Allan Jones (businessman)

Early life and education

Jones was born on December 31, 1952, in Cleveland to William A. (Bill) Jones and Virginia Slaughter Jones. He was the first baby born at the county’s new Bradley Memorial Hospital.

Jones attended Cleveland High School, where he wrestled and won various awards and served as team captain. He graduated from Cleveland in 1972. Jones credited wrestling with helping build character and said, "In wrestling, I didn't have anyone to rely on but me." He declined wrestling scholarships to pursue a business degree at Middle Tennessee State University.

Business career

Jones left college at age 20 to help his father stabilize the family’s small business, the Credit Bureau of Cleveland. He purchased this reporting and debt collection business in 1977 and developed it to become one of the largest credit bureau databases in the state.

Jones sold the credit reporting side of the business to Equifax in 1988, although he retained the name and the company's collection agency division. He then built the company to be the largest in Tennessee with offices from Memphis to Atlanta. Jones sold the company in 1998.

Jones founded Check Into Cash in 1993. The idea arose from him seeing a former credit bureau manager who was operating out of a small service station and cashing checks with the agreement that the owner would hold the checks until the next payday before submitting them to the bank. Check Into Cash eventually grew to include 1300 stores nationwide.

Jones is the largest property owner in Bradley County and has renovated many buildings, including a former shopping mall that he altered to become a site for his companies.

The Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce awarded Jones with the organization’s highest honor in 2003, the M.C. Headrick Free Enterprise Award. Jones was also inducted into the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 2003.

Jones was included on BusinessTN magazine's "Power 100" list in 2005. Jones appeared on the cover of BusinessTN Magazine in 2005 and was characterized as "The King of Cash". The magazine ranked Jones as one of the 20 wealthiest people in Tennessee.

Check Into Cash

Jones' research revealed the market for small, short term, fee-based loans collateralized by the customer's signature, leading him to found Check Into Cash in 1993. The business model was made possible after Jones allegedly spent large amounts of money on state legislators, in order to convince them to change the law that previously prohibited charging of what some have characterized as exorbitant interest rates. In effect, Jones' critics charged that he bought the State legislation that allows him to do business. As of 2005 Check Into Cash was the second largest payday loan company in the US and was planning to expand on its existing 1,300 locations.

Community Financial Services Association

Jones has been credited with founding the Community Financial Services Association of America, or CFSA in 1999. CFSA is the national trade association for companies that offer small dollar, short-term loans or payday advances. Through a code of "Best Practices," CFSA members pledge to abide by responsible industry practices that ensure customers understand the cost and risk of short-term payday advances to facilitate the best financial decisions. The practices also require that members hold themselves "to the highest standard of service".

Jones said he founded CFSA after breaking away from the National Check Cashers Association, due to concerns that the NCCA, now called Financial Service Centers of America, was not giving enough attention to the payday lending industry.

Hardwick Clothes

In 2014, Jones purchased Hardwick Clothes, a company founded in Cleveland, TN, in 1880. Hardwick Clothes is the oldest manufacturer of tailor-made clothing in the U.S.

Hardwick Clothes, which began as Cleveland Woolen Mills, was one of two companies founded by C.L. Hardwick in the 19th century. Hardwick put his son Joseph in charge of Hardwick Stove, while his son George ran the clothing company. Cleveland Woolen Mills soon evolved into a manufacturing plant, making suits and other items of apparel.

The company, known for its "Sewn in the South" slogan and renowned during the 1960s for making the world's best blazer, was facing bankruptcy when Jones acquired it. Jones has said he was attracted to Hardwick Clothes because it was the oldest business of its kind in America, and is convinced that the American consumer pendulum is swinging back to "made in America."

Within weeks of purchasing Hardwick Clothes, Jones named Bruce Bellusci, former executive vice president at Hart Schafner & Marx, the company's new CEO/president. He also recruited Hart’s designer, engineer, and three top salesmen to Hardwick.

High school wrestling support

Jones is the largest individual supporter of high school wrestling in the United States. He founded the Cleveland/Bradley Wrestling Club in 1990, and provided the $1.3 million funding for the Jones Wrestling Center located on the Cleveland High School campus. The clubs have been successful, with Jones remarking that “It has very little to do with the buildings and it has everything to do with the right coaches.”

In the 2013 state championship, Cleveland beat runner-up Wilson Central 78-4, setting a TSSAA record for the most lopsided margin of victory, most pins and quickest championship. Since the 2006-07 season, the wrestling team has won state championships in 2011, 2013 and 2014, and finished second in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012.

In 2017, Jones received national attention when he auctioned off a 2009 King Ranch F-150 4X4 pickup autographed twice by President George Bush. The proceeds of the auction went to benefit Cleveland’s Higher Calling Youth Wrestling Club and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum.

Philanthropy

Jones has been described as "Cleveland’s most celebrated benefactor."

In 1990, Jones founded MainStreet Cleveland, dedicated to the revitalization and promotion of Cleveland's historic downtown area and donated the funds for the construction of the Virgil F. Carmichael addition to the Cleveland Public Library. He also wrote and funded Cleveland's Shade Tree Ordinance that helped the city’s tree board earn the designation of Tennessee Tree Board of the Year in 2010. Many of the trees that line the city’s streets were donated by his foundation. He donated $4 million to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville for construction of a new Allan Jones Aquatic Center.

In 2011, Allan Jones contributed to the non-profit organization tnAchieves, enabling it to launch its scholarship and mentoring program in all three Bradley County high schools, ensuring that every graduating senior from Cleveland High School, Walker Valley High School, and Bradley Central High School had the opportunity to attend Cleveland State Community College. In 2015, Jones was awarded the first-ever honorary degree from Cleveland State during its 49th Commencement Ceremony where he was the keynote speaker. A few days later, Jones received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Philanthropy from the Tennessee Board of Regents.

In 2012, Jones received the prestigious Fred Gregg Jr. award from the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame for significant contributions to sports.

In 2017, Jones made national headlines after he donated 43,000 pairs of eclipse-viewing sunglasses to students in six Tennessee school systems. The businessman said the donation was made to ensure students who wanted to view the solar eclipse did so only with safe, NASA-approved glasses.

Tall Betsy

Jones based the character on stories (local folklore) that were told to his mother, Virginia Slaughter Jones, by her mother, Marie Schultz Slaughter. Virginia and other Cleveland children being raised during the 1930s were told by their parents that if they failed to come home before dark they would likely encounter Tall Betsy, sometimes called Black Betsy or simply "The Lady in Black."

In 1993, a Cleveland home on Centenary Avenue owned by businessman Allan Jones was the site of a Halloween world record. According to media reports, the Jones family handed out 11,201 pieces of bubblegum from 5 pm to 8 pm.

Tall Betsy last appeared in 1998 after drawing a Halloween crowd of 25,000, although no explanation was ever given for the goblin's disappearance. Jones later told a reporter that while the goblin may have vanished, her spirit is embedded in the hearts and minds of the Cleveland residents who saw Tall Betsy during the eighteen years from 1980 to 1998.[citation needed]

The 2005 Block Party was dedicated in honor of Tall Betsy's 25th anniversary. The Block Party drew the largest crowd in the event's history. Jones arranged for nationally recognized celebrities such as the cast of "Leave It To Beaver" and Little Richard to entertain the more than 30,000 attendees.The Tennessee legislature declared Tall Betsy the official Halloween goblin of Bradley County in 1989 and in 1998 25,000 people attended a block party at which the character featured. Thereafter the character disappeared but in 2011 it was the subject of a documentary film. In 2014, Jones’ son, Bailey, assumed the identity of Tall Betsy and has appeared as the goblin each year at Halloween.

Personal life

Jones’ first marriage was to Candy Robinson in 1972. The couple had a daughter, Courtney Elaine Jones. The marriage ended in 1975. In 1983, Jones married Janie Pangle in Bradley Co., Tennessee. They have three children: Abby, Will and Bailey.