I wrote a tribute not too long ago to Tom Negoshian who coached his last game at North Farmington High School before retiring and I referenced how this year would be the end of an era at North Farmington with his retirement along with the retirement of Rick Jones. So in thinking about what I would write about Rick I started to think back to my experiences with him and the impact he had on me and how I would characterize what he has meant to the community. This one is easy from the standpoint that I can find plenty of great things to say about him, but it’s tough because I don’t have time to write a whole book and it’s hard to find things to say that haven’t been said about him by just about everyone whose lives he has touched.
I am proud to say that I was there when he first returned home to North Farmington after teaching and coaching in Panama City, Florida in 1987. He was my track and field coach at North and I was a captain on that first team of his. He was a great coach and teacher and immediately had an impact on me as someone who was genuine and was doing what he did for the right reasons. I love to tell people how he proof read and corrected my essay on my application to Michigan when I was a senior. I started attending North Farmington games when my oldest brother was a sophomore in 1976 so I have a deep appreciation for the tradition and history of football at North, and I was drawn to that about Mr. Jones because there is NO ONE who is more about uplifting the tradition of North Farmington and the North community than him. After I graduated I never stopped coming back and I got to watch the transformation of the school as he started to stamp his imprint on the school and literally remold the place in his image. If that sounds like hyperbole it really isn’t.....
What’s nice about writing this down on paper is that Rick won’t have a chance to deflect credit to everyone else but himself in the middle of this and deny that he’s different than everyone else and such a special guy. He refuses to acknowledge this - he is humble and modest to a fault. The trip to Africa, bringing the President, prominent authors, and a piece of the World Trade Center to NFHS, instilling how "It's A Great Day To Be A Raider” in every student, connecting everyone to North’s glorious past through all kinds of ways - he would tell you these things are really not so extraordinary - really just simple deeds that make sense for a guy who cares and loves his job and his school and the result of the hard work of a lot of people. He’s not wrong, but does anyone believe that any of these things would have been possible without his leadership? I thought not.
At one point I thought that “throwback” might be a good word to describe what Mr. Jones is about because they don’t make ‘em like him anymore - that type of thing. But that word is not enough when it comes to Rick. I looked it up and it’s defined as “one that is suggestive of or suited to an earlier time or style”. Rick and I talked recently after we celebrated 50 years of Raider football last fall, and he was waxing poetic about how recently he and Ron Holland (North Farmington coaching legend) were discussing and wondering what is it about North Farmington that makes it such a special place? Because it really is - alumni come back from far and wide to support the school and relive a little the special memories they have of the place. Rick Jones said he told Ron Holland that it all goes back to him - that Coach Holland started it all and created a strong sense of pride in the school that meant so much to so many. I told Rick and I’ll repeat it now that I think he is equally responsible since he brought that feeling back and tied the past to the present, and by doing so his legacy will last far into the future with the thousands of students who will always feel connected to North Farmington. So throwback isn’t enough - he has moved North Farmington forward.
Congratulations to Mr. Jones on his retirement - one of the most exceptional people I have ever met in my life and a man I am truly honored to call my friend.
Doug Cohen
March 30th, 2011
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