Allan Jones Jr. (b. December 31, 1952) is an American businessman from Cleveland, Tennessee. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of Check Into Cash, making Jones what the LA Times called the “granddaddy” of the payday industry for pioneering the nation’s first mono-lined payday lending company in 1993.[1] He was included on BusinessTN magazine’s “Power 100” list in 2005.[2] Jones appeared on the cover of BusinessTN Magazine in 2005 and was characterized as “The King of Cash.” The magazine ranked Jones as one of the 20 wealthiest people in Tennessee.[3]
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Jones was born on December 31, 1952, in Cleveland, Tennessee in Bradley County to William A. (Bill) Jones and Virginia Slaughter Jones. He was the first baby born at the county’s new Bradley Memorial Hospital.[1] He delivered newspapers for the Chattanooga Times Free Press newspaper in the sixth grade and was awarded the paper’s title of “Paper Boy of the Year” for having the most satisfied customers. Jones’ parents held him back in the sixth grade due to concerns that he spent too much time on his paper route.[1]
Jones wrestled at Cleveland High School and was voted Outstanding Wrestler in 1971, Most Valuable Wrestler in 1972, and runner-up at 155 lbs. in 1972. He served as team captain in his junior and senior year at the school.[1]
Jones credited wrestling with helping build character and said, “In wrestling, I didn’t have anyone to rely on but me.” He declined wrestling scholarships to pursue a business degree at Middle Tennessee State University. [4]
Jones left college at age 20 to help his father, who was suffering from emphysema, stabilize the family’s small, manually operated Credit Bureau of Cleveland.[5]
Jones eventually purchased the family reporting and debt collection business in 1977 and eventually grew it to become one of the largest credit bureau database in the state.[3]
Jones sold the credit reporting side of the business to Equifax in 1988, although he retained the name and the company’s collection agency division. He then built the company to be the largest in Tennessee with offices from Memphis to Atlanta. Jones sold the company in 1998.[2]
Jones founded Check Into Cash in 1993. He said he accidentally discovered the idea for the business after traveling to Johnson City, Tennessee, in the hope of hiring a manager for one of his credit bureau offices.[3] Jones said he observed a former credit bureau manager who was operating out of a small service station and cashing checks with the agreement that the owner would hold the checks until the next payday before submitting them to the bank. Jones liked the idea.[1]
Jones’ first Check Into Cash customer was the local United States Army recruiter who needed money on a Friday afternoon to buy a bicycle for his son’s birthday because his government paycheck was late and would not arrive until the following Tuesday. Check Into Cash eventually grew to include 1,300 stores nationwide.[1]
Jones is the largest property owner in Bradley County and owns a significant amount of downtown real estate. He has purchased and renovated numerous buildings including the 19.5 acre Village Green Town Center, Cleveland’s first shopping mall that he renovated into a campus for his companies.[1]
Jones told an interviewer in 2008 that he attributed much of his business success to experiences gained from high school wrestling. “Athletics can sometimes teach a person as much as academics,” Jones said. “In wrestling, I learned that you have to work hard to succeed, and when you step on the mat only one person is going to win.” [5]
The Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce awarded Jones with the organization’s highest honor in 2003, the M.C. Headrick Free Enterprise Award.[1] Jones was also inducted into the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 2003. [6]
Jones' research revealed the market for small, short term, fee-based loans collateralized by the customer's signature, leading him to found Check Into Cash in 1993.[3] Check Into Cash is today the largest privately owned payday loan company in the nation with 1100 locations and is one of the largest, privately-held companies in Tennessee.[3]
Jones has been credited with founding the Community Financial Services Association of America, or CFSA in 1999.[1] CFSA is the national trade association for companies that offer small dollar, short-term loans or payday advances. Through a code of Best Practices, CFSA members abide by responsible industry practices that ensure customers understand the cost and risk of short-term payday advances to facilitate the best financial decisions. The practices also require that members hold themselves to the highest standard of service.[7]
Jones founded the group after calling a meeting at the Chattanooga Airport with key lenders in the payday industry who flew in from around the country.[1]
Jones said he founded CFSA after breaking away from the National Check Cashers Association, due to concerns that the NCCA, now called Financial Service Centers of America, was not giving enough attention to the payday lending industry.[1]
Jones is the largest individual supporter of high school wrestling in the United States. He founded and capitalized the Cleveland/Bradley Wrestling Club in 1990.[4] Jones was the sole financial contributor to the $1.3 million Jones Wrestling Center located on the Cleveland High School (Tennessee) campus.
The center was named in honor of his father, the late W. A. (Bill) Jones and includes digital scoreboards, padded walls and inflatable, overhead heating ducts. Jones has also given to numerous other wrestling programs.
Cleveland High School and Bradley Central High School have consistently been in a neck-and-neck race for state supremacy out of more than 180 schools in the state. The two schools have run roughshod over every program in Tennessee. Cleveland finished second to Bradley four consecutive years before finally capturing the state traditional tournament in 2011.
Bradley, meanwhile, won the state dual championship in 2011 and extended its run as the most dominant sports program in Tennessee history with 20 state championships and numerous other records.
“It’s unprecedented that both teams would win a state championship in one year,” Jones told the media. “I couldn’t be more proud that out of all the teams in Tennessee, our little town finished first and second, and second and first in the two state tournaments and that our two schools have been first and second for the last five years.”
Jones later noted that the wrestling centers were not the secret ingredient to the wrestling success in Cleveland, Tenn.
“It has very little to do with the buildings and it has everything to do with the right coaches,” Jones said. “Bricks and mortar aren’t that important. Money can’t do this. Schools that win consistently have outstanding coaches leading their programs.”[1]
Allan Jones has been described as "Cleveland’s most celebrated benefactor."[3] Jones credits his father's philosophy for his own philanthropy: “Always give more than your fair share."
In 1990, Jones founded MainStreet Cleveland, dedicated to the revitalization and promotion of Cleveland’s historic downtown area and donated the funds for the construction of the Virgil F. Carmichael addition to the Cleveland Public Library.[1] He also wrote and funded Cleveland’s Shade Tree Ordinance that helped the city’s tree board earn the designation of Tennessee Tree Board of the Year in 2010. He donated $4 million to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville for construction of a new Allan Jones Aquatic Center.[3]
In 2011, Allan Jones capitalized the non-profit TNAchieves's launch of its scholarship and mentoring program in all three Bradley County high schools, ensuring that every graduating senior has the opportunity to attend Cleveland State Community College.[8]
Jones created the Tall Betsy Halloween character in 1980 based on stories told to him during childhood by his mother, Virginia S. Jones, and grandmother, Marie Slaughter. Jones appeared as Tall Betsy at his home in the downtown area on Centenary Avenue and on Oct. 31, 1993, 11,201 trick-or-treaters came to his door from 5 pm to 8 pm while thousands of others looked on, according to an official count taken at the time.[1]
Tall Betsy drew such a crowd that Jones and MainStreet Cleveland created the Halloween Block Party in 1986. The Block Party is now regarded as the largest organized Halloween party in the United States.[1]) Jones dressed up as Tall Betsy for 18 years, from 1980 to 1998. The 2005 Halloween Block Party was dedicated in honor of Tall Betsy’s 25th anniversary and drew a crowd of 25,000.[1]
In 2011, filmmaker Zac Adams, owner of Skydive Films, created a documentary about the Tall Betsy legend.[1]
On Veteran’s Day 2011, Jones purchased the “Sergeant Alvin C. York,” painting, created in 1919 by artist Frank Schoonover. The subject of the painting, Sergeant Alvin York, was a native of Pall Mall, Tennessee, who played a crucial role in the attack of Argonne in France.
The artist Schoonover sold the painting originally to collector H.M. Pierce of Delaware in 1926. It was acquired by Blakeslee Gallery in Wellington, Florida in 1998. Blakeslee said upon selling the painting to Jones in 2011: “Alvin York – the soldier who many thought was cloaked by the breath of God - is finally home!”
Prior to being acquired by Allan Jones, the painting had been on loan to the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum. Jones said having the painting back in Alvin York’s home state of Tennessee was key to his decision to purchase the historic work.[9]
The Charleston-Calhoun-Hiwassee Historical Center announced in December 2011 that Jones had stepped in to provide the organization with the final $10,000 needed to establish a Hiwassee River Heritage Center to be located in Charleston near the beginning point for the Trail of Tears. The heritage center was part of an overall development plan to recognize the significant history on the banks of Tennessee’s Hiawassee River.
Jones told the media he was proud to partner with the Historical Society in their efforts to preserve an important piece of American history. “The heritage center, river park and greenway are a fitting way to honor the memory of the people who once called this land home,” Jones said.[10]