Faces of Homewood: Joe Falconer

With 90 percent of his real estate business in the area, Joe Falconer has honed his skills at selling Homewood. But that’s just the surface of what he does in the community.

His family moved to West Homewood when he was 11, and he attended Hall-Kent Elementary, where his son, JoJo, 11, just completed fifth grade. When it came time for him to buy his own house, Falconer chose one right down the street from his childhood home. He’s been there since 1989.

“We refuse to move,” Falconer said. “We love our neighbors and have know them many years. West Homewood is now up and coming.”

As a member of the City Council from 2000-2008, Falconer helped push through approval to build Patriot Park, a place he now sees as a magnet for young couples and families.

Each Fourth of July he and his wife take the week off work to dedicate themselves to preparing for the festivities at Our Lady of Sorrows, where he’s attended since 1974. He’s served as the co-chairman of the event since 1993, and in those 20 years estimates he’s cooked 100,000 pounds of meat for the barbecue.

His dedication doesn’t stop there. When his mom died a few years ago, he bought a new Toyota from Bruce Limbaugh and raffled it off at the event in his parents’ memory. The raffle raised about $47,000 for the church.

“It’s easy to give back when you are happy doing something in life,” he said. “I love my job, and we love getting involved with the church and community. I am blessed with a good real estate business, and my father always taught me to give back.”

Falconer is also active with West Homewood Lions Club, which he describes as “just a bunch of Homewood guys getting together and having fun for the city,” and has been a member of the Homewood Planning Commission since 2008.