Education Edition - 1736 Magazine, Fall 2019

FACES OF DOWNTOWN
Larry Jones
RAGS TO WRENCHES
By DAMON CLINE
When Larry Jones volunteers to
speak to students in Augusta’s
urban core schools, he’s often
met with apathetic faces.
After all, how many cell-phone toting teenagers
want career advice from a 68-year-old
plumber?
But they begin to perk up when they realize the
old man in the Universal Plumbing golf shirt is the
proverbial “millionaire next door.”
They see his new car. They hear about his
nice home. He tells them about the weeks-long,
annual vacations he takes to Africa.
Only after learning of the fruits of Jones’ labor
do students give him their undivided attention.
“They have no concept of plumbing or the
rewards of plumbing,” said Jones, a 1969 graduate
of T.W. Josey High School. “When you tell
JONES continues on 79
Larry Jones, founder
and owner of Universal
Plumbing, stands in the
lobby of his company’s
office on Milledgeville
Road. [DAMON CLINE/THE
AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]
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