Trey Jones was a member of Troop 934 and the Expo is in his honor and a tribute to his love of Philmont. This is from the Winston-Salem Journal article.
Trey Jones Journal article
Get Out! The passion of dedicated Scout lives on
By Lisa O'Donnell | Journal Columnist and Reporter
Published: February 13, 2009
A few months after her son died, Jan Jones gathered the strength to sort through piles and piles of his outdoor gear.
A family friend who was helping Jones surveyed the spread of carabiners, ropes, stuff sacks, packs and paddles.
"You know, Mrs. Jones," the friend said. "He really was a gearhead."
Indeed, Trey Jones loved his gear.
And he put that gear to use, most notably during summer trips to Philmont Scout Ranch, a 138,000-acre spread in New Mexico where thousands of Boy Scouts with a taste for adventure have been congregating for more than 70 years.
No question about ‘dream job'
For Jones, Philmont was a magical place where he learned self-reliance, responsibility and leadership skills in the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
"He thrived out there," Jan Jones said.
She once asked her son what his dream job would be.
"Director of Philmont," he answered without pause.
Jones never got that chance. He died on Dec. 24, 2005 from injuries sustained in a one-person car wreck. He was 22.
It didn't take Jan Jones long to decide how she wanted to honor her son.
"Probably within the first hour, I knew I wanted something done for Philmont," she said.
A scholarship ... a recipient
With the help of friends and family, Jones created the Trey Jones Philmont Scholarship, which will help pay the way for a local Boy Scout affiliated with the Old Hickory Council to go to Philmont for a 12-day backpacking adventure. The scholarship will pay for the travel expenses.
"I hope it will flip that switch for someone like it did for Trey," Jones said. "He was such a changed person."
Last week, the scholarship committee chose Dusty Daub of Pfafftown as the first recipient of the scholarship. Dusty, 16, is a member of Troop 918, which is based at Pfafftown Christian Church.
Mike Lee, the troop leader, said that Dusty loves Scouting and the outdoors.
"He knows it's going to be fun," Lee said. "But he doesn't know how much."
The scholarship is being financed in part by the Trey Jones Gearhead Expo, which is put together by Don Wright of the Village Outdoor Shop in Reynolda Village.
The expo, now in its second year, is a gathering of outdoors-equipment vendors who will be selling their new spring gear and apparel.
Representatives from Mountain Hardware, Keen, Marmot, MSR, Icebreaker, Deuter and Thermarest are among those scheduled to set up at the expo, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 7 at the Village Outdoor Shop. Representatives from Philmont will also be available to talk with local Scouts who will be going to Philmont this summer.
More than 120 local Scouts and adult leaders will be traveling to Philmont this summer, Wright said.
A portion of the proceeds from the expo will help finance the scholarship endowment set up by the Jones family and another scholarship that Philmont officials established in Jones' honor.
Wright says he is happy to help with the expo. He had a long relationship with Trey Jones that dated to 1996 when he sold Jan Jones a kayak that she gave to her son.
"I watched him grow up," Wright said. "He was always coming into the store and buying gear."
Philmont, and Scouting in general, helped fill a hole in Jones' life after his father, Burton, died from melanoma in 1995. Jones was in third grade at the time.
"With Trey not having a father, I trusted those Scout leaders," Jan Jones said. "Those men became the adult role models in his life, no doubt about it."
Jones said that her son loved everything about Scouting. She laughed as she recalled her young son's fondness for his uniform. "He just loved that uniform," she said. "I think that, too, ties into the gearhead thing. It identified him as part of a group."
Jones' trips to Philmont began when he was 14 and ended the summer before his death. He took several extended backpacking treks, helped build trails and directed the Roving Outdoor Conservation School, which involved overseeing conservation projects on the Philmont property.
Mark Anderson, the director of Philmont Scout Ranch, said that Jones was kindhearted and industrious.
"People still comment about what kind of person he was, and that means you've left an impression beyond being just an acquaintance," Anderson said.
"You've been a person that someone appreciates," he said. "Trey is still remembered."
Jan Jones said she hopes that Philmont will give to Dusty what it gave her son. Last week, she visited with Dusty and shared with him some of the many pictures that her son took during his trips to Philmont.
He told her he plans to bring his camera and take pictures of everything.
"And when I get back," he told her, "I'll show you my pictures."
For more information about the Trey Jones Gearhead Expo, visit
www.treyjonesphilmont.com.
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