Gaylen & Nory Jones

The Early Years

Gaylen was born on March 4, 1952, in Twin Falls, Idaho. When he was 4 years old, their family moved to Boise where he grew up as a typical American kid; a little wild and full of fun and energy. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Boise State University in biology, went on for a master’s degree in entomology at the University of Idaho and then his PhD in insect physiology at the University of Massachusetts

Nory was born on May 20, 1954, in Bronxville NY and grew up as more of a street kid in a diverse urban neighborhood. She learned to walk really fast to avoid the wackos and the gangs. She earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She met Gaylen at the University of Idaho when getting a master’s degree in toxicology (poisons). There was a cute guy who was president of the entomology club and who was selling honey for the club. She bought some but left an IOU for payment. He came to collect, and the rest was history. They married in 1980.

When Gaylen went to the University of Massachusetts for his PhD, she decided to get an MBA there. Their kids were born in 1986 and 1988. Later, when their kids were small, when Gaylen was working for a laboratory in Missouri, she went back and earned her PhD in knowledge management and collaboration systems at the University of Missouri. They have lived and worked in Idaho, Massachusetts, Texas, Georgia, Iowa, Missouri and finally Maine, where they have lived for about 24 years. Gaylen worked as a project manager for environmental companies and Nory was a professor in the UMaine business school.

The Maine Troop Greeters
They had heard about the Maine Troop Greeters in the news, and in March 2008, they called to ask if they could come out to greet the troops and received a “Come on over” reply! With a little trepidation, they went there on a cold blustery day, met Steve and Marcia Murray in the parking lot and “learned the ropes” from them about greeting and talking with the troops. It was not as scary as they had imagined. In fact, just like most other people, it was such an incredibly heart-warming experience that they never stopped. In those early days, the airport was filled day and night with troops deploying and returning home on the many chartered planes such as Omni, Eastern and others. Sometimes there would be 500-1000 Troops in the terminal!

They tried to greet as many flights as possible, balancing work and greeting, and would often sign up to open the room or just be there at all hours of the day and night, but mostly on the weekends for the early morning (e.g. 2:00 am or so) flights. Those were challenging of course, but probably more rewarding since there were usually just a few greeters and the experience was more personal. Since that time, they have greeted well over a half million troops and have met so many wonderful, amazing people

Stories
Nory liked to ask the Troops where they grew up and would usually ask, what is the best thing about where you grew up? This usually led to a moment of surprise and laughter when the troops had to think about their home and what made it special for them. For a while, she and Cindy K. would walk around the terminal, playing the “Happy” song. Nory dressed as a Maine moose for high fives with the troops, bringing some smiles, laughter and occasionally some troops even dancing with the moose!

And, of course, “Harry Truman”, their trusty sidekick, was always on hand to give a smile to the troops and the greeters! When she chatted with high-ranking officers or NCO’s, she always asked what they had learned in terms of great leadership. The answers were almost always the same… Take care of your people. They always come first!
Gaylen used to man the cell phones to lend to the troops, often with Clayton Dodge, whose “hair” was a topic for discussion. They always had great fun joking with the Troops.

Once when Gaylen was in the room, explaining about the coins, he was wearing his Masonic hat. One of the troops, a fellow Mason, saw the hat and gave him a special Masonic coin. He told Gaylen that he should give it to a deploying troop for good luck, which he did. Another time, an Army Colonel came in with his assistant, a Captain. Gaylen asked the Colonel how long he had been in the service. The reply was 40 years, at which point, the Captain said, “that’s how old I am”!

They also helped with other service activities such as laying wreathes with “Wreathes Across America”, occasionally helping with the Honor Flight Maine telethon and other activities to support Veterans

In 2015, they helped organize the “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans” celebration, where over 1,100 Vietnam Veterans and 3,500 attendees gathered at the Cross Center for a memorable, moving and powerful event.

Being Troop Greeters has been an incredibly important and enriching part of their lives for which they are forever grateful.