Avenues

How Joe Timmons inspires others to add value to community

Words by Atticus Brown | Image by Ryan McGill

Friday, November 18th, 2022.

It was cold – remarkably so.

The autumnal breeze carried with it an implication which the year had yet to indulge. It was cold now and would only be getting colder. Something about it lingered.

3:15 pm. The school’s entrance is a small, rectangular building the ingress of which is a set of broad glass doors that lead into a foyer and its subsequent corridors. Mr. Joe Timmons sits placidly at the foot of the room’s centerpiece as though he is part of the architecture. At the end of the eastern hallway – lined with crimson lockers and chairs upturned and placed on desks for the coming holiday week – was a classroom like any other: in the front, a whiteboard—the wall’s occupant; on the sides, anatomical analyses laminated and posterized alongside a periodic table; and in the back, an aged Dell computer shielded by a neatly-kept wooden desk. The air was permeated by the warmth of experience.

Born and raised in Jasper, Alabama, science teacher Joe Timmons was an instructor in the Jefferson County School District for just over thirty-six years. Growing up in Jasper, Joe’s early life was mostly typical. As a senior in high school, and for several years afterwards, he worked in a hospital as a lab technician but found the work unfulfilling. He also worked for his family’s business before going back to school, earning a degree in education, and being hired at Minor High School, where he would teach for the next 26 years before his retirement.

But, feeling that he still had more to give, Timmons returned to instruction– this time at Sumiton Christian.

“I really enjoy being around the students,” he says. “I feel like it helps me contribute my life a little bit more than just spending time doing things that are non-work-related… I wanted to be a part of Sumiton Christian because I felt like it would open up avenues where I could share, spiritually, what a great God I serve and encourage people to have a closer relationship with [Him].”

Mr. Timmons doesn’t just teach science. He teaches thoughtfulness, compassion, and the student’s value as a member of his or her community.

“Part of my job as a teacher, of course – my primary job is instructional, and I really want to be the teacher that they need to be successful at the next level. But I also think that kids need to learn that they need to be a contributing member to society, and if I can be a part of helping them enjoy community service and take community service away from high school… then I enjoy seeing that,” he says.

And the impact is real.

During this year’s canned food drive, Sumiton Christian students and faculty collected and donated over 1,100 cans to the Sumiton Church of God food bank.

Every can is another person that won’t go hungry, at least for another day.

What Mr. Timmons’ story tells us is that we can all make a difference – that we can all be the difference. Whether our flames burn dimly or with the radiance of the stars, we can use our spark to ignite the tinder of goodwill and keep our brothers warm – if only through another cold night.

It’s people like Joe Timmons who keep the world from freezing over. 78

Editor’s Note: Since the writing of this article, Mr. Timmons no longer must rely on the aged Dell computer. The school has given him a new one.