EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT – Chip Houze

From waiting for the Mills James audio studio to open to rocking the audio world for nearly 29 years, Chip Houze has turned every challenge into a great success, or at least a great story. While he’s still making waves here at Mills James, he’s also daydreaming about East Coast sunsets and beachside strolls with his wife. Cheers to Chip, our audio virtuoso with a future as bright as his career! 

How long have you been at Mills James?  
 
I interned for an entire year in 1995, then started full time in Jan 1996 so at the end of this year it will be 29 years.

What did your life look like before MJ?  
 
Landscaping, College, and hoping I got a job at Mills James when the new audio studio opened. 

What led you to a career in this industry?  
 
Well I started off in Mechanical Engineering at Ohio University, but was very young and naive and didn’t want to work on boilers “so to speak” because a lot of my homework problems related to math behind how boilers worked. After 3 years, I switched majors to Audio Production at Ohio University and never looked back.  

What is a project that you have worked on that sticks out to you?  

I think it was the late 90’s when The Ohio State University came to Mills James to do a video for their first billion-dollar endowment campaign. They wanted an original composition that also included the chimes of Ohio State’s Orton Hall leading into Carmen Ohio. Mark Snider and myself went down to Orton Hall late one evening to go into the tower and record the chimes, as I was placing the microphones in the bell tower, I put my hand in a bunch of pigeon droppings. Well I didn’t know that Mark was recording so later as we were mixing the music for the video that recording became a running joke, especially for those who worked on the project. Good times and great memories! 

What is your favorite part of being on the Post team?  

The people, there are a lot of really smart and talented folks here in Post, and really all of MJ! 
 
Tell us about a professional success story that you’re proud of.  

Working on the TCAA/Toyota Team for 20 plus years and gaining the trust to do my job with little to no supervision. 
 
Describe an interesting hobby or pastime that you have.  

I dabble in rehabbing and renting houses, a hobby that has gotten out of control.   

What are you looking forward to in your future?  

Retiring to the East Coast with my wife and walking on the beach every morning with her.