It all clicked for Sarah Jones in a Tallassee City Council meeting.
Jones had been looking for another way to serve. She was already on youth sports boards and helping at First Baptist Church of Tallassee.
Jones was watching as her daughter was recognized for being on the swim team when it clicked.
“The week before I had been to church camp as a volunteer,” Jones said. “I'd been praying, asking God for a kind of direction. At that council meeting I was sitting there and all of a sudden, I heard, ‘Run for city council.’ It was a God thing.”
Jones has announced her intention to run for Tallassee City Council in Ward 6.
For almost two years now, Jones has been a regular at council meetings. Along the way she has watched and learned. She spoke with current Ward 6 councilor Bill Godwin, who is a member of her church.
According to Jones, Godwin said he wasn’t going to seek reelection, so she decided she would run instead.
Jones moved to Tallassee in 2020 looking for a place to raise a family. She likes the schools and the small town feel, especially the downtown area.
“We walk around downtown and shop some,” Jones said. “It’s like investing to me. It is about building pride in the community. They're community members with a business and you're supporting them. Everybody gets involved and slowly that will bring in people.”
Jones believes Tallassee is a vibrant community with people wanting to invest for the future.
“It’s not just businesses, but just people wanting to give back to the community,” Jones said. “I see a community that really cares, and I want to give them even more opportunities to invest in the community and take pride in our community.”
Jones is following her own advice in running for council. She wants to see more residents take ownership in Tallassee and communicate their wants and needs.
“We have to be accessible,” Jones said. “Everyone has to talk to move Tallassee forward. I would love to see the council have more community input and involvement. It’s a partnership with the community.”
For the last 16 years she has worked with the state at the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and now with the Alabama Department of Corrections in GIS mapping.
Tallassee reminds Jones of her Kansas roots. It’s unlike Atlanta where she went to high school. Instead, Jones said she has found a lifelong home in Tallassee and wants to make it better for the generations to come.
“I have a government perspective and a public servant's heart,” Jones said. “I want to help make a difference. I could have lots of other opportunities elsewhere. I feel like I'm making a difference here. I want my girls to want to come back here. I want to invest in the future of Tallassee.”