BENTONVILLE — Mary Mae Jones already has her name on a school building. Soon her picture and her story will appear on a box of cookies.
Jones, 91, a former teacher from Bentonville, won this year's "Share Your Hero" contest run by Mrs. Fields, a national brand known primarily for its cookies. The contest calls on people to nominate someone they believe to be a hero.
Jones will be featured on a future box of Mrs. Fields cookies. She also will receive a year's supply of cookies, as will Jamie Gaston, the nurse at Mary Mae Jones Elementary who nominated her.
"It’s an honor, but it’s more of an honor for the people who cast their vote for me," Jones said.
Jones began her teaching career at age 19 in Dumas. She moved to Bentonville in 1962 and was a full-time teacher there until 1995. She taught part-time for 10 more years and retired at age 81.
Hearing she'd won the Mrs. Fields contest was "just about as exciting as it was when they named the school," Jones said.