By: Shelley McKinley
The newest Port Commissioner of the Port of Houston Authority is Thomas Jones, Jr. He joins six other Commissioners and has the responsibility of setting policies and guiding executive staff to ensure that Port Houston continues to be a strategic leader for the Houston Ship Channel. Following a unanimous appointment from City Council, Jones was recently sworn in by Mayor John Whitmire at a Swearing-inCeremony held at Davis Street at Hermann Park. The event included remarks by State Senator Carol Alvarado, Mayor Pro-Tem Martha Castex-Tatum, and Mayor John Whitmire. “When looking at the credentials for someone to serve on the Port of Houston’s Port Commission, I couldn’t think of anyone better that has the intellect and the passion for public service,” shared Mayor Whitmire.
Mr. Jones started his professional career with Ernst & Ernst (now EY) and in 1996 connected with Wayne McConnell to establish the firm of McConnell & Jones (MJ) LLP. In 1999, Odysseus Lanier and Sharon Murphy merged with the pair, creating the largest African American owned accounting and consulting firm in Texas and now the largest in the country. e rm o ers a full range of audit, accounting, tax planning and compliance, and management consulting services with offices in Houston, Austin, Dallas, Washington DC, and Durham, N.C., MJ serves a broad and diverse mix of corporate, governmental, non-pro t and individual clientele. Jones continues to serve the firm as a consultant focused on client relations and business development.
Mr. Jones retired in 2022 as a founding partner of MJ, currently the largest African American owned public accounting firm in the US. MJ is also recognized by Accounting Today as one of the largest CPA practices in the Southwestern United States. Retirement, however, has not slowed him down. Jones is the Interim President of Jazz Houston which is a tribute to his father and preserves the cultural history of jazz through education and performances by the Youth Orchestra and other leading jazz performers. He is also the co-founder of the Houston Fund for Social Justice & Economic Equity (HEF) with Mayor Emeritus Sylvester Turner, and has given $13 million to 420 small business and non-pro ts in grants to impact underserved communities.
Thomas Jones, Jr. took the oath of o ce to serve a two-year term, and expressed his gratitude to family and friends in attendance. “I’m very excited and eager to get to work, I know what my task is, and I’m ready to do it. Relationships are key to life. I didn’t get here by myself,” stated Jones. He acknowledged members present from Jazz Houston, Houston Fund for Social Justice & Economic Equity, MJ LLP, Florida A & M University Foundation Board, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Across the Track Political Action Committee, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, and childhood friends from Daytona Beach, FL.
Jones belongs to a wide range of other civic, community-based philanthropic, political and social organizations, too. Jones stated, “ the mission and goal is simple. It is to be good stewards of tax dollars and good corporate citizens.” Port Houston owns, manages, and operates eight public terminals along a 52-mile waterway. e Houston Ship Channel complex and its more than 200 private and eight public terminals is the nation’s largest port for waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas and the United States. e Port of Houston supports nearly 1.5 million jobs in Texas and 3.37 million jobs nationwide. Its economic activity totals $439 billion in Texas and $906 billion across the nation. Thomas Jones, Jr. replaces Cheryl Creuzot who chose not to seek a third term.
