Jay Parrack is a yes man.
Oh, not the kind that agrees with everything. The kind that says “yes” when opportunities come his way; “yes” I’ll try; “yes” let’s see what’s possible. The kind that says “yes” we can make it better. And he is making it better.
He is making the Point Pleasant community better one yes at a time.
“I just started saying yes,” he said. “I want to see this community grow. I was just sitting here and seeing everything we need and started saying yes, let’s see if we can get there.”
A big yes for Parrack, owner and associate agent of Jon Parrack Insurance, was running for City Council. That puts him in position to say yes to other things, like joining the board of the Rivers Health Foundation of which he is now the chairperson.
That one wasn’t a difficult decision as Parrack and his wife Hannah, whom he met while earning his degree in finance from Marshall University, are the parents of three boys (Carson, 10, Owen, 8, and Sutton, 5). Sutton has short bowel syndrome and needs regular treatment at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus.
“I’m kind of stuck in the medical world so I just thought I’d see if I could help,” he said. “I love our community and having a good hospital is such an important facet of being able to grow. I guess it’s just a personal calling to serve. You have to want to be there.”
Parrack said, like many others, he wants to see a community where his kids can grow up and stay. He doesn’t want them to have to chase opportunities elsewhere.
There are plenty of challenges and difficult days when you’re serving in some form of community leadership, but Parrack tends to focus more on the victories he is seeing now and the possibility of what’s coming.
“Why I’m doing all of this is to help grow the community and breathe life back into it,” he said. “We’re starting to see some more young blood get involved and I think that’s a good thing. We still need the experience of those who have been doing this a while, but it’s good to see young people on boards and getting involved. I feel like there are things we need to work on, but I think we are seeing some opportunities we haven’t had in a long time.”
Parrack points to good affordable housing in addition to quality medical care, as attractions for younger families. Family is high priority for him.
He is honored to carry on the family name (he is officially Jon Parrack III), the family business, and loves spending time with his children going camping, fishing, and Jeeping among other things. A prized possession is his grandfather’s Bible.
“I got it when he passed away,” Parrack said. “He was very involved in his church, and his Bible has a lot of his notes and highlights as it should have. Faith is important to me. It has gotten us through a lot.”
Faith, a vision for his community, and a willingness to say yes and jump in with both feet, keep Parrack going on the hard days. Focusing on all the small victories he has seen and been a part of, ultimately add up to making a big difference.
“If you just focus on the small things, even when it’s frustrating and not exciting, in the long-term view it really matters,” he said. “That’s what can motivate you and keep you doing it.”
