Elect Mark Jones

Growing up

Mark and his family, consisting of his grandma, grandpa, father, mother, and four siblings, packed into the ole station wagon and moved to Josephine County in 1971. He was just a little over a year old at the time. Their first home was located on Redwood Ave., just a little West of Boundary Rd. A few years later, they moved to the community of Murphy and lived on N. Applegate Rd. until he was almost 8 years old. When Mark graduated from Hidden Valley High School in 1988, the family had been living on Williams Hwy just a few yards from what is now Fields Home Center.

In high school, Mark was an active member of DECA inc. (formally known as Distributive Education Clubs of America) and excelled in his marketing class by integrating his artistic talent with the spirit club’s button creation and sales. His artwork depicting the Hidden Valley Mustang’s mascot overcoming many adversaries, was quite a hit. His favorite classes however, were art, wood shop, and mechanical drawing.

Work and Career

During and directly after high school, Mark worked in the Grocery business where he moved up the ladder to become 4th manager of Ray’s Sentry Market in Rogue River at the age of 19. At the age of 21, his best friend from high school introduced him to the fire service. Mark knew that this was his calling, helping others in the best way possible. In February of 1991, he became a resident firefighter for Valley Fire Service, currently known as Rural Metro Fire Department. In 1999, Mark transferred with Rural Metro to Scottsdale Arizona. When the city transitioned to a municipal department in 2005, he became an Engineer for the City of Scottsdale Fire Department. He was an instructor for apparatus and ARFF training as well as a leader to members of his crew and others on the department. His attention to detail, ability to act under pressure and always think clearly made him a great asset to the fire service. There were numerous incidents where his skills provided a positive outcome to some not so positive situations. Mark’s career in the fire service ended with his retirement from Scottsdale Fire Department in 2018.

Return home

Without a career keeping him in Arizona, Mark decided it was time to return to the place his heart has always known as home. In August of 2018, he moved back to Josephine County and started a job with the County Assessor’s office. In 2019, his desire to help others led him to take a job with Rural Metro’s Fire Prevention Department doing home safety inspections and smoke alarm installations. This ended in early 2021 when he answered the call to run for a fire board position on the proposed Fire District. Mark was elected to the fire board, unfortunately the fire district did not receive the needed votes and therefore he was elected onto nothing. Being involved in the fire district campaign gave him a glimpse into the true condition the county had succumbed to while he was gone. He realized the county had lost its sense of community and that the care, concern, and compassion for others his home had once shown, was disappearing.

Getting involved

Seeing the need to return care, concern, and compassion to this community, Mark felt a calling to get involved and try to make a difference. In 2022, he entered the race for County Commissioner in hopes of bringing people together again. He has seen the political parties grow so far apart that working together has become a major struggle. Mark is a non-affiliated voter just like a little over 25,000 Josephine County residents and believes this group has the power to show others that we can all stand together and create a prosperous future.

Since March of 2022, Mark has attended most of the Board of County Commissioners legal and business meetings along with many workshops. He utilizes the three minutes of public comment time to share ideas, solutions, and concerns with the Commissioners and the public. He is well versed on county affairs and operations making it easy to pick up the torch and carry it with integrity.

Mark is currently a Commissioner on the Josephine County Rural Planning Commission serving as Vice Chair. He is also the Vice Chairman of the Josephine Housing and Community Development Council, the Foundation Director for the Grants Pass Rotary Club, a member of the Merlin Community Park Board, a Member of the Grants Pass and Josephine County Chamber of Commerce, and a member of a Fire Safety citizen group working to improve the fire service delivery in Josephine County.