Kathy Behringer and Jerry Jones Named Stevens Award Recipients

Town Council Member Kathy Behringer and local businessman Jerry Jones have been named co-recipients of the 2022 James R. Stevens Service to Garner Award—our community’s most prestigious recognition for public service rendered over an extended period of time.

Kathy Behringer

“Kathy Behringer is smart, sincere and hardworking. She knows the community because she has raised a wonderful family here and has been devoted to community life and the people of Garner for more than 25 years,” said former Garner Mayor Sam Bridges (as quoted in the nomination letter for Ms. Behringer).

A Garner resident for nearly three decades, Ms. Behringer is now serving her fifth term as a Town Council member. She has focused on community growth and development and on beautification efforts around Garner, especially around some of the town’s main gateways.

Ms. Behringer has held a special place in her heart for the revitalization of historic Downtown Garner and was named a North Carolina Main Street Champion in 2011 by the N.C. Department of Commerce. She currently serves on the Downtown Garner Association, which helps to lead development of historic Downtown Garner as a vibrant business, entertainment and cultural center through public-private partnerships.

During her tenure on the Council, Ms. Behringer also has been a strong advocate for improving parks and recreation opportunities, and she has advocated in particular for the Garner Senior Center.

Ms. Behringer has been passionate about ending domestic violence and has worked to ensure the Town as well as community groups regularly support InterAct of Wake County.

In addition, Ms. Behringer currently serves as The Garner Woman’s Club president and sits on the Board of Directors for the YMCA. She is active in her Community Watch program and is a member of the Garner Chamber of Commerce.

Ms. Behringer has previously served as the past president of the Friends of Historic Garner and as a board member for Passage Home, a non-profit organization that works to break the cycle of poverty for individuals and families in Wake County by helping them to achieve housing and income security.

Ms. Behringer has been an independent business owner for 41 years. She is married to Jeff Behringer, also an independent business owner in Garner. Together they have six children and eight grandchildren.

Jerry Jones

Jerry Jones has served the Garner community for almost 50 years.

“Jerry’s family has deep roots in Garner, and he has never forgotten what Garner has done for him and his family,” the nomination letter for Mr. Jones states. “As Jerry’s business and community leadership approaches fifty years, he is still the positive teammate that everyone wants as a friend, neighbor and business confidant.”

Mr. Jones is a Gamer native and joined his father’s insurance business, Jones Insurance Agency, in 1974, soon after graduating from college. He married Brenda Stone, and they established themselves as respected and admired pillars of the Gamer community.

Soon after graduating from college, Mr. Jones joined the Garner Volunteer Fire Department as a volunteer and served in the department for seven years.

He succeeded his father, Purvis, at the helm of Jones Insurance. After serving on the Garner Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Mr. Jones was elected board chair by his peers for 1980-81. He continued to serve in leadership roles with the Chamber for a number of years.

Mr. Jones is a charter member of the morning Garner Rotary Club (chartered in 1978). He served as president of the club and later served as district treasurer. He earned the Mid-Day Rotary Club’s Ethics Award for his personal and professional character and demeanor.

For his support of Rotary, Mr. Jones has been named a Paul Harris Fellow. He also is a member of the Paul Harris Society and has been a generous supporter of local, district and Rotary International projects ranging from annual scholarships for Garner high school seniors to Rotary International’s goal of eradicating polio.

Mr. Jones has also been passionate about education. He served with the Communities in Schools program for seven years as a tutor and mentor, then seven years with the Schools and Communities Organized to Read (SCOR) program for seven years as a reading mentor with second-graders at Timber Drive Elementary.

The Joneses have continued to support local civic, business and service groups and initiatives, including the following:

1. Little League team sponsorships

2. Community of Hope Ministries

3. Garner Senior Center capital campaign

4. Garner Veterans Memorial capital campaign

5. Poole Family YMCA capital campaign

In addition, Mr. Jones has been a Business Advisory Board member of Wake Services and Advisory Board member at North State Bank.

Mr. Jones and Ms. Behringer will be recognized at the Aug. 16 Town Council meeting, held at 7 p.m. in the Ronnie S. Williams Council Chambers in Garner Town Hall, located at 900 7th Ave.

ABOUT THE JAMES R. STEVENS SERVICE TO GARNER AWARD  

The James R. Stevens Service to Garner Award is intended to recognize people who have made substantial, outstanding contributions to Garner over a long period of time. Emphasis is on service rendered over an extended period of time with preference given to nominees with 20-plus years of service. This is in keeping with James R. Stevens’ tradition of service spanning decades. Non-residents of Garner are eligible if the award committee deems that they meet the criteria necessary to receive the honor. The award also can be bestowed posthumously.

The award program is administered by the Town of Garner, with a selection committee made up of the mayor, a representative of the Stevens family and other community members.

Nominations Being Accepted for Stevens Award Through July 17

Stevens Award Application

​Service to Garner Award Nomination Form

Eligibility & Introduction

Anyone who has made substantial, outstanding contributions to the Town of Garner over a period of years is eligible for the James R. Stevens Service to Garner Award. Emphasis should be placed on service rendered over an extended period of time rather than what has been done in the preceding twelve months.

Preference will be given to nominees with 20 (+) years of service. This is in keeping with James Stevens’ tradition of service
spanning decades.

Non-residents of Garner are eligible if the award committee deems they meet the criteria necessary to receive this award. Additionally, the James R. Stevens Service Award can be awarded posthumously.

Nominations should describe or outline the nominee’s service to Garner. Please be sure to include civic, fraternal, religious organizations and affiliations, positions held, award or recognition's received, etc.

Nominations will be accepted through July 17, 2022

Questions: 919-773-4456.

Jackie Johns Honored Posthumously with Stevens Award

Former Town Council Member Jackie Johns has been named the 2021 recipient of the James R. Stevens Service to Garner Award, considered our community's most prestigious recognition for public service. 

Mr. Johns, who passed away in January 2019 at the age of 81, is being honored posthumously. The Town Council will recognize Mr. Johns at its Aug. 17 regular meeting starting at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Garner Town Hall, located at 900 7th Ave. There will be a reception on the second floor of Town Hall preceding the Council meeting. 

Mr. Johns served as a Town alderman and, later, Town Council member for a total of nearly 36 years during three separate tenures. A native of the Auburn community, Mr. Johns was the first African American elected municipal official in town history and served as Garner’s only African American elected official during his entire time on the Board of Aldermen and Town Council. 

Former Mayor Ronnie Williams, who served as an alderman and Council member with Mr. Johns before becoming mayor, said Mr. Johns “was a true advocate for the people.” 

“He was the people’s politician,” Williams said. “He looked out for the interests of every citizen in town.”

Longtime Garner resident and community activist Helen Phillips had similar recollections of Mr. Johns. “He has always spoken for the community,” she said after Mr. Johns’ passing. “He was always trying to help people live better.” 

Mr. Johns was first elected as an alderman in 1973 and served four years. He then had a second stint as an alderman from 1979 to 1983. In 1991, he was voted into office again. This time, he would serve as an alderman and Council member until his death. 

Mr. Johns also was a member and deacon of Springfield Baptist Church in Garner. In addition, he served on the church’s Board of Trustees and as a Sunday school superintendent. He also was known to have regularly visited other churches all over Garner and to have made contributions to them. 

When asked about the accomplishment of which he was most proud as an elected official, Mr. Johns cited being part of the leadership that decided to purchase the land that became Lake Benson Park. Prior to its acquisition by the Town in the early 1980s, the tract had been farmland.   

Mr. Johns helped lead Garner as it grew and evolved in numerous ways. The Town’s population was approximately 7,000 when Mr. Johns won his first aldermen election in 1973. At the time of his passing, Garner had over 31,000 residents.  

Over the span of his service, White Oak Crossing shopping center was built; White Deer Park was developed and opened; Garner Performing Arts Center was renovated and rebranded; and the Town built a new Town Hall and police headquarters as a result of $35.7 million bond program approved by voters in 2013.  

Garner also was named an All-America City during Mr. Johns’ tenure, and he proudly served as a delegate with the citizen-led team that traveled to Denver to earn the prestigious national recognition in 2013. 

Following his passing, the community recognized Mr. Johns in a unique way. In response to a remarkable petition drive that collected over 1,000 signatures, the Town Council in August 2019 voted unanimously to change the name of Rand Mill Park to Jackie Johns Sr. Community Park.  

The park, managed by the Town of Garner’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department, is located at 508 Rand Mill Road in the neighborhood where Mr. Johns and his wife, Lila, lived with their two sons. In the early 1980s, Mr. Johns was instrumental in persuading Town leaders to move the park from its location at the corner of Bagwell Street and Smith Drive to its current site, and to upgrade park amenities to include a ballfield, basketball court, playground equipment and picnic shelter.  

Just before the Council voted to rename the park, former Mayor Williams remarked, “I think it’s safe to say—and we have to believe—that Jackie is looking down tonight, and he’s pleased with what he sees.” 

ABOUT THE JAMES R. STEVENS SERVICE TO GARNER AWARD 

The James R. Stevens Service to Garner Award is intended to recognize people who have made substantial, outstanding contributions to Garner over a period of years. Emphasis is on service rendered over an extended period of time with preference given to nominees with 20-plus years of service. This is in keeping with James R. Stevens’ tradition of service spanning decades. Non-residents of Garner are eligible if the award committee deems they meet the criteria necessary to receive the honor. The award also can be bestowed posthumously, as in the case of Mr. Johns. 

Courtesy Town of Garner