the same thing with Mike's help in bringing alumni into our business and watching their careers grow, as well as working with alumni to buy their first or second home and watch their families grow."

At the pace they've been selling homes and recruiting Hampden-Sydney alumni, perhaps Hometown Realty should get a tiger cub mascot. If they did, it would surely feel at home.