By Dan Kern
Owner, Ace Handyman Services Fox Valley
Part of our Homeowner Insights series
Six years ago, I opened Ace Handyman Services Fox Valley. But my connection to the last two words in that name goes back much further.
For nearly forty years, the Fox Valley has been home.
First Carpentersville, then for the past 25 years, Gilberts. It’s where I’ve cared for my own homes, raised my two daughters, built friendships, and spent much of my working life.
So “Fox Valley” means something personal to me. It’s part of our business name because it’s part of our lives. Our team lives here, too. These are our neighborhoods, and the people we serve are our neighbors.
When you’ve lived somewhere this long, an ordinary drive can bring back a lot of memories. You pass your first neighborhood, a school your children attended, or an intersection you remember when there was hardly anything around it.
You realize how much of your life has happened right here.
I still remember when Randall Road was a two-lane country road. Some of you probably do, too.
During my college years at Northern Illinois University in the late 80’s, I worked for a distributor based in Sycamore, Illinois. My deliveries took me from Crystal Lake to Elgin, down to St. Charles and Batavia, and west to Elburn. I spent a lot of time on roads that look very different today.
My first home on the far west side of Carpentersville was practically in the middle of a cornfield. Today, that area is surrounded by homes, stores, and industry. Back then, I was busy learning how to take care of a house and making it my own.
There were plenty of projects. And plenty of store trips to buy another tool.
Later came Gilberts and the years of raising my daughters. They attended Gilberts Elementary shortly after it opened, then Hampshire Middle School and Hampshire High School. They rode horses out in Hampshire and competed on school athletic teams across the area.
At the time, you’re mostly thinking about getting everyone where they need to be. Looking back, you realize you were putting down roots.
I’m grateful for those roots. They have a lot to do with why I chose to build a business here.
For much of my corporate career, I also moonlighted as the handyman for my family and friends. I built my own deck and decks for neighbors. I built furniture, installed flooring, and remodeled bathrooms and kitchens in the houses I owned.
My basement was full of tools. The garage was full of landscaping equipment and materials. I enjoyed working with my hands and took pride in caring for our homes.
But I also did so much myself because I struggled to find someone I trusted to help.
Someone who I would be comfortable with around my family and careful with the things we treasured. Someone who understood why the details mattered to me. Someone who would do what they said they were going to do.
When I left corporate America eight-ish years ago, I kept coming back to that experience. I knew other homeowners were looking for the same kind of help.
That became the foundation for Ace Handyman Services Fox Valley.
Today, I’m fortunate to have an awesome team that shares that commitment. Our craftsmen live in communities including Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Huntley, St. Charles, and Crystal Lake. They bring decades of experience, practical knowledge, and pride in their work.
Even our office team has the trades in its blood. Our office manager and her husband operated a carpentry business out of Crystal Lake. Our customer service representative was a craftswoman on our team before starting a family in Aurora and moving into a role helping customers with their calls and scheduling.
These are people who understand both the work and the person asking for help.
That matters to me. A repair may seem routine to someone who does it every day. To the homeowner, it might be something they’ve worried about for months. Or something they used to handle themselves and now need help doing.
I want our customers to feel comfortable making that call.
People sometimes see the Ace name and wonder who owns the business. I do. We’re a locally owned and independently operated franchise within the Ace Hardware family. I live right here in Gilberts, and I take personal responsibility for the business we’re building.
Our team is background checked, and our business is insured and bonded. Behind each visit is a local office, ongoing training and support, and an owner who stands behind the work.
Those things help us deliver on a simple goal: delight our customers.
For me, that means skilled craftsmanship and care throughout the experience. Listening. Respecting someone’s home. Following through. And taking responsibility when something needs another look.
Over the past six years, our customers have helped us grow through their reviews, their recommendations, and the simple act of calling us again. I’m grateful for all of it. Being welcomed back into someone’s home is something we work to keep earning.
Our connections here extend beyond the work.
Through the Northern Kane County and Elgin Chambers of Commerce, and business networking groups from Cary to Carpentersville to St. Charles, I spend time with other business owners and leaders who care about these communities. We share ideas, build relationships, and find ways to better serve the people around us.
We support local Make-A-Wish efforts and Project Hope Animal Rescue. We assist aging veterans and others who need a helping hand. Those opportunities to contribute are among the most meaningful parts of owning this business.
This area has given my family and our team a great deal. Being able to give something back matters.
Ace Hardware has long been known as the helpful hardware store. At Ace Handyman Services Fox Valley, we get to bring that helpfulness into our neighbors’ homes and businesses.
After nearly forty years here, that feels like a good way to spend this chapter of my life.
The roads have changed. My daughters have grown up. The cornfields around that first house have given way to neighborhoods and businesses. Through all of it, my connection to this place has grown stronger.
So when you see “Fox Valley” on our shirts or our vehicles, those words carry some history. My history, our team’s roots, and six years of relationships with the thousands of people that have trusted us to help.
We call it home.
And we take pride in helping you care for yours.
Dan Kern
Owner, Ace Handyman Services Fox Valley