Brockways’ journey from BOCES to business

When Jeff and Jolene (Nielsen) Brockway met in seventh grade in 1987, they couldn’t have dreamed they would someday be married and owning their own business, yet here they are in 2021 having accomplished exactly that.

They started their business, JB Machines on Old Stage Road, in 2007, but their recent acquisition of Cayuga Tool & Die, though sudden and unexpected, is the culmination of a dream Jeff has had since he discovered the Machine Shop program at TST BOCES in high school.

Born to John and Sherri Brockway, 1970 alumni of Groton High School (GHS), Jeff is a 1993 GHS alum. While attending school, Jeff was a multi-sport athlete — whether it was wrestling, track, cross-country, football or baseball, he was always involved in sports. But when it came to academics, he said he knew he was “not college-bound material.”

At the encouragement of his guidance counselor, Michelle Hughes, and his resource teacher, Gloria Kreh, Jeff attended a BOCES open house, and when he saw the machine shop, he knew he had found his niche.

Recommended by his BOCES teacher, Ray Benjamin, Jeff became what was known in those days as a “capstone student,” whereby he was employed at Kohler Machine & Tool of Ithaca in his senior year, earning him BOCES credit simultaneously with on-the-job training. Benjamin next encouraged Jeff to attend college, so on to Alfred State College Jeff went, earning his AAS in Tool and Die Design.

Throughout high school and college, Jeff worked as a lifeguard at the Groton Memorial Park pool every summer. During his college years, he also worked at Kohler during summers.

“All through my school years, I pretty much juggled three jobs most of the time,” Jeff said.

Meanwhile, another Groton grad, Cindy Nielsen ’74, was raising her daughter, Jolene, in Dryden. When Jolene was in seventh grade, they moved to Groton. Jeff and she became best friends, and by the eighth grade, they were an inseparable couple.

Jolene recalled that she was not overly involved in high school, but she did join the French club and was able to go to France in her junior year — an experience she will never forget.

“When I attended school in Dryden, it was like everyone was just a number,” Jolene recollected. “When I came to Groton, my whole life changed. It was like I came alive.”

Jolene said she had a love for animals her entire life, so after graduation in 1993, she headed off to SUNY Canton, where she earned her AAS in Veterinary Technology. After college, she obtained a position at the Cortland Animal Hospital, where she has worked for the past 26 years.

Despite their college pursuits taking them in separate directions, Jeff and Jolene remained as close as ever, were married in 1999 and eventually purchased their current home on Old Stage Road.

The Brockways have welcomed sons, Brennan and Brysen, to the family since. Brennan is currently a junior at GHS and is enrolled in the Heavy Equipment program at TST BOCES. Brysen is in third grade at Groton Elementary School.

In May 1995, Jeff began working for Judd and Becky Bailey, owners of Cayuga Tool & Die on Newman Road, where he remained for almost three years. For the following eight years, Jeff worked at Haskell Machine & Tool in Homer, did his apprenticeship and earned his Toolmaker and Qualified Journeyperson certificate.

Jeff then made a career change, working for the town of Groton from 2003 to 2014, and began purchasing machine shop equipment as his budget enabled him.

“I knew my drive was to work with what I’d studied,” Jeff said. “So, Jolene and I started JB Machines in 2007 out of our garage.”

Jeff further explained that “machine shops are a dying breed, so very much in demand. My phone started ringing off the hook for me to do jobs for companies needing tooling like C&D Assembly, Cayuga Tool & Die and others, along with area farmers and local people.”

When Jeff left his job for the town, he worked at a couple of other local companies while still running JB Machines, plus coaching wrestling for GHS for about seven years.

During the time when Jeff was purchasing equipment, he began storing some of it offsite, primarily in a building on the property of Larry and Wilma McAllister, friends they had made along the way.

“In 2018, Larry really encouraged me to expand my business by setting it up in that building,” Jeff said. “So, we bought it from him.”

Jeff and Jolene spent the next two years getting the building ready to officially move JB Machines from the garage on Old Stage to their current space at 700 Stevens Rd. That was the plan, anyway.

Jeff left his job at BorgWarner in September 2020, right around the time that Judd Bailey decided to retire and contacted Jeff about purchasing Cayuga Tool & Die from him. By October, the transaction was made.

For the first time since he started high school, Jeff now works just one job from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, living and owning his dream. For those who might need his services, the number to call is 607-533-7400, but only during those hours and by appointment only.

“We love Groton and are so grateful for what we can do to give back to it,” Jeff said. “But we wouldn’t be where we are without the help of Judd and Becky Bailey, the McAllisters, Tom Billups and family, and other local families. We owe them a huge thanks for making all this possible.”

Groton on the Inside appears weekly. Submit news ideas to Linda Competillo, lmc10@cornell.edu or 607-227-4922.

In brief:

Chicken at the Legion

The Groton American Legion Post 800, 317 Main St., will be serving its famous chicken barbecue beginning at 10 a.m. Feb. 27.
Curbside service will be provided for $8 halves or $10 dinners that include salt potatoes, baked beans and a brownie.

Special meeting at the library 

The Groton Public Library will hold a special meeting of its Board of Trustees at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 25 for the purpose of approving the New York state annual report. Contact director@grotonpubliclibrary.org to obtain the Zoom link to attend. All meetings are open to the public. 

Red Cross babysitting course 

Groton Recreation is sponsoring the Red Cross babysitting course from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 6, held at the Groton American Legion Post 800, 317 Main St. 

This training class is taught by a certified American Red Cross instructor and is recommended for youth aged 11 to 15. Class includes participant manual, emergency reference guide and DVD. Fee: $65. Students should bring their own lunch.  

Register at: https://tshq.bluesombrero.com/Default.aspx?tabid=2198940, first come, first served. Maximum class size is 12 students.