It’s like high school never ended

COSTA MESA — Milo Myers is an ocean apart from many of his best friends from Estancia High School, but he’s never had to wonder what happened to them. In fact, they’re all on his payroll.

Myers, a 1982 graduate of Estancia, is the president of operations for Grand Trading Group, a Honolulu-based wholesaler that provides doors, windows, furniture and other home essentials.

This summer, the company launched its first California location in Costa Mesa — and brought Myers and five of his former classmates together on one roster.

In the early 1980s, Myers and his friends — Mike Garmon, Derek Danielson and Mike Davies — ventured to Hawaii after graduation to surf, party and enjoy the tropical life. It turned out to be more than a vacation for some of them.

While Garmon retained his roots in California, Myers and several of the others stayed in Hawaii and went to work for the building industry.

The group stayed close over the years, however, and when Myers launched his business in Honolulu in January, he had little trouble picking his colleagues.

“The core group’s always stayed,” Garmon said. “We’re in our early 40s now and we’re just peaking. It’s the story of brotherhood. Everybody’s been there the whole time.”

Garmon took the job of general manager, while Davies, Danielson and fellow Estancia alumni Chris Barrett and Steve Stanfield work as sales representatives. Davies, who lives on Maui, said his old group of schoolmates feels like a second family sometimes.

“We all consider ourselves lucky to have sustained our friendship,” he said. “I talk to people all the time and say I still hang out with my friends from high school. Some people don’t even talk to their classmates anymore.”

Grand Trading Group, which operates three factories in Vietnam, provides furnishings for builders, designers and architects. The company’s Costa Mesa location on Briggs Avenue features a showroom in front and a much larger storage area in back. Once the firm gets a footing in California, the owners plan to expand to Washington, Louisiana and other states.

“We’re just starting,” Garmon said. “We’re trying to find that momentum right now.”