Who doesn't love ice cream?  Nowadays they even have dairy-free ice cream that tastes great so everyone can enjoy it!  My name is Juline Hobbs and I've been in Calaveras County for 15 years now.  We transplanted from the San Lorenzo area in the Bay Area. My first job was working at Vickie's Carousel Ice Cream Shop in my hometown of Hayward, California back in the 80s.  It was really one of the best jobs that I had!  People seemed to be happy or seeking happiness when they would come into our little shop.  I always thought I'd open an ice cream shop of my own someday.  Well, this is the next best thing, but even better than I imagined.  My husband Brian, has supported me in this dream. We have 4 boys, Brandon Fisher, our oldest, Jordan and Jacob Fisher (yes, they are twins!), and Austin Hobbs.  Jacob is married to Kayla and they have 2 beautiful baby boys.  You'll see our family working on the truck from time to time.  Let me tell you how we got here....

 

In December 2012 our son, Brandon Fisher, was hit by a drunk driver. He was a senior at Chico State and one semester away from graduating. He already had a job lined up right out of college, working for Balfour Beatty. We received the call at 5:30 in the morning like every parent dreads. "Your son has been in a terrible accident, he only has about 3 hours to live, you need to come right away..." the doctor explained to us.  We threw his 3 brothers in the truck and headed up to Chico to say our goodbyes. I dashed into the hospital room and saw Brandon lying there, I had hope, he actually didn't look as bad as I thought.  I had hope that he would pull through. Doctors explained that the machine was breathing for him and that he was in a deep self-induced coma. His hip, back, and neck were fractured.  "Brandon will likely be a vegetable IF he comes out of this" the doctor surmised.  I couldn't believe it, I couldn't see myself without him in my life. We weren't going to donate his organs just yet, let's wait and see what happens over the next week or two is all we could think.  So we waited, and Brandon opened his eyes on December 22nd. We were all elated, we knew there would be hard times and a rough marathon type recovery ahead of us.  I knew Brandon could do it, I believed in him. I gave him 100% and quit my job to be by his side.  I'll save you all the recovery details for another time, but just say, he is alive and well. He has total amnesia from 2015 and earlier, so he doesn't remember any of his childhood or schooling. He has short term memory issues and cognitive deficiencies. During his recovery we have struggled with what Brandon could do for a living. We live here in Calaveras in a small town, I wasn't sure where he would look for employment. He has worked at a few different places and struggled with some of the positions. He is a talker, he is so kind and helpful. He is now currently working at Grocery Outlet as a Courtesy Clerk and Facilities. Owners Joel and Jamie Brandt have been a godsend for our family.  They have been very supportive and patient with teaching Brandon and we have really seen a huge change in Brandon.

 

So how does Brandon fit into all this?  We wanted to start a business that Brandon could own. I looked at Brandon's character, skill level, and personality and thought that an ice cream truck could be a perfect fit! It just came to me one night. He could proudly own his own business, and be his own manager. I wanted him to have an opportunity to really challenge himself.

 

So for the first couple of years I'll be fulfilling my dream of owning an ice cream business while I see how it operates. We'll soon buy another truck  for Brandon and we'll start a fleet for the county of Calaveras!  We hope to get the whole family involved.

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