“It`s very much a family”

OCTOBER 10, 2014
“It’s very much
a family”
50 years after C. Dan
Joyner borrowed
$2,000 to go into
real estate, the next
generation leads the
company now known
as Berkshire Hathaway
HomeServices C. Dan
Joyner, Realtors.
50
YEARS
AS SEEN IN
COVER STORY—MILESTONE
OCTOBER 10, 2014
A tribute to our long-lasting enterprises
JOYNER’S FAMILY AND BUSINESS
LEGACY SPANS GENERATIONS
From a $2,000 loan and three employees
in 1964, C. Dan Joyner’s real estate company
has grown to nine Upstate offices and
more than 300 employees
SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF
[email protected]
and left a legacy.
Born and raised in Greenville, C.
Dan Joyner graduated from Greenville High School and earned a degree
from Furman University in 1959.
After serving in the military, he came
back to Greenville and was trying to
decide on a career. He had job offers
in the banking industry, but he didn’t
want to leave Greenville and move
around.
So Joyner decided to take a stab in
the real estate business. He wasn’t
quite sure of his career choice at first;
real estate is a tough business, said
Joyner’s son, Danny, who grew up to
follow in his father’s footsteps. But after
selling five houses in one weekend,
Joyner had found his calling.
After a stint at local real estate
firm, Smith and Flynn, Joyner
decided to strike out on his own. On
the advice of his father, who owned
a Western Auto Store in Piedmont,
Joyner borrowed $2,000 and opened
C. Dan Joyner Real Estate in 1964.
The firm grew over the years. Along
the way, Joyner added property
management and commercial divisions, and then added and sold an
insurance arm.
Photo by Greg Beckner
C. Dan Joyner built a company
“A method to his madness”
Joyner always wanted the company
to be a family business, and it is. Son
Danny Joyner is president and >>
>> CEO. Son-in-law David Crigler is
executive vice president. Danny’s
sister and Crigler’s wife, Beth, is a top
real estate sales producer, and
Danny’s sister, Lyn Freemon, does
advertising and special events. Beth
and David Crigler’s son, Alex Crigler,
runs the property management division, daughter Carmen Feemster does
sales and Alex’s wife, Ellis, is a sales
associate.
Danny Joyner said he might have
been a coach of some kind if he hadn’t
joined the family business, but he
really always knew that’s where he
would land. He started working at
his father’s company when he was
still in school, working his way
through the ranks doing appraisals,
commercial, property management,
insurance and residential sales.
“C. Dan had a method to his
madness and he wanted us to get
experience in all areas of the company
before handing over the reins,” Danny
Joyner said.
Danny earned his broker’s license
in 1987 and joined full-time in 1990.
In 1996, he launched the commercial
division and ran it for 17 years before
he was named president of C. Dan
Joyner in 2010.
Crigler joined the firm in 1986 and
started selling real estate when
“homes prices averaged in the
$50,000 range,” Crigler said. He held
a broker position for the next 20 or
so years and took Seabrook Marchant’s broker-in-charge position when
Marchant left the company to start
his own firm.
Danny Joyner and Crigler serve as
the company’s executive leadership
team, and say they “just make it
happen.” The two split duties based
on each other’s strengths and say they
tag-team everything.
Even though he had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in his
60s and lived with a defibrillator, C.
Dan Joyner’s death in January 2012
at the age of 74 caught many by
surprise. “He was obviously much
sicker than he let on,” Danny Joyner
said.
C. Dan Joyner had served on many
boards and committees and his death
was felt throughout the Greenville
community.
Company changes
Except for a brief period, the
company has always been independently owned and operated, said
Danny Joyner. In 1985, Merrill Lynch
was buying up privately owned real
estate companies across the country
trying to grow its real estate business,
he said. So C. Dan Joyner sold his
company to Merrill Lynch, staying
on as area president.
In 1990, Prudential bought all of
Merrill Lynch’s real estate interests
and sold them back to “whoever still
wanted them,” Joyner said. C. Dan
Joyner, along with five partners,
formed a holding company and
bought all of the companies back in
North and South Carolina. The
company’s name changed to Prudential Greater Carolinas.
In 1996, two of the partners were
ready to get out of the business.
Rather than keep the holding
company, the partners decided they
would each individually buy back
their own areas they had originally
sold to Merrill Lynch.
In 1997, the company once again
became C. Dan Joyner Realtors. The
company remained a partner with
Prudential until February 2014, when
the company affiliated with Berkshire
Hathaway HomeServices.
Looking to the future
The most dramatic change over the
years has been technology, Danny
Joyner said. Agents used to have their
own offices, with their own fax machines, and sat waiting for the phone
to ring. Now, many don’t come into
the office on a daily basis and carry
tablets to show customers listings and
information on the spot.
To show a listing, an agent used to
have to go to a listing office, pick up
a key, go show the house and then
return the key, Crigler said. Today it’s
on a lockbox accessed via a smart-
phone, which saves a lot of time.
It’s all about helping people –
whether agents or customers – based
on their needs, Crigler said.
The company is very careful about
maintaining the culture in the office
when hiring agents, Crigler said. “It’s
very much a family. We want good
people – talented people, with a good
heart,” he said, with most of their
agents referred to the company by
other agents. He said the company is
also the only real estate firm with a
full-time career director and career
center. “It gets new agents up and
running and provides ongoing
support for seasoned reps,” he said.
Danny Joyner attributes the company’s success to being “an honorable
company” with a long history. The
experience of its leadership team and
agents sets them apart, he said.
In the future, Danny Joyner said
the firm plans to expand into Spartanburg and possibly open an office
in the Five Forks/Greer area. Other
projects are also in the works, but
they’re too early to announce, he said.
Today, the firm has nine offices in
the Upstate and more than 300
agents.
“We’re in growth mode right now,”
said Crigler. “The Berkshire Hathaway
change has been very positive for us.
We have a real Real Estate partner that
is going to help us in our growth plans.”
➤ TIMELINE
1964
C. Dan Joyner opens C. Dan
Joyner Real Estate with three
employees in the old Lawyer’s
Building on East North Street
in Greenville.
1966
New office on
Pleasantburg
Drive built.
Photos Provided
1986
1967
Danny Joyner born in Greenville.
David Crigler joins
the company.
1990
Danny Joyner
joins the
company.
1997
C. Dan Joyner buys out partners,
forms Prudential C. Dan Joyner.
1990
1985
C. Dan Joyner sells
company to Merrill Lynch,
staying on as president.
After Prudential buys Merrill
Lynch’s real estate interests,
C. Dan Joyner and partners
buy back companies in the
Carolinas, forming Prudential
Greater Carolinas.
2002
1998
1996
Danny Joyner starts
commercial division.
2010
C. Dan Joyner
named National
Prudential Broker of
the Year and joins
the Prudential Hall
of Fame.
Gov. David Beasley
awards C. Dan Joyner
the Order of the
Palmetto, the state’s
highest civilian honor.
Danny Joyner becomes
president, David Crigler
becomes executive vice
president.
2012
2009
C. Dan Joyner earns the National
Association of Realtors
Distinguished Service Award.
2014
Company affiliates with Berkshire
Hathaway HomeServices. Now
operates as Berkshire Hathaway
HomeServices C. Dan Joyner,
Realtors.
C. Dan Joyner dies
at age 74.