(1896 - 1977) Byon Allen Jones, the third president of Franklin Springs Institute, began serving upon the resignation of A. M. Taylor in 1927 and served until 1929 when G. F. Taylor returned. Born in Mount Olive, North Carolina in November 1896, he was one of the first students to enroll when Franklin Springs Institute was opened in 1919, and four years later he became the fIrst student to graduate from the school.

Following his graduation, Jones remained in Franklin Springs where he continued to be a valuable assistant to G. F. Taylor as a "printer's devil" in the publishing house of the church. Then in 1926 he also joined the staff. of the school as an instructor. His summers were spent working on construction sites as a skilled bricklayer as jobs became available. In fact, it was during a time when he was in Virginia laying brick that he received a letter in July of 1927 to assume the presidency of his Alma Mater!

The new president was only 30 years old, was married, and had a family to provide for, but he possessed a tenacity and determination that were to be tested severely in the next two years. He renewed appeals to the church for financial support, calling repeatedly for help through THE ADVOCATE.

The obstacles Byon Jones faced as president of Franklin Springs Institute were numerous, and, to add to the list, the only remaining dormitory, the old "lower hotel" burned to the ground on March 28, 1928. Fortunately no one was injured but the loss of this building forced all the resident students to find lodging in the community for the rest of the year.

With no dormitories and no funds to quickly erect a new facility, the 1928-29 school year began with the entire student body living in homes in the surrounding area. Under Byon Jones' heroic leadership, construction of a new dormitory (phase one of Jackson Hall) was begun. Unfortunately the poor economic conditions and general depression of the times prevented the completion and occupancy of that dormitory until 1935.

By 1929 it became apparent that the school's financial difficulties could not be easily solved. The two years of Byon Jones' presidency were critical to the future of the institution, and a man of lesser optimism and dedication to hard work would not have survived.

Byon A. Jones went on to organize and become the first president of the Pentecostal Young People's Society (P. Y.P.S.), the first effort to formalize a youth program within the church. He also served the Georgia Conference as a pastor and Conference Secretary. Moving to Virginia, he is best remembered for his twenty-year pastorate at the London Street Church in Portsmouth, which grew to an attendance of more than 500.

Byon's Jones ministry concluded in Florida where he first pastored Tallahassee Pentecostal Holiness Church and then was elected Superintendent of the Florida Conference. After retirement, he and his wife, "Lady Lee," lived in Orlando until his death at 81 years of age on June 24, 1977.

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