Patricia “Pat” Bligen Jones was born in Charleston, SC. She was reared by her grandparents on Edisto Island, SC, a small, idyllic island, about 50 miles south of Charleston. She received her education in the following Charleston County Public Schools: Jane Edwards Elementary, Robert D. Schroder Middle, and Baptist Hill. In 1985, she enrolled in Morris College in Sumter, SC, where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, in 1989. Presently, she is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Erskine Theological Seminary in Due West, S.C.
In 1990, she began working at The Post and Courier, first as an obituary clerk, then as a reporter for the paper’s weekly community section. Pat worked for the Post and Courier for 6 ½ years. In 1999, she began working for the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office as a law dispatcher and she quickly advanced to become a Certified Training Officer through the Association of Public Safety Officials (APCO), which allowed her to train newly hired dispatchers.
Later, she became the Agency’s training supervisor, and was responsible for coordinating classes and training new and veteran employees. Pat has worked for Charleston County Government for 15 years, and is currently the Terminal Agency Coordinator for the Charleston County Consolidated 9-1-1 Center. She is responsible for security of the computer system used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center and law enforcement agencies nationwide.
Pat is a nationally-certified trainer and motivational/inspirational speaker in the public safety communications field and the religious community. In 2013, she co-facilitated several customer service classes for Charleston County Government, including “dealing with Difficult People” and “Yes . . . and Then Some: Exceptional Customer Service.”
Additionally, she has been a guest speaker at the following conferences: South Carolina APCO/NENA Conference Spring 2012, Columbia, SC, S.C., APCO/NENA 2012 Conference in Myrtle Beach, SC, and the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch 2013 Navigator Conference in Salt Lake City, UT.
In May 2012, Pat created and presented, “A Lesson before Dying: How to Rid Ourselves of Negative Attitudes and Behavior for E-9-1-1 dispatchers. In 2008, she created and presented a workshop for women, entitled: Spiritual Journaling: Writing Our Way to Spiritual and Emotional Health, presented at St. James Presbyterian Church (USA).
Pat is a well-established public speaker who feels at home at the podium. She brings value to her presentations through motivation, research, and genuine concern for people. She is an effective communicator seeking to help people realize their highest potential in life. She is a focused presenter seeking to serve the whole individual on an emotional, spiritual, and logical level.
Pat is married to Carl Jones and blessed to be the mother of two children, Avery Jordan and Peyton Leigh.