Michael Timmons grew up on a farm in rural Illinois.

(Photo: Lance Murphey)

While still in high school, he committed to enlist in the U.S. Army.

His goals in life have always been to work hard and be a part of something that he felt mirrored his values.

He appears to have found a nice fit with Frase Protection, a privately held Memphis company that installs, services and monitors custom security systems at homes and businesses in the area.

Timmons was the first full-time salesman to join the company when he was hired in November.

“This is a company where people care about one another,” Timmons said. “They’ve built a huge base of Memphis customers by doing things right and treating people the right way, and they continue to do that. It’s a lot more uncommon than it used to be.”

From 1998 to 2004, Timmons served as a military policeman in the Army. Following the 9/11 terrorist attack, his role changed, as did most of those serving in the military. He spent a lot of time in Iraq and Kuwait and received two Army Commendation Medals and two Army Achievement Medals.

He enlisted in search of a way to pay for college. But after the terrorist attacks things changed, and so did his outlook on life.

“The two years I spent in Iraq away from my life largely shaped the person I am now,” Timmons said. “On a broad scope … the best stories are the people I served with. That’s what formed my experience in the military.”

When Timmons was discharged in 2004, he got into the real estate business. He worked independently and with Chamberlain and McCreery for five years, buying and selling homes and managing rental property. The uncertainty of the real estate market led him to explore other options.

He met Greg Polley, who happened to be the vice president of sales and marketing at Frase Protection, and the two got to talking

Polley was looking for a salesman for his company, which was started by the late Robin Frase and is now run by Jonathan Frase, Robin’s son. Timmons, who had been volunteering in the community through Hope Presbyterian Church’s urban outreach program and had security experience, fit the bill.

“We’re always looking for folks who volunteer in the community and are looking for ways to serve,” Frase said. “We think that fits well into the way we do customer service at Frase. He’s good with customers and knows how to connect with people. I think his background lends itself to all these things.”

Jonathan Frase, who joined the company in 2004 and became president in 2008, believes the hiring of Timmons is perfectly in line with the company’s values and goals.

His father, Robin, started the company in 1971 when a friend was having security problems at his business. Robin, an electrical engineer, designed a security system from spare parts and a business was born.

“It’s important to share our values,” Frase said. “We consider ourselves a service organization that does security. It’s important that our employees serve other people. Michael has a heart for service.”

Timmons, particularly now in his new position with Frase Protection, is a very busy man. He’s married with two young daughters and is also a volunteer baseball coach at Manassas High School in North Memphis.

Baseball season is around the corner and he’s already trying to figure out how he’s going to make time for all the things that are important to him. Once baseball season starts, he figures he will work from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. or so, hit the baseball field and come back to Frase when necessary.

He has coached many of the players on the roster at Manassas since they were in middle school.

With the help of Timmons, other volunteers from Hope and members of the faculty at Manassas, the team has gone from playing all its games on the road two years ago to hosting 10 games last season.

“Now these boys are getting to be freshmen and sophomores,” Timmons said. “We’re trying to make it where some kids who can’t be a part of the basketball or football team can be a part of something bigger than themselves. I think we’ve succeeded in that already.”