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Maurice JONES

Erie Times-News (PA) - May 13, 2010 article: Strong Vincent grad does 'good thing'

Give Maurice Jones major props for his initiative.
The 1984 Strong Vincent High School graduate's mother, Patricia Jones, called me recently pitching a story about her 44-year-old son, who now resides in Dallas.
Maurice Jones launched a unique plan that won him kudos from his employer, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, where Jones has worked since 2003.
A former bus driver for the transit agency who was recently promoted to training supervisor, Jones thought DART needed its own honor guard -- a dress-uniform wearing, flag-carrying group of volunteer employees that participates in funerals and other ceremonies recognizing current and former workers, especially those who passed away.
As a graduate of a Dallas-area police academy, Jones has 20-plus years of experience with such groups, working police funerals and other events as an escort.
Jones' passion project was recently chronicled in Connections, an employee magazine for DART workers. According to the magazine, Jones ran the idea by an assistant vice president for bus operations, who arranged a meeting with higher-ups to discuss it further.
The plan quickly received the agency's blessing, with DART officials agreeing to furnish uniforms, a DART flag and an American flag.
Other bus and rail operators volunteered, and the 10-member honor guard made its debut in June 2009 at a DART awards ceremony -- with Maurice Jones as its commander.
Now at 12 members, the honor guard has appeared at transportation employee funerals, management retreats, and graduation ceremonies for DART's professional development program for supervisors and managers.
In a telephone interview, Maurice said he believes DART is the first transit agency in the United States to establish an honor guard.
His research couldn't turn up any others.
Married with a 9-year-old stepdaughter, Jones said he pushed for the honor guard "because we have people who worked here 30-plus years who pass on, and they deserve some type of recognition for the job they've done. There needs to be a consistent representation at employee funerals and events. It shouldn't matter how high up your position at the company was."
In the Connections article, DART Vice President Frank Jennings calls the honor guard a great idea. "This is a very meaningful way to acknowledge the loss of our co-workers and friends and to recognize them for their service."
Jones said in the article that some families appreciate the honor guard so much that members have been invited to homes for refreshments after funeral or memorial services. Other DART workers, he said, have asked about joining a group that Jones hopes will become a tradition.
At her east Erie home, Patricia Jones radiates pride over what her son put in motion.
"He's always been a personable, caring person," Patricia Jones said of Maurice. "He's not perfect. None of us are. But by staying with it, he was able to do something that turned out to be a real good thing."

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