Volunteer Spotlight: Jimmy Jones

The Volunteer Spotlight for the Spring issue of the Lark shines on Jimmy Jones, a volunteer dedicated to Landmark Park.  Originally from Montgomery County, Jones received two degrees in Agriculture from Auburn University and currently works with the Henry County Extension Office through Auburn University.  Jones credits the Extension Office that he has worked at for the past twenty years with bringing him to Landmark Park in the first place.  He considers Landmark Park to be one of the Wiregrass Area’s best kept secrets and likes to use his work at the Extension Office to bring knowledge about Landmark Park, as well as knowledge about our heritage, to the forefront.

Having been raised on a farm, Jones understands the importance of Agriculture.  Through his volunteer work at Landmark Park with events such as Spring Farm Day, Jones uses his knowledge of farming to educate future generations.  He considers plowing with a mule an art form, and one that will be lost if future generations are not taught about it.  Spring Farm Day is his favorite event to volunteer at not only because he can expose kids to farming methods of the past, but also because it allows him to meet former farmers who want to plow just one last time.

Through his volunteer work at Landmark Park, Jimmy Jones hopes to contribute to preserving the agriculture heritage of our area and our state.  He says “It is very enriching to know you are involved in something.  My thing is preservation; I want to help preserve a part of our history.  If someone does not preserve our history, we will lose it.  I want to make sure someone down the road gets to see it, and with recent budget cuts, someone has to step up and help take care of the park.”