Profiles in Persistence – Part 1 Rob Jones
All leaders face challenges in both good and tough economic times. In tough times it may be about staying in business. In good times it may be about finding the right people to fuel future growth and remain competitive. Both require persistence.
All of us can probably name someone whose persistence in the face of difficulties inspired us. Who is that person you know that turned perceived problems into opportunities to positively impact others?
I want to share a “Profile in Persistence” of someone who has inspired me greatly. And that is Marine Corps Veteran Rob Jones.
Rob Jones (Warrior)
In 2003, Jones graduated from LoudounValley High School in Purcellville, Virginia. While he participated in football and wrestling during his freshman and sophomore years, respectively, he was not a star athlete in high school.
He joined United States Marine Corps Reserve during his junior year at Virginia Tech in 2006. It was in the Marine Corps he found that running was a natural fit for him. Jones graduated from Va Tech in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.
- Jones was a combat engineer who served in 4th Combat Engineer Battalion.
- He was attached to 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines in 2008 during the Iraq War
- He was attached to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines in 2010 during the War in Afghanistan.
- Jones was wounded by an improvised explosive device, July 22, 2010, in Afghanistan.
- He was evacuated to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.
- As a result of the explosion, Jones lost both of his legs above the knee.
- He received the Purple Heart.
- Jones was discharged from the Marines as a sergeant in December 2011.
- At the 2012 Summer Paralympics he won a bronze medal in mixed double sculls (rowing)
- In 2013 and 2014, he cycled 5,180 miles across the United States raising $126,000 for wounded veteran charities.
- Then Jones devised his latest endeavor: run 31 marathons in 31 cities in 31 days.
“I thought I would try to totally blow people’s minds,” he says. - In 2019, after 18 months of training, Jones ran 31 marathons in 31 cities across the country.
- Jones finished his 31st marathon on a frosty Veterans Day, hurting and trying not to trip. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Jones_(Marine)
He has raised more than $200,000 for wounded veteran charities and sent an invaluable message: “I hope that a veteran who comes home psychologically or physically wounded will see what I’m doing and realize that we are not broken or incapable of reintegrating into society.”
On July 22, 2019, nine years to the day of the military action that cost him his legs, Jones announced that he was running for the Republican nomination for the United States House of Representatives in Virginia’s 10th congressional district, challenging Democratic first-term incumbent Jennifer Wexton.
I am awestruck by the persistence and determination of Rob Jones, almost to the point of holding back tears. Can you imagine walking a mile in his shoes, let alone running in them?
So the next time we are tempted to have a pity party please remember Rob and draw energy from this awesomely inspirational American who turned his problems into opportunities to positively impact others.
Part II another persistence Profile of a Great American coming soon…Lee
