Each month, the Austin Young Chamber will highlight a member who is doing extraordinary work to strengthen our businesses, our community…or both! Showcasing their achievements is just one way we can put a spotlight on the talented, collaborative, and community-focused workforce we have here in Central Texas.

This month we recognize Tony Jones, Ground Transportation Consultant at Enterprise Holdings.

Tony joined the Austin Young Chamber after his Director at work strongly encouraged him and other team members to join an organization. He was attracted to AYC because, “It’s amorphous and can be whatever you want it to be – a networking organization, professional development, business development or can simply be used socially.” Tony has been able to connect with other young professionals that are in similar stages of their career and life and that are easy to relate to.

Soon after joining AYC, Tony joined the Ambassador Committee. It was a natural fit for what he does on a daily basis for work – talk with people, learn who they are and their goals, and then share what he does and how he thinks they can benefit from becoming a member. He’s also been pushed out of his comfort zone by starting conversations, often with complete strangers, at AYC events. He’s even found a great friendship with fellow Ambassador, Wes, through mutually shared interests and sitting at the same FAVE Awards table!

In addition to serving on the Ambassador Committee, Tony recently completed his certification to become a Personal Trainer. For several years he felt compelled to help people in some way, but could never figure out exactly how to find that outlet. A healthy lifestyle has always come easily to him but he realized that’s not the same for everyone. Personal Training was a natural fit because it matched something he already knew and aligned with his goal to help people reach theirs. He believes if he can show someone the benefits of exercise, how to make it fun and easy and how even the tiniest change can have long-term beneficial impacts, that’s fulfilling his purpose.

When asked what advice he should share with other young professionals looking to expand their skills through training and certifications, Tony responded: “One of my favorite expressions from my dad was, “I don’t know everything about something, but I know something about everything.” I love that expression because it beautifully sums up how important education and knowledge is. You can NEVER be too well-rounded, have too-many skill sets or have too much knowledge. If there’s something that you are generally interested in or passionate about, go learn about it, go get certified or go participate in it. And that goes for anything, be it professionally for a new career or something trivial for you to do in your personal time. It can be challenging balancing a full-time job with additional time commitments, but, if it’s important to you, you’ll make time for it. There may be some short-term sacrifices but, in the end, the sense of accomplishment is worth it.”