Founded in 2002, Joel’s Painting and Contracting is a family-run company owned by Joel Buch. From a modest beginning with only one full-time employee, the company has risen to admirable heights, earning the reputation of “Best Painting Contractor” in Lancaster County magazine’s Best of Lancaster County 2014 Annual Readers’ Survey, and trusted by fellow professionals on both commercial and residential projects. Buch says the company “continues to emphasize excellence before profit and to offer the latest products and technology without sacrificing old-fashioned quality for a fair price.”

At the age of 16, Buch started painting during the summer and shares that his “brush-in-hand experiences” guided him to master superior painting techniques. Now, with 15 years of professional expertise, he focuses on leading by example. He strives to provide a supportive, appreciative environment for his employees, where they are paid good wages and given opportunities to grow their skills and advance within the company. Instilled with the importance of delivering quality customer service, his team of trained staff emphasize attention to detail and follow safety precautions.

Dedicated to using environmentally sustainable practices, the company’s paint selections minimize the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are petroleum-based solvents that evaporate from paint as it dries that reduce indoor air quality, emit greenhouse gas and release fumes into the environment for up to five years after the paint is applied. Joel’s Painting and Contracting uses untinted acrylic products with less than one percent volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to replace the conventional acrylic paint brands that have between three and seven percent, as well as untinted enamel alternatives to oil-based enamel paints, which contain only eight percent VOCs, instead of the 30 to 50 percent present in traditional oil paints. In addition to their environmental and air-quality advantages, the low VOC products are washable, stain-resistant and come in a range of colors.

Joel’s Painting is accredited as a Lead-Safe Certified firm, according to the standards set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Certification Program, which means its team members are trained to follow lead-safe work practices and have studied low-impact environmental laws. Committed to reducing landfill waste, the company strives to limit the amount of paint that is thrown away.

The business’s services include interior and exterior painting for residential and commercial spaces such as parking garages, restaurants, retail stores, offices, schools and churches, as well as historical buildings. After purchasing and renovating a Federal-style home on East King Street, where he has resided with his family for more than 10 years, Buch became enamored with older homes and has a great appreciation for the value and period-specific style of historic properties. Thus, the team at Joel’s Painting provides excellent professional guidance during any restoration process. “We leave a legacy of great virtues along with good, custom painting with each completed project,” says Buch wholeheartedly.

Buch believes in giving back to the community that has helped his business succeed. A father of three children, he and his wife, Rachel, serve as youth ministry leaders for BreakOut Ministries on the New Holland Pike, where his parents, Ron and Mary Buch, are the senior pastors. The couple also ministers to Lancaster County Prison inmates and helps with drug recovery programs.

Buch considers it “reaping what you sow” and donates his company’s time, talent and financial resources to local nonprofits including Water Street Ministries Rescue Mission and its Teen Haven project, Schreiber Pediatric Rehab Center, Milagro House and the Lancaster Day Care Center, where he is a board member. Joel’s Painting and Contracting also lends support to the annual Teen Haven City Wide Clean Up. He notes, “My generous team members work with me in the community because they understand the benefits of reaping and sowing. I have great respect for people who do goodwill; I call it good fruit.”

Buch’s humanitarian efforts reach beyond Lancaster. Through Mennonite Disaster Services, he rebuilt a home for a severely handicapped New Orleans resident in 2010. Currently collaborating with Dr. Medad Birungi, founder of World Shine Ministries, a registered charity in Uganda, Buch supports a children’s orphanage by supplying food, medicine, first aid supplies and the labor to rebuild beds and dormitories. “My involvement with Dr. Birungi has made me become a better local and world citizen,” reflects Buch.

Location: 2001 Columbia Ave., Lancaster. For more information, call 717-471-4273, email [email protected] or visit JoelsPainting.com.

Gisele Siebold is a contributing writer to Natural Awakenings magazine, Lancaster-Berks edition, who lives in Lancaster.