Posted on Jan 30, 2018 in
HOMETOWN HEROES
Barbara Jones.
By Joan Frances –
Fort Bend County is fortunate to have many successful businesses in the area. Companies pay it forward by offering employees opportunities for volunteering to help the less fortunate in the community. Fluor, a Fortune 500 company located in Sugar Land, is a global engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction and maintenance company that designs, builds and maintains capital-efficient facilities for its clients on six continents. Fluor Cares, Fluor’s formal employee volunteer program, is the heart of the company’s community involvement efforts. The program engages and empowers employees to make a difference in their community, magnifying and extending Fluor’s philanthropic impact. One employee who generously volunteers her time is Barbara Jones.
Jones has lived in Fort Bend County for 52 years. After 25 years, she married her childhood sweetheart, Reginald Jones of Sugar Land. Their blended family consists of four children, a daughter in-law and son in-law, four grandchildren and one to arrive shortly. Jones is also a 2013 breast cancer survivor. She has been employed by Fluor for 28 years and currently, she is the Senior Manager of Community and Public Affairs for the Sugar Land office.
Jones recalled, “Fluor Cares has been a part of my family for over 20 years. It has been my pleasure to volunteer with countless projects and to serve on the Fluor Cares Steering Committee. I became involved with this program because of its commitment to give back to the community where Fluor employees live and work. I am privileged to work for Fluor and to succeed alongside amazing co-workers who are both generous with their time and financial support to organizations that serve our community.”
Barbara Jones and Ray Aguilar.
One of Jones’ favorite assignments is serving as the lead for Fluor’s Craft Education Initiative. “When I first started this journey, I witnessed welding shop instructors who were doing their best to teach students with 50-year-old equipment and little to no consumables,” she shared. “After establishing a partnership with Fluor and several local school districts, I’ve seen phenomenal improvements in the schools’ facilities and a pique in student and parent interest in acquiring craft certifications. Not every child will attend a four-year university, but they deserve an opportunity to earn a good living. What gives me unmeasurable delight is seeing the high school graduates further their craft skills and go on to be gainfully employed. I often say I have the best job in the office. When you love what you do the way I do, it’s difficult to call it a job. It’s an honor and privilege to serve in my current role at Fluor.”
In addition to the substantial time she gives to Fluor Cares, Jones served as a board member of The T.W. Davis YMCA for four years. For two years of her term at the Y, she volunteered as the board chair and concurrently chaired the YMCA Golf Classic for one of those years. She was also recognized as the 2016 Volunteer of the Year. For several years she also served as a board member of the Lamar Education Awards Foundation. Most recently, she joined the Fort Bend County Women Center board of directors and the Fort Bend County Community Council for the Fort Bend Boys & Girls Club.
While Fluor’s core business centers on challenging capital projects, providing service to the communities in which Fluor employees live and work is Fluor’s privilege. Jones is a perfect example of how beneficial one individual can be, who reaches out to become engaged in assuring every individual, young or old, has a better quality of life in society. Thank you, Barbara, for your commitment and devotion to the people of Fort Bend County.
Classic Chevy Sugar Land – 13115 Southwest Freeway • Sugar Land, TX 77478. (281) 491-9000, www.classicchevysugarland.com
