Posted 9:07 pm Sunday, September 23, 2012
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Jones proud to follow great leaders in Tyler
By Casey Murphy
cmurphy@tylerpaper.com
Rosemary Sage Jones feels a strong sense of commitment to give back to the community she lives in because of the people who have served before her.
cmurphy@tylerpaper.com
Rosemary Sage Jones feels a strong sense of commitment to give back to the community she lives in because of the people who have served before her.
“I feel like I have been blessed in many areas of my life. … It was my turn to give back,” she said of why she became involved in the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce four years ago, as well as several other local organizations.
Starting Oct. 1, she will serve as chairwoman-elect for one year and next year will take the helm as chairwoman from Mary Elizabeth Jackson.
Mrs. Jackson will begin serving as chairwoman Oct. 1 for the next year, taking over the post from Jerry Woolverton. Mrs. Jackson and Mrs. Jones were elected to the positions during the chamber’s board meeting on Tuesday.
Mrs. Jones said her goal is to continue to develop the services the chamber provides to the community and to continue to promote the city of Tyler.
“I am following in the footsteps of some great leaders in this community and I am privileged to do that,” Mrs. Jones said. “I hope to live up to those expectations.”
Mrs. Jones was born and raised in Longview. She attended Baylor University for three years before transferring to The University of Texas at Tyler, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. She returned to Baylor to earn a law degree in 1990 and went to work for a large firm in Dallas for two years.
In 1992, she moved to Tyler to work in the Ramey & Flock law firm. She became a shareholder in 1996. Mrs. Jones is board certified in labor and employment law and personal injury defense. She focuses on being a trial lawyer, defending companies that are being sued, she said.
Mrs. Jones and her husband of nearly 16 years, Chip Jones, a real estate developer and builder, have two children, Macie, 13, and Austin, 19.
When she moved to Tyler to practice law, Mrs. Jones said there was only one other female attorney working at her firm and there were not too many female attorneys in East Texas. And not only was she a woman, she was pregnant, she said.
Mrs. Jackson will begin serving as chairwoman Oct. 1 for the next year, taking over the post from Jerry Woolverton. Mrs. Jackson and Mrs. Jones were elected to the positions during the chamber’s board meeting on Tuesday.
Mrs. Jones said her goal is to continue to develop the services the chamber provides to the community and to continue to promote the city of Tyler.
“I am following in the footsteps of some great leaders in this community and I am privileged to do that,” Mrs. Jones said. “I hope to live up to those expectations.”
Mrs. Jones was born and raised in Longview. She attended Baylor University for three years before transferring to The University of Texas at Tyler, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. She returned to Baylor to earn a law degree in 1990 and went to work for a large firm in Dallas for two years.
In 1992, she moved to Tyler to work in the Ramey & Flock law firm. She became a shareholder in 1996. Mrs. Jones is board certified in labor and employment law and personal injury defense. She focuses on being a trial lawyer, defending companies that are being sued, she said.
Mrs. Jones and her husband of nearly 16 years, Chip Jones, a real estate developer and builder, have two children, Macie, 13, and Austin, 19.
When she moved to Tyler to practice law, Mrs. Jones said there was only one other female attorney working at her firm and there were not too many female attorneys in East Texas. And not only was she a woman, she was pregnant, she said.
Mrs. Jones feels she is one of the first women to have broken the barrier of forging forward as a woman and becoming partner in a large law firm. Although it is still a male-dominated profession, Mrs. Jones said she has seen women becoming accepted as attorneys now.
Raising kids as a lawyer requires a lot of juggling, she said. It means a lot of long hours and late nights.
When her children became old enough, Mrs. Jones decided she wanted to become more involved in the community. She went through Leadership Tyler Class 18 and started working with the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce four years ago.
She volunteered to be on the chamber’s Education and Human Resources Committee, which she felt was a perfect fit because of her background. She went on to become chairwoman of it.
She said one of her passions has been getting the chamber to put on The Business Workshop, a full-day seminar that teaches local employers about labor and employment law.
Mrs. Jones then became the Business Development chairwoman, and in that role has spent the past year overseeing four different chamber committees. She has been named the chamber’s Volunteer of the Quarter twice and was one of the chairwoman captains for the recent membership drive.
She said she was asked if she would consider being placed on the ballot to be named chairwoman-elect and she consented.
Raising kids as a lawyer requires a lot of juggling, she said. It means a lot of long hours and late nights.
When her children became old enough, Mrs. Jones decided she wanted to become more involved in the community. She went through Leadership Tyler Class 18 and started working with the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce four years ago.
She volunteered to be on the chamber’s Education and Human Resources Committee, which she felt was a perfect fit because of her background. She went on to become chairwoman of it.
She said one of her passions has been getting the chamber to put on The Business Workshop, a full-day seminar that teaches local employers about labor and employment law.
Mrs. Jones then became the Business Development chairwoman, and in that role has spent the past year overseeing four different chamber committees. She has been named the chamber’s Volunteer of the Quarter twice and was one of the chairwoman captains for the recent membership drive.
She said she was asked if she would consider being placed on the ballot to be named chairwoman-elect and she consented.
Mrs. Jones also is helping to spearhead the Chick-fil-A Leader Cast, a nationally recognized leadership program, in Tyler in May. She thinks it will be a big annual event and said the chamber is trying to bring more of those types of events to the local community.
Mrs. Jones also is a member of the Smith County Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association and the Texas Association of Business. She has served on several local organizations, including the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Children’s Advocacy Center and the Tyler Executive Women’s Network, among others. She is also a member of Green Acres Baptist Church.
If you know of a professional woman or business service in Tyler you think should be highlighted in this column, contact me at cmurphy@tylerpaper.com or 903-596-6289.
Mrs. Jones also is a member of the Smith County Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association and the Texas Association of Business. She has served on several local organizations, including the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Children’s Advocacy Center and the Tyler Executive Women’s Network, among others. She is also a member of Green Acres Baptist Church.
If you know of a professional woman or business service in Tyler you think should be highlighted in this column, contact me at cmurphy@tylerpaper.com or 903-596-6289.
