Marvin Jones

Safe Haven board president likes helping in the community

Marvin Jones holds many roles in the Cabot community, including serving as a member of the Cabot School Board, as well as president of the Lonoke County Safe Haven Board of Directors. Jones, who is originally from Beebe, has served on the Safe Haven Board for two years.
Marvin Jones holds many roles in the Cabot community, including serving as a member of the Cabot School Board, as well as president of the Lonoke County Safe Haven Board of Directors. Jones, who is originally from Beebe, has served on the Safe Haven Board for two years.

Marvin Jones said he likes to fly under the radar, but sometimes that’s not possible.

Jones is currently a financial adviser, a member of the Cabot School Board, an adjunct professor at Arkansas State University-Beebe and president of the board of directors of Lonoke County Safe Haven, which will host its annual Jeans and Jewels fundraiser at 6 p.m. Friday at Bella Terra Estate in Cabot.

“I’m a huge believer in teamwork,” Jones said. “It’s not that I’m involved in Safe Haven. It’s not that I’m involved with ASU or the school. We’re all a team here.

“It’s not about me. It’s about our cause and our team. It’s about us. I’m an advocate out there.”

Jones was born in Lonoke but grew up in Beebe. He graduated from Beebe High School in 1975. He attended Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, near Kansas City.

“I got a bachelor’s and MBA from Baker,” Jones said. “It’s a private Methodist school. I chose it because it has very high academic standards, similar to Hendrix College. At one time, the president of Hendrix came from Baker.”

After graduation from Baker, Jones spent almost 20 years working for Nabisco USA, where he was a corporate vice president. The last seven years of that, he lived in New York.

After leaving Nabisco and moving back to Arkansas, he and two others had to take a year off because of a noncompete clause in his contract.

“We bought companies in Canada with two Venture Capital groups behind us,” Jones said. “We operated them for 10 years, then sold them. They are currently owned by Con-Agra. After that, I decided after 25 years of being a road warrior, it was time to stay closer to home.”

Jones said he worked with many talented people during his career.

“They would go from the West Coast to the East Coast, and they’d leave one child in Los Angeles and one child in Minneapolis and one in New York,” he said. “I just didn’t want that type of fragmented family.”

He moved back to Arkansas in the mid-1990s and chose Cabot.

“We selected Cabot because of the school district,” Jones said. “All three of my kids graduated from Cabot.”

Jones has several grandchildren in school at Cabot and one who had already graduated from there. This was his impetus to run for the school board. He is currently in his third year.

“There comes a time when you feel like you’ve been blessed enough, financially, to do what it is you need to do,” he said. “You want to be able to give back to your community and, again, expect nothing in return.

“I’ve got a senior this year, a middle school and an elementary school grandchild. I have another who is 2 years old and another who will be here in a few months.”

Jones got involved with teaching at ASU-Beebe after returning to Arkansas.

“I’ve been an adjunct professor of economics at ASU-Beebe for 21 years,” he said. “I went to run a race in Beebe, and I was approached by one of their school leaders and asked if I would consider working with them. He knew my educational background and asked if I would consider giving back to the community and the kids. I was enamored with that opportunity.”

Jones is able to do that because he runs his own financial firm.

“I do consultations with small to medium-sized companies and high net-worth individuals,” Jones said. “I’m usually in control of my schedule most times. But if I’m going to do something, it’s got to be at the back end of the week so I can go out and do my business and come back home. So I’ve been teaching on Thursday nights for about 21 years.”

Jones also teaches an entrepreneurial class for Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

Jones is in his second year on the board of Lonoke County Safe Haven, which operates a thrift store in Cabot.

According to its website, www.lcsh.org, the group was formed in 2006 to address the growing concerns of domestic abuse and its effects on families in Lonoke County.

“I was asked if I would be interested in attended a meeting,” Jones said. “I knew what they stood for, and I believed in their mission. I actually remember in 2005, when it was initially formed. My goodness, you have to be oblivious not to realize the great need and the breakdown of society today.”

Jones said the mission for Lonoke County Safe Haven is to provide a place of safety for victims of domestic violence.

“What people don’t realize, we actually take care of more kids than we do adults,” he said. “Last month at our board meeting, a report said we had a ratio of two kids for every adult.

“What happens in a home when violence erupts — what we’ve learned — is the females, generally speaking, will not leave if they cannot take their kids with them.”

Jones said that many times, the children do not want to leave, especially without their pets.

“They don’t recognize the danger they are in,” he said. “We make room for their pets. It’s a holistic approach.

“We take the victims in. We nourish them. We take care of them. We educate them. We get them medical care, whatever they need. Education support is given to help them recover and make it on their own so they can get back into society in a productive way.”

Safe Haven currently has 16 beds in its facility in an undisclosed location.

“However, we can handle more than 16 if they wish to stay with mom, or we can provide temporary sleeping arrangements. We presently have 23 in the shelter. We have been at capacity for several months. When we are at capacity and a victim comes forth, we arrange to take them with alternative arrangements. We have reciprocal agreements with other shelters in our state and other avenues to remove them from danger.”

Sarah Brown, executive director for Safe Haven, said Jones has a enthusiasm for serving victims of abuse.

“He brings not only the passion for serving victims, but also an amazing business sense to help us better organize and keep things moving the way we all dream Lonoke County Save Haven should,” she said. “For me, being executive director, he’s also been encouraging me to dream big for the shelter.

“We are currently meeting the needs for the victims, but also, what do we want Lonoke County Safe Haven to look like in the future?”

Jones said he enjoys being involved with Safe Haven.

“What a cause,” he said. “Domestic violence impacts a lot of lives. Irrespective of education or social status, it’s one of those dark elements that is rarely spoken of because of the shame. Understanding that it’s kids involved and it’s females by and large. Your heart is in the right place. You want to give.

“The thing about our board is not only does every member give of their time, they give of their talent, and they give of their finances. We give money to this cause because we believe in it.”

Lonoke County Safe Haven’s largest fundraiser — Jeans and Jewels — will take place Friday at Bella Terra Estate, 500 Arkansas 89 E. in Cabot.

“It’s an extremely fun evening,” Jones said. “It’s very casual. We have music and a dinner. People from the community show up. We have a core group of supporters who come out. It’s fun and lively.”

Tickets are $75 and are available at the Lonoke County Safe Haven Thrift Store in Cabot.

“You buy a ticket because you want the camaraderie involved, and you want the networking, but it’s also the cause,” Jones said. “I have yet to encounter anyone who did not have a terrific time.”

Brown said Jeans and Jewels is a great opportunity for one-one-one networking.

“We get to talk to people about how the money is being used at Lonoke County Safe Haven,” she said. “Auction items will also be available.”

For more information, email Brown at director@lcsh.org.

Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.

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