Twins share 90 years of service
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on January 8, 2017 2:29 AM
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News-Argus/SETH COMBS
Allen Jones, right, and Albert Jones laugh with friends and former co-workers during a retirement party thrown in their honor at the Wayne Center Tuesday afternoon. The twin brothers have retired after serving the county as EMS workers for well over 40 years.
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Allen Jones, left, and Albert Jones, with their retirement awards Tuesday afternoon at the Wayne Center, served as EMS workers for Wayne County from September of 1989 until December 2016.
A willingness to do the job turned into a 45-year-long career for twin brothers Albert and Allen Jones who, by the time their surprise retirement party rolled around Tuesday, said working for four-and-a-half decades as first responders was their calling in life.
Adored by co-workers, friends and family alike, the Jones brothers went to the Wayne Center Tuesday afternoon thinking they were attending a seminar on retirement.
But as soon as they walked in the door, they realized it was no seminar at all.
Instead, it was a surprise party honoring their combined 90 years of service, dedication and experience with Wayne County EMS.
"We just really enjoyed the work," Albert said. "It's true what they say -- if you enjoy what you do, it's not a job."
Many people who knew the brothers for the entirety of their careers -- including the man that hired them, Willard Herring -- attended Tuesday's party.
Herring, who is a former Goldsboro fire chief, hired the brothers onto the fire department's full-time rescue squad when the city took over emergency response operations full time after they had already been volunteering on a rescue squad in Wayne County for 15 years.
While volunteering on what was then Goldsboro Rescue, Albert said, the brothers also worked full-time with Lenoir County EMS.
Herring said both he and former Goldsboro mayor Al King interviewed the twins for positions they had open, and one of them was to fill a supervisor slot.
Both selected Albert -- but not because he was more qualified, Herring said. Both brothers were equally qualified for the job, and it came down to one detail.
"We both wrote down our choice on legal pads, and both of us wrote down Albert," Herring said. "The reason we both chose him was because he answered our questions in just a little bit more detail."
After being hired on in Goldsboro full time in 1989, Albert said, the brothers left Lenoir County EMS.
During that time, the brothers have become living legends, considered by many around them as heroes in their field.
Angela Barnes, who has worked with the brothers for more than 20 years, said Allen and Albert were her instructors when she first started in the EMS field.
Barnes said she would relieve Albert as supervisor when shift change rolled around, and would then volunteer with the brothers on their days off to teach in the community.
It was these times -- when they would all volunteer their time, for free, to pass along their combined knowledge to the community -- that are her favorite memories from working with the men, she said.
Her daughter, Kelli Forbis, said she worked on the same shift as Albert for two years.
"He made it fun," Forbis said. "He's always there for you, it doesn't matter what time of day you need him, and he's always been a supervisor that's easy to go to and talk about anything."
Both brothers began on the same day in November 1971, and retired in the same month in December 2016 after starting their careers at 21 years old.
The reason they started at that age, they said, was because that was the age you had to be at the time to start working in the field, and they had always been curious about it.
By the time they retired, Albert was C-shift supervisor, and Allen was B-shift Assistant Supervisor.
"Everybody has a calling, and this was definitely our call," Albert said.
The twins said their love for what they do will carry through into their retirement, as they will continue to teach classes at Wayne Community College, as well as an EMS program and First Responder program.
But first, they said they plan to do some traveling, though they don't have anywhere specific in mind yet.
"We really want to be closer to our families," Albert said, touching on the sacrifice first responders must make for their careers.
At the surprise party at the Wayne Center Tuesday, people that had known the twins for a few years and for their entire careers alike all stepped forward to share their favorite moments and memories with the brothers.
And, while they may not still be checking on duty through Wayne County dispatch any longer, they'll always be there for those that need them.
"We really have enjoyed it," Allen said. "If I can be of service, give me a call."