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To Succeed is supported by the Rebecca and Jennings
A. Jones Foundation.
Jennings
A. Jones was born in 1909 in Del Rio, Tennessee, a small community
near Newport in Cocke County. Rebecca Jones is a native of Murfreesboro.
Her family has lived in Rutherford County for generations (her great-grandfather
was a medical officer in the Civil War).
After graduating from high school at age sixteen, Mr. Jones pursued
study in electrical engineering at the University of Tennessee at
Knoxville, graduating in 1931. He and his wife, Rebecca, met in
January, 1937 and were married that June 3rd . After working as
an electrical engineer with the Tennessee Electrical Power, first
in Cleveland, and later in Murfreesboro, the budding entrepreneur
opened Jones Locker and Cold Storage in 1939. In 1941, he was called
to active duty in the Army and eventually attained the rank of lieutenant
colonel. In 1946, Jones became chair of the Murfreesboro Planning
Commission and served until 1950. In 1948, Governor Gordon Browning
appointed him to the Tennessee State Planning Commission, a body
he would later chair.
From
1950-1954, Mr. Jones served as the mayor of Murfreesboro. He was
the visionary behind several roadway additions in Murfreesboro.
"Good planning will save a city millions and millions of dollars,"
he once said. Mr. Jones was also influential in the development
of Mitchell-Neilson Primary and Elementary Schools (which are separated,
not coincidentally, by Jones Boulevard) as well as Hobgood, Bradley
and Bellwood schools.
While
raising four children, Mrs. Jones became active in gardening and
neighborhood beautification projects. She planted flowers and shrubs
and arranged for trees to be planted. Many of these trees that were
planted during these projects are still standing and flourishing.
About
ten years ago, the couple founded the Jennings and Rebecca Jones
Foundation to help others, especially the children in Rutherford
County. The idea of computers in the classroom was new and they
donated one computer to four local schools. Mr. Jones got involved
in helping the one-room country school he had attended in Del Rio
(in the Appalachian Mountains) by donating money for a long-distance
learning center and library.
When
McFadden Elementary School established a magnet program with emphasis
on Communication Arts through Technology, the Joneses gave a $50,000
donation to install a high-tech broadcasting lab. The Foundation
helped to create Discovery
Center at Murfree Spring, a hands on museum and environmental
center in downtown Murfreesboro.
The
couple has also funded a business academy called Corporate Connections.
The objective of the Academy is to assist K-12 educators learn more
about the business community in order to help students be better
prepared for the workplace.
Jennings
A. Jones' financial support over the years to Middle Tennessee State
University has made possible the Jennings A. Jones Chair of Excellence
in Free Enterprise and the Jennings and Rebecca Jones Chair of Excellence
in Urban and Regional Planning. Their continued support is reflected
in the establishment of the Jennings and Rebecca Jones Foundation
Academy for Teachers of Gifted Students. Also at MTSU is the Center
for Economic Education (CEE) that is funded through the generosity
of Mr. and Mrs. Jones. The mission of the CEE is to support the
efforts of K-12 teachers to improve the quality of economics instruction
and learning by conducting workshops and providing (free) curriculum
programs and materials.
Former
MTSU president James Walker stated about Mr. And Mrs. Jones, "Beyond
MTSU, their investment in education has quite literally raised the
bar on the quality of life for thousands of children, young individuals
and older citizens who have lived and worked right here at home
in middle Tennessee. Imagine how many lives these middle Tennesseans
have, in turn, touched across the globe and across generations."
excerpts
from Daily News Journal, May 7, 1999 and April 15, 2001
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