As a troubled 19-year-old serving a 10-month stint in a county jail in Syracuse, New York, NaDonte Jones knew he needed to steer his life in a different direction.
And after taking a building trades class during his incarceration, which spanned 1996 and 1997, Jones realized that plumbing could very well be the vehicle for making that life-changing U-turn.Jones’ hunch proved to be correct. Today, the 48-year-old master plumber owns NJ Jones Plumbing, based in Syracuse. (The NJ stands for the initials for his first name and middle name, JuJuan.) Established in 2014, the company employs 12 people (including seven technicians),
