He retired in 2014 after more than 43 years with Publix. Then in 2019, he returned to the career — and company — he loved.

Meat Cutter Joenathan “J.J.” Jones, #636, Woodstock, Georgia, started working for Publix in 1967 at #0001, Winter Haven, Florida, as a front service clerk while attending high school. After graduation, he tried going to college, but decided that wasn’t for him. Instead, he attended the National School of Meat Cutting in Toledo, Ohio, and when he returned to Winter Haven, he knew he wanted to go back to Publix. In 1969, he was hired at #0001 as a meat cutter.

J.J. remembers Mr. George regularly visiting #0001 to walk the perimeter and speak with associates. He also recalls the store had bright red carpet on some of the aisles. The carpet didn’t last long, but J.J. did.

“I made a goal to be an assistant meat manager in 7 years,” J.J. said. “And about 7 years later, Mr. [Joe] Blanton called me to his office and told me they were thinking about promoting me to meat manager at a store in St. Petersburg [Florida].”

In 1983, he was promoted to meat manager, and except for a one-year retirement in 1989 to focus on his family, that was the primary role he served in for the rest of his career. J.J.’s favorite part of his job has always been serving customers and guiding associates into leadership roles.

“My philosophy was I wanted to treat customers and associates as I wanted to be treated,” he said. “I always told [my associates] a career with Publix is possible and can be attained. If you do your job and maintain a clean work record, you can go anywhere you want with the company.”

J.J. and his wife have been married for 50 years. After retiring for the 2nd time in 2014, J.J. and his wife moved to Atlanta to be closer to their new granddaughter. In his free time, J.J. is a passionate NASCAR and NHRA drag-racing fan. He visits Daytona Beach, Florida, and Gainesville, Florida, every year to attend races. He also enjoys fishing but says it’s harder to do in his area of Georgia than it was when he lived in Florida.

So how did J.J. find himself back at Publix? A few years after moving to the Atlanta area, a store manager approached him about returning to work. He wasn’t really doing anything at home, so he figured, why not?

“I’ve always enjoyed my job,” he said. “I enjoy getting up early and going to work. It makes my day.”

Store Manager Mark Edwards is grateful to have someone like J.J. on his team.

“It’s really a blessing to have him here to share the Publix culture with new associates,” said Mark. “To have someone with his years and expertise is an awesome opportunity.”

What has helped J.J. be successful at Publix? Here are just a few things he mentioned:

• Enjoying and finding satisfaction with the work he does.
• Being supported by the people he worked with and the company he is an owner of.
• Teaching associates to always provide 110% customer service by treating every customer the way they would like to be treated.
• Sharing his knowledge and training other associates in the use of policies and procedures.
• Helping associates whose goals are to further their careers with Publix.
• Opening store #469, Alpharetta, Georgia.

Publix is a family — a big, 225,000-person one — with backgrounds from across the country and around the world. This article is part of a series featuring associates who come from a variety of backgrounds, age groups and cultures, and we love sharing their successes. We hope our articles help you learn a little more about your fellow associates who make up our Publix family.