Paul Jones is a beacon of hope, spirituality, positivity and caring. This is not to say he is perfect, as he himself wants to make clear. When he wakes each morning, his goal is to make lives better in any way he can.
He moved from KC to Lee’s Summit when he was five years old and graduated from Lee’s Summit High School in 1979. Following high school his career path was to learn a skilled trade, which began his journey to become an electrician. He went on to work as a commercial, residential and industrial electrician for several years around the metro. His expertise brought him to Allied Signal, in the Bendix building where he was promoted to management, and then to KCP&L for 17 years.
“A lot of that time I was a troubleshooter in Johnson County,” he explained. “I still hold my master electrician license.”
During that time, he experienced two major high-voltage accidents. The first was in 2006 when he was on a pole and overreached his gloves, taking 7,200 volts in his right elbow which then went down his leg.
“They had to cut me down from the pole and I was in the hospital for three days,” he continued. “In 2014 I had a worse accident and was in the hospital in a medically induced coma for several weeks. I had second, third and fourth-degree burns on over 48 percent of my body. I had a few different skin graft surgeries as a part of that. I have all kinds of scars on my body. And not everything was skin grafted.”
Now, let’s change courses here for this story. These incidents do not define Paul. They are merely a blip on his path.
He met the love of his life, Mary, on a blind date put together by friends, and they have been married 10 years as of this past October 2. He is now a realtor with Reece Nichols, where he has discovered his passion.
Mary is an angel, as they had been married only eight months before that last unfortunate accident. And the story continues: “During the time of that accident, we were in the process of moving. We had three properties under contract. When I was put into a medical-induced coma, they brought somebody from the title company to the KU burn unit where I was. Everyone had to be masked and covered so no infection could enter my room. They actually had the doctor and anesthesiologist manipulate my drugs, to see if I understood the process of the house sale. I signed with one X! Then they put me back under. Now when I go to closings with my clients, it comes back to me after signing all the documents. I sign with only one X!”
Paul retired from the power company in 2020, but prior to that, he earned his real estate license.
“Back in the early 1980’s before the days of the internet I became fascinated with a commercial that advertised how to buy property with no money down. Being young, married and a father, I knew we needed a house. So, I set out to study whatever I could get my hands on. In 1983, I bought my first house with no money down. From there, I was hooked. I had an aunt and uncle in Arkansas who were in real estate. Ironically, my many years around construction in the electrical field gave me great insight that a lot of agents don’t necessarily have.”
He decided to go on a one-on-one two-day life plan course with his former pastor, Jeff Adams. It was an intense two days of delving into his life, which led to discovery.
“I’m passionate for my people. My personal life statement is, ‘I exist to help connect people to the solutions they need. Whether it’s helping find the right property, the right contractor, painter or whatever else they need to make their experience happy and successful.”
Paul wholeheartedly believes in the word of God.
“The Bible tells us 365 times to ‘fear not.’ I know that is easier said than done, but I can’t reiterate how we need to just give our problems to God and He will see us through,” he mused. “I give Him all glory. That is where my heart is. As far as blessing and thanksgiving I can sum that up with this line. ‘Praise God from whom all blessings flow.’ Lord, keep me humbled and determined to help others who come my way."