Joe Steffy

Woodbine, Georgia (Senate District 3)

Where last we lay our scene, Joe’s life was a bit in flux.

Joe Steffy is a 38-year-old man with Down syndrome, autism, and hearing loss who lives in Woodbine, Georgia. We first met Joe in 2018 as he had one leg in Georgia and one in Kansas, going back and forth between living with his parents and his sister and brother-in-law.

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Since that time, to say that a lot has changed would perhaps be putting it mildly. For starters, Joe’s father sadly experienced a recurrence of cancer and passed away in 2022. His father was the inspiration for the founding of his popcorn business, having been a corn farmer himself, and even having the original idea to help Joe start the business. As Jennifer, Joe’s sister explains it, that period of going back and forth between the two states was just a necessary, if challenging, period for their family. Now, Joe lives full time here in Georgia.

Comparing the two states to each other, and the resources that are available to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, can be interesting through the direct experience of someone like Joe. For instance, he was able to have his own independent housing and 24/7 direct support professionals (DSPs, also known as caregivers) when he lived in Kansas. Here, even with a Medicaid waiver and employment support through Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency(GVRA), Joe is not yet able to do that. Although Jennifer says that they are hopeful that, after Joe’s business builds up a bit more, he can move into his own place here with round-the-clock support.

This leads to the next major change in the last few years: Joe’s new production site. When it came to bringing Joe’s business over, they had to start from scratch “because we had to shut everything down in Kansas and start again here. They worked with the Department of Agriculture there. And we do here, but it's different. The requirements are different. So what we thought we could do at home in our garage is not how it can be done here.” What might have seemed like a daunting feat to overcome turned into a blessing in disguise. The county officer who told them that Joe would be unable to set up his business out of the garage said, “Wait just a minute, let me see what I can do.” He picked up the phone and called in a favor. Before they knew it, Joe was offered a small plot of land just off the interstate, right behind the rental office of an RV park for the whopping rental price of $1 per year!

With the help of grants and guidance through the Department of Agriculture (proudly displaying the Georgia Grown certification on his wall), and other grants through the National Down Syndrome Society, Voya Cares, and other private donors, Joe has been able to make a number of improvements on his business. Most notably, he purchased a modular building he uses to produce thousands of bags of popcorn every year. While the kettle corn is popped outside (meaning rainy days and high humidity can ruin a batch), the rest of production takes place inside, including bagging, mixing and adding of flavors, and packaging for shipping for internet sales and to the boutique stores across the country where you can find his wares. Joe also enjoys a bit of walk-up sales from the campground to boot.

            The other place you can find Joe’s popcorn is at festivals all around. He has a “pop-n-go” trailer where he can pull up at any location and open up for sale. The most popular question anyone ever asks Joe is: “What’s your favorite flavor?” The answer is, “Whatever’s open.” And there are many flavors to be had. Of course, there’s the standard kettle corn (a light blend of sweet and salty), but they’ve experimented and developed many other homemade flavors including Caramel, Blueberry Lemon, Sweet Heat, and Cookies-n-Cream.

            While all of the forward progress in his business has been a tremendous boon, on top of the loss of his father, the last few years have also been hard in other ways. Joe was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2018. Jennifer and his DSP, whose name is also Jennifer, have started to notice on some days that he just seems a bit confused doing everyday tasks while making popcorn. Occasionally, he empties out popcorn he is supposed to be filling or throws away perfectly good labels. And then, Joe recently injured himself while no one was in the room, causing him to walk with a limp. Jennifer says that was tough because Joe couldn’t say exactly what had happened. She and her husband ascertained from a misplaced rug that he likely had slipped. As Joe loves to dance, particularly enjoying local “Night to Shine” events, Jennifer hopes that some physical therapy will get Joe back in shape just in time for him to strap on his boogie shoes.

Although Joe does not tend to utilize oral language to communicate, he does have limited sign language and an augmentative speech device which is programmed to help him interact with the public, especially when making a sale. He’s turned it into are presentation of himself as a carnival barker: “I would like to share a little kettle corn snack with you today so you can try my product. Trevor and I will come around and pass them out while Sis keeps talking.” He presses another button and looks up at his expectant crowd: “I believe my success is not only because of my unique story, but because of the local businesses who have supported it. I couldn't have gotten here without each of you. I love being Poppin’ Joe!”

            Joe’s favorite word, though, is coffee. He likes to sign it and say it at the same time while looking you in the eye as if willing it to appear in his hand. On this day, when the rain feels like it could boomerang back around at any moment, Joe just wants one more cup of joe before he gets started to work, popping a new batch, labeling bags, and preparing a new shipment. It’s time to make the donuts–er, popcorn–again!!

Writer: Shannon Turner, Photographer: Moses Hickman