- November 21, 2024
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Granny Nannies owner Joel Fallon's flights are limited these days to this flight simulator in his office. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Granny Nannies owners Joel and Lynn Fallon celebrate the agency's 20th anniversary with this cake baked by three-time Food Network Cupcake Wars winner Sweet! By Holly. Courtesy photo
Granny Nannies staff Staci Rentz, Kristy Throne and Candice Robbins celebrate at the agency's 20th anniversary party on Oct. 15. Courtesy photo
Joel Fallon, Candice Robbins, Staci Rentz and Kristy Throne pose by the Granny Nannies cars at the 20th anniversary celebration. Courtesy photo.
Joel Fallon opened Granny Nannies Quality Home Care 20 years ago because he had an issue with the company he hired to care for his grandmother.
He found out the caregiver was getting paid $8 an hour, while he was paying the agency $20 an hour.
“I told my wife I’m going to start an agency and do it right,” Fallon said.
That was in August 2001. Then came Sept. 11 and priorities seemed to change and Fallon was going to move on until his wife, Lynn, said, “Just do it.” So on Oct. 15, 2001 he opened a Granny Nannies franchise in a tiny office on Office Park Drive and hired 10 caregivers.
Twenty years later, the Granny Nannies serving Flagler and St. Johns counties, now at 9 Harbor Center Drive, has 120 caregivers and has provided 1.9 million hours of home care for elderly clients.
“My thing was to help people out,” Fallon said. “It was not until our third or fourth year that I realized it can become a good living.”
On average, the caregivers remain with the agency for five-plus years, said administrative assistant Kristy Throne.
At Granny Nannies’ 20th anniversary celebration on Oct. 15, three of the original 10 caregivers joined the party. One of them is still on the payroll, Fallon said.
“Now most of our business is word of mouth – referrals from doctors, and people who have used us in the past,” he said.
Five years after Fallon survived a horrific airplane crash, he continues to come into the office with his service dog, Oliver.
The airplane, which Fallon was piloting on a short trip to DeLand, broke into pieces. Fallon’s legs were broken in 18 places. He had a knee replacement, and his ankle was restructured. He was in the hospital for four months and in a wheelchair for a year, he said.
Now his airplane trips are limited to the flight simulator in his office.
“I’m not supposed to be alive,” he said. “When I was laying upside down in that airplane I was thinking, ‘I’m going to die in 10 minutes and all the money in the world won’t give me one more minute of life.’ So, I learned it’s not about money, it’s about family, being with the ones you love and doing things for them.”
Granny Nannies is all about families, he said. Fallon has gotten to know many clients over the years, and it’s always sad when someone passes away.
“You sit there and talk to them and you listen to their history and the things they’ve done, like how they danced with Jimmy Carter. The sad thing is when they pass, all their knowledge goes with them," Fallon said. "We took care of a gentleman who helped design the space shuttle. He had pictures on his walls of the drawings. We had a person who managed Jimi Hendrix and Herman’s Hermits.”
“It’s a rewarding career,” said Throne. “We have families entrusting their loved ones under our care, knowing we’re going to have someone there for them.”
