ON HER NAME
Take a look at Jones’ business card and you’ll see that it reads: D.P. (Lori) Jones. “My full name is Deborah Lorine Prescott Jones. And when I got married they made you put your maiden name as your middle name for your ID. When I got my business cards, they didn’t know what to put on it and my full name wouldn’t even fit. So that’s where the D.P. comes from. I wouldn’t even know what to do if someone called me Deborah. No one ever has.”
WHAT BROUGHT HER TO THE COURTS?
“I graduated high school at 17 and knew that I had always had an interest in the criminal side of work. Both my father and my grandfather were police officers and my mom worked for the FBI as a secretary. I grew up around it and they were very supportive of my decision.” Jones started as a secretary in the misdemeanor department and stayed there for 21 years. “I wanted a change and management thought I was ready, so I moved over to felony.” By October 2000, Jones was promoted to assistant clerk.
THE BEST PART OF HER JOB
“Definitely the people I work with. They are wonderful and I hope they feel the same way about me. I don’t ask anything of them that I couldn’t do myself. There’s no problem too great that we can’t handle. This job is challenging and I like that. I don’t get stressed, though, because I think of myself as a free spirit. There’s nothing about my job I don’t like.”
WHAT EXACTLY DOES AN ASSISTANT CLERK DO?
“I oversee two departments and, basically, it’s up to me to make sure they are running smoothly with respect to keeping the courtrooms well-staffed and being sure they start on time. That’s very important.”
ANY SENSE OF DANGER?
“No, not really. We’ve had former criminals come through here all the time who want to see their records and it’s usually not a problem. Of course, in 30 years things can happen and they will be escorted out, but I’ve never felt in danger. You know, we aren’t really working with the criminals. The clerk’s office is what it says it is. We keep the record.”
IN HER SPARE TIME
“Believe it or not, my husband and I love to ride Harley Davidsons. They’re so much fun.” Jones and her husband of 27 years, Steve, have attended bike rallies in Daytona Beach and North Carolina for eight years and counting, though Jones recently sold her Harley for something a little more practical. “I decided I wanted a convertible. My husband is getting into restoring classic cars so I thought that, as I mature, it would be safer to trade in my two wheels for four.”
JACKSONVILLE’S FUTURE
“I’m so excited about the Super Bowl. It’s going to be great for the city.” Jones is also an avid Jaguars fan. “I love [coach] Jack Del Rio and I think he is going to turn things around for the team. I really just love going out to the stadium. Jacksonville is definitely on the upswing, and I think that our new administration bodes nothing but good things.”
— by J. Brooks Terry