Babcock Ranch Telegraph

On Call Electric gets the job done while sparking a new generation of technicians




ABOVE: Jonathan Trombley organizes parts for ceiling fan assembly. STEVE MITSKAVICH/BABCOCK RANCH TELEGRAPH

When moving to the Trail’s Edge neighborhood in 2020, Marc and Linda Candels embraced developer Syd Kitson’s mantra of Live, Work, Play in a sustainable community. Since then, they have added Teach and Inspire with their Babcock Ranch-based business, On Call Electric.

The Candels moved from New England to Florida in 2013 and soon operated an electrical contracting firm and a business that taught jobsite estimating. They lived in Naples and Bonita Springs, but when their beloved neighbors moved to Babcock Ranch, they did too. They perused Facebook pages to learn about their new community and what types of services were needed here.

As it turns out, several in-demand needs of the rapidly growing community are hard-wired in the areas where the Candels excel.

One is the need for reliable, professional work by licensed electricians to help homeowners complete and personalize their new dream home. Tasks include installing light fixtures, ceiling fans, and electrical outlets where homeowners want them, plus extending electric service to outdoor kitchens and into garages for air conditioning, along with the power to irrigation systems and adding whole-house power surge protection.

Marc Candels instructs Zachary Metzold about ceiling fan. STEVE MITSKAVICH/BABCOCK RANCH TELEGRAPH

Marc Candels instructs Zachary Metzold about ceiling fan. STEVE MITSKAVICH/BABCOCK RANCH TELEGRAPH

As a bonus, Mrs. Candels is a retired home decorator, so she can offer advice on fixtures and fans and their placement to avoid costly disappointments.

The second area of need is in nurturing local talent and creating opportunities for bright, young Babcock Ranch residents in well-paying, sustainable careers, where they can walk or ride bikes to work before steering a van to the jobsite.

“Because Babcock Ranch is a new town in the making with new homes under construction daily, it is possible to spend your entire career working here and helping your neighbors,” Mr. Candels said. “That makes it all the more important to ensure we have a professionally trained workforce and one that can communicate well with our customers.”

Mr. Candels, who started working with his father at age 16, believes not everyone should be pushed into college. He advises young adults to consider another option: Instead of incurring significant debt with four years of tuition, they can earn a living and learn a well-paying trade that will always be in demand.

LINDA CANDELS

LINDA CANDELS

With that in mind, the Candels offer a full four-year apprentice and certification program for aspiring electricians who want to learn the trade and become certified to work in Florida. Apprentices master building codes and what Mr. Candels calls electric theory. In addition, they earn money while grasping the trade under the supervision of experienced and state-certified professionals.

Currently the company has three apprentices who live and work in Babcock Ranch: Jonathan Trombley, Zachery Metzold and Max Beaulieu. The firm’s goal, according to Mr. Candels, is to hire Babcock Ranch residents when possible.

Recently, at Susan Knox’s home on Boardwalk Loop in the Babcock National neighborhood, the On Call Electric crew installed lights, ceiling fans and outlets in several rooms. Mrs. Knox was pleased to hire a local crew to do the work on her Lennar home while her husband recuperated from a medical issue.

KNOX

KNOX

Mr. Trombley, 28, said that after graduating from college he found he could earn a higher wage as an electrician than in a job related to his degree. He joined a Michigan company as an apprentice. While en route from Traverse City to Babcock Ranch with his aunt he took note of On Call Electric’s Facebook post seeking candidates. “I had an immediate phone interview with Mr. Candels and a job waiting for me when I arrived,” he said.

“We interviewed him on a Friday and he started working for us that Monday,” Mr. Candels said. “He is our most experienced member and only has about three months left as an apprentice. After that he will be running his own crew.”

“We are as busy as we want to be,”

Mrs. Candels said. “We also have current jobs in Fort Myers and Sanibel to repair Hurricane Ian damage to a home. As our name suggests, we are on-call to help residents who need immediate help. Fortunately, we didn’t have calls Christmas Day, but we did respond to one on Christmas Eve in Babcock Ranch.”

 

 RIGHT: Max Beaulieu hangs a ceiling fan.

The Candels also offer consulting services and expert claims testimony in legal cases along with providing electrical work for commercial businesses, including Kitson & Partners and the Crescent B Commons shopping plaza, and for the Babcock Ranch Residential Association.

What about the Live, Work, Play mantra?

“We love to cook and entertain in our Babcock Ranch home,” Mrs. Candels said. “We recently added a pizza oven to our lanai, which is also where we like to relax. There is always something to do. We enjoy going to Food Truck Fridays and some of the activities, such as the Paint and Sip classes. We were so impressed by the community efforts here surrounding Hurricane Ian and the willingness of strangers to pitch in and help folks with their storm shutters and debris cleanup. This is a great community.”

One response to “On Call Electric gets the job done while sparking a new generation of technicians”

  1. Jackie Awerman says:

    YAY! FOR THE CANDELS–An Aw=some team! They have the secret ingredients of success: talent and heart!

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