Rick Jones Shares His Story in Classification Talk 

At last week's meeting, Rick Jones of Jones Architecture gave his classification talk, taking members from a Kentucky farm to Harvard and, eventually, to Salem.

Rick grew up on a farm in Kentucky that raised pigs and grew corn for bourbon and tobacco for cigarettes, at least until the federal government began paying farmers not to grow tobacco. His father was a social worker at a juvenile residential facility for at-risk youth, and his mother was a schoolteacher. From them, Rick learned early the importance of giving back to the community.

He attended public school and originally planned to become an artist, but he was encouraged to take mechanical drawing in the school's vocational wing. A teacher there suggested he look into architecture, and the rest is history. Growing up, Rick also worked at a local market, where the owner taught him to treat employees and customers well and to give back to the community. Members may notice a theme emerging.

Rick studied architecture at the University of Kentucky, including a semester in Venice that marked his first trip outside North America. He later worked in Lausanne, Switzerland, before earning his graduate degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. It was there that he met his wife, Naomi, a landscape architect, and the two eventually settled in Salem. They have two children: Phoebe, a dancer, and Francis, a performer, actress and vocalist. The family loves to travel, with favorite destinations including Nepal, Barcelona and Cinque Terre.

Jones Architecture has been in business for 15 years and has grown to 30 employees. While a few team members live and work in Miami, most of the firm is based here in Salem. Rick explained that the firm's identity is built around the level of service it provides to clients. Its work spans universities, nonprofits and government agencies, including the renovation of White Stadium in Boston, home of the Boston Legacy.

True to the lessons he learned growing up, Rick has made community service part of the firm's culture. Jones Architecture works with many nonprofit clients, takes part in company community service, and runs a mentorship program. The firm has also hosted a quarterly giveaway called 24 Hours of Design, which will evolve in 2027 into a new initiative for nonprofits called 100 Hours of Design. The goal is to give organizations the creative vision they need to launch their fundraising efforts.

GREAT SALEM GIVEAWAY UPDATE

Due to raffle restrictions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, tickets will be $10 each and Rotarians will sell 20 total tickets.