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"I just love to watch a kid eat" he said as he sat across the table from an 8 year old boy stuffing away pancakes with butter and Log Cabin Syrup on a cold Saturday morning. The boy's mother worked as a waitress and Saturday morning breakfast was a ritual for the kid at Smith's Cafe that also served for years as the bus station for Greyhound. Jess always had something positive to say to the young boy. "How are you doing in school?" he'd inquire, "just fine sir, but mama says I need to work on my handwriting 'cause she says it looks like chicken scratchin'." Jess fired back, "Well Warren you do what your mother tells you to do." "Yes sir", the boy replied just as he finished a gulp of cold milk and his final syrupy bite of pancakes. Jess and Scott came to the cafe most mornings for coffee. Jess always loved his coffee. Jess and Scott worked for the little boy's next door neighbor Ray Hitchcock at the Western Auto Store just a few doors up the street from the cafe. Jess and Scott were always admired by the little boy as he grew up. Scott Roberts went on to be sheriff of Haralson County for several terms and was someone the boy was proud to say was a friend. Jess had deep tragedy strike his life as a young man but carried himself with dignity and with a light that shined because of his love and trust for the Lord. In the 7th grade the boy needed glasses but his family lived on his mother's meager wages as a waitress and his grandmother's small Social Security check. Jess Newman went to the Tallapoosa Lion's Club and made sure the boy got glasses. Jess also left the Western Auto Store and became personnel director at the American Thread Company. Jess Newman touched the boy's life time and time again with encouragement to work hard and be kind to others and to one day give back. As the young boy reached his senior year in high school he had this notion that he could be a college student in spite of the words of Mr. Gentry the school's guidance counselor who felt Warren would be better suited for something far and away from academia. Warren wanted an education so to perhaps be better able to help his mother and his grandmother. "Do your best, because I know people like Jesse Lee are watching you" his mother said more than once. Jess Newman gave the the boy a job at the American Thread Company in the last few weeks of high school. He gave the kid the job after the boy drove his Uncle Henry's 1960 Ford down to the office of ATCO on West Atlanta Street about 5 days in a row. The boy's mother said that the persistence paid off and the young fellow was making more money than he ever made in his life. $2.00 an hour seemed like a fortune to the lad. He began saving money for his quest to go to college and make something of his life. One May afternoon the future college freshman was cutting grass near the office of the plant when Jess inquired if the boy had applied for the Star Foundation Scholarship which was awarded to the sons and daughters of employees of American Thread Company. "No sir, I didn't think I'd qualify because I don't have a parent working here." Jess told the young man that he'd see him the next day. Jess along with the board of the Star Foundation led by Wesley Littlefield and Rev. Howard Brooks somehow agreed that the kid just might make a go of it and work hard if he just had that opportunity to go to college. Jess broke the news to the boy that he had been granted $500.00 to begin his college career. "Warren, you can't let me down and you are going to graduate from college, or I'll personally kick your behind." The boy knew he meant it and that academic failure was not an option. The young man went off to Southern Union State Junior College in Wadley, Alabama and was president of the Student Government Association and editor of the college newspaper his sophomore year. In 1974 he graduated from West Georgia with a degree in speech and theater arts with a journalism minor. Jess continued to mentor the young man through the ups and downs of life. Jess continued to encourage the lad to follow his heart and to work hard. The kid listened to Jess Newman. Because of Jess and his guidance the dream of being on the radio came true for 36 years. 23 of those years in the highly competitive Atlanta radio market, the 7th largest in the United States. He was the youngest inductee into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in Nashville in 2001, and was in the first group to be inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame in 2007. He was inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame being the youngest person ever to be inducted. He was named one of the 100 most influential radio personalities in Country music in the 20th century by Radio and Records Magazine. He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Atlanta Achievement In Radio Awards and a Outstanding Achievement Award from the Atlanta Chapter of the Grammy Awards. He was honored by Billboard Magazine and Cashbox Magazine for broadcasting achievement. He was radio personality of the year twice by the Country Music Association and won Disc Jockey of the Year by the Academy of Country Music. He was always proud of his broadcast career but something else was deep in his heart. His dream of one day teaching college came true as he earned a master's degree in 2006 and in 2008 began teaching at the 3rd largest state university in the University System of Georgia. I am that little 8 year old boy who was influenced greatly by Jess Newman. The words over the years were not just heard. They were etched in my heart. Everything I have ever achieved it is because I listened to Jess. When he passed away on the 4th of November I lost my mentor and a father figure. My memories of Jess will always be cherished. His wife Betty Jo is a remarkable woman and they were a great team. Jess adored his son Tony and he often spoke fondly of his granddaughter. Jess Newman taught me how to live like a man and how to die like a man. I will never forget him. His love for coffee will be something I'll recall every time I pour that first cup in the morning. I wish every kid had a Jess Newman as a life coach. I thank God he was mine. We say goodbye for now, today at his house of worship that he loved so much. As much as our hearts have a void because of his passing, we will never forget him.

Rhubarb Jones is a Tallapoosa native and a Distinguished Lecturer in the Department of Communication at Kennesaw State University and is Director of Special Projects in the Office of Development. Comments can be sent to P.O. Box 1001, Tallapoosa, GA 30176 or via email at rhubarbjones@aol.com or rhubarb.jones@yahoo.com