Two More Famous People I'm Connected To Through That Six Degrees Of Seperation

My new colleague Gwen MacDonald is from Big Stone Gap, VA and she is such a cool woman.  I'm very happy to make her acquaintence and getting to know her more will be very nice.  Her brothers Julius and Thomas Jones play professional football.  Julius Jones is with the Dallas Cowboys.  Thomas Jones is with the Chicago Bears.  Big Stone Gap, VA is just about 20 minutes from Bristol.

 
Gwen's brother, Julius Jones, RB - Dallas Cowboys.

PERSONAL: Jones attended Powell Valley High School in Big Stone Gap, Va., where he was an honorable mention USA Today All-America. While earning four letters in football, he captained his team as a senior and rushed for 2,564 yards and 36 touchdowns in his final prep campaign. He was named the Virginia Group A Offensive Player of the Year in 1997 and 1998 by the Associated Press and Virginia High School Coaches Association. He was also the Virginia Region D and Lonesome Pine District Player of the Year as a junior and senior. Jones's career totals include 614 carries for 5,803 yards and 86 touchdowns. As a safety on defense, he also intercepted 10 career passes. He helped Powell Valley to 28 straight victories and the Virginia Group A-Division 2 state title in 1997 and 1998. Along the way, he set a Virginia high school record with 321 rushing yards in one state playoff game (on 19 carries) while also scoring five touchdowns. Jones won four letters in basketball, serving as a senior captain and leading the team to league titles as a sophomore and junior. He also added four letters in track, captaining the team as a senior and earning all-state honors his last three seasons while competing in hurdle and jumping events. He set a state record with a time of 38.7 in the 300 intermediate hurdles in 1998 and also turned in a 14.2 in the 110 high hurdles. His older brother, Thomas, was the sixth pick in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, played for Tampa Bay in 2003 and Chicago in 2004. As a rookie last fall, he was part of the Cowboys 2004 Rookie Club - a program designed to introduce rookie team members to community service in the Dallas area. He and his fellow rookie teammates participated in visits to various non-profit organizations serving children and adults, including the NFL Play It Smart program at Dallas's Lincoln High School, ChildCareGroup, NFL United Way Hometown Huddle and The Salvation Army. Julius Andre Maurice Jones majored in sociology at Notre Dame in the College of Arts and Letters.

Gwen's brother, Thomas Jones, RB- Chicago Bears

PERSONAL: Finished prep career at Powell Valley H.S. in Big Stone Gap, Va. with single-season state rushing records for yardage (3,319 in 1994), TDs (49 in 1995) and career TDs (104 from 1992- 95)... Featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" in January 1996... Also lettered 4 years in basketball and track... Rushed for 462 yards in a single game as a junior& Son of Thomas and Betty Jones is 1-of-7 children... Younger brother Julius is a second-year RB with the Dallas Cowboys& Uncle Ed Clark played football at Purdue and with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL.