CELINA, Ohio (WLIO) — Robert Shinn’s family has made a significant donation to Tri Star Career Compact to honor his love of the construction industry. Shinn, who passed away in September, founded the commercial and general contracting company Shinn Brothers in 1974. Instead of flowers, his family asked people to donate to Tri Star’s construction program.
The contributions totaled $10,000, but Saturday afternoon Shinn’s family was surprised when a friend and former employee of Shinn’s matched the amount, bringing the total donation to $20,000.
“You know, he grew up from a very young age, and was very innovative and creative in the things that he did and loved to build and create things. So, the tri star community, being in our community just meant the word to him, and to be able to donate to something like this would make him very proud, because he was always just very good with his hands and his mind and sharp, and just love to create things. So this is building the future for other young construction workers,” said Lori Suchland, Shinn’s daughter.
Tri Star construction students have built project homes in the subdivision Shinn started, and the donation will help fund current and future needs.
“We can buy different tools we need. We can upgrade stuff we need. There's, it'll, it'll have 1000 uses over the next several years. It was fantastic. I worked for Bob for 20 years before I came here, and it hits my heart. I mean, there's nothing I can't even put it into words what it means to me,” said Brett McGillvary, Tri Star construction instructor.
The new Tri Star project home, set to be completed the first half of 2026, is being built on Shinn Drive in Celina.
