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Noah Almeida Arthur Anderson FREE Nicole Arroyo Christian Ash Brayden BahrVeronica Arroyo Alonzo Autry Kylie Baker • Vol. 1 - No. 1 • “The Heart of Nassau County” • May 19, 2022 Love is Spelled L-A-B-O-R for Hagan Family of Nassau County
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by Nancy Lee Bethea Caleb Barthlemess Colton Bartlett Running hardware Leo Bauer Andrew Beach stores is a true labor of love for the Hagan family of Nassau County. For the past 60 years, the Hagans have owned and managed stores in the Northeast Florida area, and plans are to continue Caroline Brackens William Bramstedtexpanding. Chase Brockman Merrick Bronik Whether it’s guiding a homeowner to the right kind of fertilizer for his yard or helping a neighbor repair a water pump, Hagans love serving the community through solving customers’ problems and meeting their needs at their nine Ace Hardware stores.
HAGAN ACE HARDWARE
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Legacy
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Abby Cheek PAID Callahan, FL Permit No. 4
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Photo: Three Generatons. Don Hagan (Center), Bill Hagan (Left) and Jacob Hagan (Right). Brianna Burke Emma Burnes Ryan Burns began in 1950, when Don Hagan started working part-time at Brandies Hardware
Store in Callahan, owned by Cliff and
Lucille Brandies. Don met Ann, the couple’s eldest daughter, at school in Callahan. He often walked Ann to her home above the hardware store. One afternoon, Cliff asked Don to come downstairs and help him in the store. Don did, and soon he worked until Brooke Callipare Jakiya CampbellAlex Campbell 10 o’clock most nights, then walked three miles to his own home. “I started working there part-time after school and on Saturdays and just fell in love more and more with all of it. And, of course, I was falling in love with Ann, too,” Don said. He worked there for 10 years building a genuine rapport with customers as he helped them find exactly what they wanted or needed. After returning to Callahan from the Korean War in 1955, he married Ann Brandies and started working full-time at the Callahan store. Don found he loved the hardware business, and he dedicated his life to it. In 1962, he and Ann bought a small hardware store in Hilliard and started the partnership with Ace Hardware in 1964. Growth followed over the next five
Holly Burtha Hunter Burtha Antonio Casillas Alessia Chavez-Tafur We are excited to release our first publication of The Yulee News! Our mission is to connect our community with our schools, businesses, churches, healthcare professionals and local government leaders that serve us! Our promise is to report local news and events fairly and accurately, focused on the people and places in Yulee, Florida and surrounding areas. We aim to keep you informed on the weekly happenings in our community. The Yulee News is a hyper-local community newspaper, reaching over 25,000 local residents each and every week! That is 25,000 of your neighbors, right here in the 32097 zip code. We also reach our community through social media and our up and coming interactive website.
This newspaper is made possible by our sponsors and their paid advertisements. To showcase your business with The Yulee News, contact us today at editor@theyuleenews.com. Help us support the spirit of shop local, buy local. What’s in it for you? Shopping local is a win-win scenario for our community with three major impacts! First, tax dollars are diverted back to local communities, providing more money for our libraries, schools and infrastructure. When you buy local, taxes are paid local,
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decades and now, the Hagans own and manage nine Ace Hardware stores with plans well underway to open a second store in Orange Park and build a new and improved store in Callahan.
Labor
For Bill Hagan, Don and Ann’s son, growing up with parents who owned hardware stores meant one thing. Labor and lots of it.
“A lot of times at nighttime, we would go back to the store to put up stock, change prices, or sweep the floor,” Bill said. “All I remember is all the labor.”
The labor wasn’t just pushing papers, either. It was physical.
“Grandad had a lumber yard, but no forklift. So, we took a galvanized pipe and made a wedge out of it. We would jack up the end of that bundle of lumber until it fell off the truck. Half the time it busted in the yard, and then we had to take two or three boards at a time and hand stack everything,” Bill said.
Back then, there was no pre-mixed concrete. To mix it, you needed three shovels of sand, three shovels of rock, and one shovel of cement, Bill shared.
“So we would get boxcars of sand and rock, and we’d have to shovel them out. I did that in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. Needless to say, the last thing I ever wanted to do was work in a hardware store!” he added.
Yet all that physical labor didn’t hurt him, it shaped him into the man he is today.
As a young man, Bill dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. The plan changed, though, when he realized the site of blood made him queasy.
While still in college, he worked on the floor at the Orange Park Ace Hardware Store. “I remember helping a customer with a water pump problem. Something turned on inside me once I started helping people,” he said. “I loved helping customers and treating them well.”
That philosophy of helping people and treating them well-even on Christmas Dayhas been a core principle at Hagan Ace Hardware stores since the beginning.
On a cold Christmas Day in 1987, after Bill married his wife Debbie (Thompson), the couple and their kids drove from their home in Orange Park to Callahan to visit Don and Ann. When Bill passed Brandies Ace Hardware, he noticed a couple of cars parked there.
Curious, Bill dropped off his wife and kids at his parents’ home down the road and returned to the store. Turns out, Raymond Fachko, the manager of Brandies Ace Hardware, was there helping a customer repair a water pipe that had frozen during a rare Florida cold snap on Christmas Eve.
“People were in need, and we could help them. Raymond was able to solve their problems. It’s like being a doctor and being on call. That family was able to cook a meal and get a shower and enjoy their Christmas,” Bill said. “That’s the heart side of the hardware business.”
Photo: Don Hagan
Leadership
When it comes to leadership, Bill considers John Venhuizen, the President and CEO of Ace Hardware, and Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, to be excellent examples.
Yet, he credits his own success as a hardware store manager and owner to his father, Don. “My dad taught me everything I know. He taught me the day-to-day running of the store and how to treat customers,” Bill said.
When Don retired earlier than he had planned, Bill had to learn other things on his own, such as dealing with bankers and attorneys.
Now, Bill invests in his son, Jacob Hagan, the same way Don mentored him. “Jacob and I took a drive to a CEO conference with Ace in Orlando and another one in Naples and back. He told me he learned more about business and finance on those trips than he did in four years of college,” Bill said.
Bill has given Jacob the responsibility for running the day-to-day operations of several of the stores. He is also providing Jacob the opportunity to see the old Brandies store moved, improved, and expanded in Callahan.
“I want him to know how the construction works with the Callahan store. It’s going to be a special store. Our legacy store,” Bill said. Photographs and memorabilia from the Brandies location will be part of the new Callahan store.
Other stores are getting new additions or niches, such as Hagan Coastal Outfitters in the Yulee store on Miner Road. Hagan Coastal Outfitters offers paddleboards, kayaks, inland fishing gear, and more. Hagan
First Port City Bank Gives Back to the Community
First Port City Bank Makes Donation To The Nassau County Fire-Rescue 3101 Honor Guard Campaign. Our local Firefighters are raising money for new Honor Guard Uniforms. On Thursday - April 28, 2020, Representatives from First Port City Bank presented the Firefighters with a $1,000.00 Check outside their Fernandina Beach Branch on 14th Street. If you are interested in making a donation please contact Nassau County Fire-Rescue HQ at 904-530-6600 Coastal Outfitters is currently offered in three locations with plans to add it to the Orange Park and Callahan stores.
Other Hagan Ace stores offer niches too, such as floral and gardening departments.
For four generations, the Brandies and Hagan families have served their communities by helping their neighbors select everything from plants to paint, but also by giving them the help they need. Moving forward, the Hagans are focused on finding new ways to serve their customers.
“We love helping people solve their problems. It’s what we’re all about,” Bill said.
For more information on Hagan Ace Hardware stores, please visit www.haganace.com.
LOCATIONS
YULEE 85880 Miner Road Yulee, FL 32097 (904) 694-2426
ANASTASIA, FL 3033 Highway A1A South St. Augustine Beach FL 32080 Phone: (904) 471-7844
HILLIARD, FL 551525 US Highway 1 Hilliard, FL 32046 (904) 845-4461
EAST PALATKA, FL 141 Highway US-17 S East Palatka, FL 32131 (386) 328-2698
GLEN ST. MARY, FL 6567 US Highway 90 Glen St. Mary, FL 32040 (904) 259-3451
GREEN COVE SPRINGS, FL 1305 North Orange Avenue, Suite 110, Green Cove Springs, FL 32043 (904) 284-9931
ORANGE PARK, FL 1022 Blanding Blvd., Orange Park, FL 32065 (904) 272-1414
MANDARIN, FL 12501 San Jose Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32223 (904) 268-9597
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL 3050 US-1 S St. Augustine, FL 32086 (904) 797-9175
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A Look Back Photo Exhibit on Display at the James S. Page Governmental Complex
Nassau County, Florida, May 17, 2022 – We are pleased to announce that The 2020A Look Back photo exhibit is on display now through Monday, November 14, 2022, at the James S. Page Government Complex located at 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, FL 32097. 2020 was an unprecedented year that caused uncertainty to citizens across the country, including Nassau County. Amelia Island Plantation Artist’s Guild and Gallery members Karen Bowden, Barbara Hopkins, Dickie Anderson and Sarah Edwards thought it would be interesting to put together an exhibit that showed how residents navigated through the trials presented in 2020, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic.
In January 2021, the group solicited photos from the public that depicted how Nassau County residents faced these new challenges. The community response was outstanding, and they ultimately ended up with an exhibit of approximately 100 photos that exemplify how Nassau County residents persevered during a difficult time.
On April 9, 2021, the exhibit opened at the Plantation Artists Guild and Gallery and has been featured at various locations including the Amelia Island Courtyard and Springhill Suites, the Song & Story Bookstore and Bistro, the Council on Aging, and the Fernandina Beach Library.
The 2020-A Look Back photo exhibit designated Arts Alive as the recipient of any revenues resulting from the project. The organization provides free or low-cost music and arts instruction for Nassau County children who have little or no access to them.
May Proclaimed as Mental Health First Aid Month
At the Monday, May 9th meeting, the Board of County Commissioners approved Resolution No. 2022-101 proclaiming May 2022 as Mental Health First Aid Month in Nassau County, Florida.
The Mental Health First Aid Act of 2015 and the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2016 speaks volumes as to the importance of mental health first aid in our Country. This month, residents are encouraged to increase their knowledge of signs, symptoms and risk factors of mental illness and substance use disorders in both children and adults. Katrina Robinson-Wheeler, Director of Community Outreach and Education for Starting Point, was in attendance to accept the Resolution. She also showed a brief video that demonstrates how some people have difficulty havCommissioner Klynt Farmer; Maureen Paschke, Chair of Starting ing an honest conversation about Point’s Outreach Committee; and Katrina Robinson Wheeler, Di- mental health and are unsure how rector of Community Outreach and Education for Starting Point to help someone who is struggling. Simply asking questions or listening can help someone tremendously. Take a moment to watch the video linked below and learn more about how to respond when someone tells you they’re not okay.
Lastly, know that there are many resources available to you, should you need them. Ask your employer if they have an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) or talk to your primary care provider for a referral. National Resources include the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; National Alliance for the Mentally Ill; National Institute of Mental Health; National Suicide Prevention Lifeline; National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; Start Your Recovery; and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. Additional information on these resources can be found on Starting Point’s website. -Sabrina Robertson, Public Information Officer.
