One of our core values is “Treat Others Like Family”, and at this year’s golf tournament, we did just that by honoring the memory of our beloved employee owner, Rick Jones, who we lost on May 31,2021 to a sudden heart attack. For the past 21 years, our golf tournament has benefitted the American Heart Association, and this year our tournament was in his honor.
Rick began his career as the Safety and Loss Control Coordinator with T.W. Frierson Contractor on October 24, 1983. During his 30+ years with TWF, his impact on the company and construction community cannot be overstated. He was the heart and soul of TWF where he wore many hats in all of his duties. Although technically and quietly retiring on December 31, 2019, Rick was still an active part of the TWF family and learned to Zoom for meetings and events during Covid, where he would admonish others for not turning their cameras on. You could count on him to be the loudest, most brightly dressed person in the room who ALWAYS had the first question.
He was an active member and served on various boards and committees for TOSHA, CSI, ABC, among others. His love of helping and teaching led him to serve as a mentor to Cane Ridge and Hunters Lane High School students for over 15 years with ACE Mentor Program, which introduces high school students to careers in the architectural, construction management and engineering professions, and supports their higher education goals through merit-based scholarships.
Without a doubt, the most important thing to Rick Jones was his family. He and Cindy found each other and were married on May 2, 2019, which brought him some of the happiest days of his life. They did everything together – cheered on his beloved Tennessee Titans every Sunday (being a season ticket holder since the team came to Nashville), joining motorcycle and car clubs including AACA, Honk Rattle & Roll, SCRC #6, AMO Club, traveling all over for fun events, and restoring the family’s beach house in St. Joe Beach, Florida after Hurricane Michael in 2018. The lights of his life were his grandchildren, to whom he was Papa Rick and ALWAYS having fun. Rick left us all too soon, but he lived life so fully that our memories of him will last us forever.