Jeff Crank points to a framed photo hanging in his office, signed by his boss at the time. “Great baby! Great name! Great family!” wrote then-Rep. Joel Hefley in silver ink.
In the photo, Hefley is holding Crank’s son — also named Joel — in front of the Capitol. He wasn’t named entirely after the congressman, Crank clarifies, though it didn’t hurt.
“I had an uncle Joel as well, who I love, but I also respected Joel,” he says. “And we liked the name Joel. I always told him, ‘If your first name was Maurice, we probably wouldn’t have named
Our editorial team includes several staff writers, each contributing their specialized knowledge to enhance the depth and breadth of our event and story coverage.