Bailey Family of Companies celebrate milestones

The Bailey Family of Companies celebrates several milestones this year. Headquartered in Spring Grove, it’s co-owned by John Bailey, who serves as president, Courtney Bailey Piccolo, who serves as vice president, and Kristy Fasano, who serves as COO.   

Bailey Coach, a transportation company providing motor coach, shuttle and limousine service, was founded in 1998, so this is its 25th anniversary. Bailey Coach also reached the milestone of 100,000 charter reservations and has transported nearly 2.5 million passengers since its inception. In addition to Bailey Coach, other divisions include Bailey Automotive Services and Bailey Zero Hazard.   

This year the organization, which is headquartered in Spring Grove, is also celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit of the late Glenn E. Bailey, uncle to Bailey Family of Companies president John Bailey, who arranged a tour for a group of York students to travel via train to the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933. He and his brother, the late Fred J. Bailey (a WWII army veteran and John Bailey’s father), founded Bailey Travel Service in 1949. John Bailey began to work for the family business in 1979. It expanded and specialized in corporate, leisure and group travel before it was sold in 2018  

“We started the bus company {Bailey Coach} in 1998 with the intent to service our own groups at the travel agency,” said John Bailey. He and Rodney Sechrist founded Bailey Coach with two motor coaches. Since then Bailey Coach has expanded by acquiring Tarbert’s Airport Transportation in 2002, Hegins Valley Coach Lines in 2005 and the charter motor coach division of Red Lion Bus Company in 2011. Bailey Coach currently operates a fleet of 21 vehicles—sedans, vans, SUVs, and small and larger motor coaches.   

“I’m the second generation in the business, and we have the third generation involved. I’m a grandfather so I hope it continues to the fourth and then fifth generations,” Bailey said.  

Third generation family members include John’s children–Courtney Piccolo and Josh Bailey, who is employed fulltime outside the company, but serves as a driver when needed. Piccolo was 10 years-old when the Bailey Coach was founded, and she said she remembers cleaning coaches with her dad.   

“We didn’t have a lot of employees then. Now we have 55 employees, and it’s special to be a part of our employees’ future. We treat our employees as family,” Piccolo said.  

As a travel-related company, Bailey Coach was heavily impacted during the Covid-19 pandemic. Bailey said the motor coach division was shut down for about 18 months, and during that time Bailey’s Zero Hazard, a disinfecting company, was launched. “We had been using the product to clean and disinfect our coaches for about three years. We launched the disinfecting company using that product, and it was an opportunity for our motor coach staff to remain working,” Bailey explained, “Today that part of the business isn’t as busy today, but it’s still operating.”   

Fasano, whose responsibilities include human resources, said part of the hiring criteria is that an employee is a good fit with the company’s values, which include community service. She said over 10% of the employees have been with the company for 15-years or more. Additionally Tammie Moore, a fulltime motor coach driver, has been a driver for 25 years.  

“We’re not a huge company, but we have good family values and believe in giving back to the community,” Bailey said,” It was fitting that we honored our dual anniversaries with a family-friendly event- at WellSpan Park (the home of the York Revolution baseball team}.”  

Some of the company’s community efforts include allowing local sports teams to host car wash fundraisers in the parking lot, and teaming up with the Rotary Club of York to raise funds to benefit Ukrainian refugees. Bailey Coach has also collected busloads of supplies and transported them to aid several disaster relief efforts including sending supplies to aid residents in Virginia and North and South Carolina impacted by Hurricane Florence in 2018 and to aid San Antonio, TX, residents impacted by   Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Fasano said Bailey Coach also hosts an annual Veteran’s Day motor coach trip that’s free to veterans; this year’s one-day trip will head to the National Museum of the United States Army, Fort Belvoir, VA.  

The Bailey Family of Companies plans to continue its growth with Bailey Self-Storage. Fasano said it will be located across from Bailey’s office and it fits well with Bailey Family of Company’s other business offerings.   

Piccolo said the Spring Grove area has several new residential developments, and a market study determined there was a need for storage units. She said the company is currently working through the planning process with Jackson Township, so the exact number of units has not been set, but it will be a gated facility with three types of storage units–climate controlled, drive-up access, and an area for RVs, boats and vehicles.  

Rochelle A. Shenk is a freelance writer.