Jackson receives award from the Salvation Army
By Arthur McLean
Editor

Former Thomasville councilmember and school board member John J. Jackson received a high honor from the Salvation Army Thursday night.

Jackson was presented with the William Booth award in honor of his service to the community. Jackson was instrumental in bringing the Salvation Army to Thomasville.

"God wanted the Salvation Army here in Thomasville, and I thank God that he let me be in on the blessing," Jackson said.

It started in 1985, he said, when a transient came through town and called Jackson, looking for a place to stay. "I agreed to find him a place to sleep for the night, and he went to church with me that night," Jackson recalled. "That whole night through the service, I kept feeling God had another message for me, that we needed a Salvation Army unit here."

Jackson credited his wife, Elsie Merle Jackson for helping him and credited those few early volunteers. "We delivered food where we could, getting names from the welfare office," he said. "I've seen it grow from three people to 300 in 15 years."

"It's been a blessing to see how it's grown," he said. "We have the best people in the world in Thomasville. They're compassionate people."

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