When Tony Jones showed up for his first day of work at Nanakuli High School 16 years ago, he cast an eye to the long patches of red dirt around the campus, noticed the black-and-gold design of the Hawks’ logo and felt a tug of recognition.

"I was a haole — not in the sense of skin or culture, but because I was not of the same breath," Jones says. "At the same time, I felt I was in familiar territory."

Some 30 years earlier, Jones had earned national recognition as a track and field star wearing the black and gold of Grambling State. It was there, at the historically all-black college in Louisiana, that Jones came to understand the ways in which an economically depressed community might hold its dignity and define its own successes despite the challenges and its reputation.

Jones, who grew up in Miami, moved to Hawaii with his son in 1994. Armed with All-America athletic credentials, a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences and a master’s in public administration, he settled in as the school’s track and field coach. From the start, Jones knew his duties would go far beyond the track or the field.

When standout runner R.J. Burkett was to meet with a college recruiter, he asked Jones to be there. He had a strained relationship with his father, but he trusted Jones to guide him. Jones remembers watching Burkett, who worked at McDonald’s to help support his family, sign his letter of intent on a bus stop bench.

"Being a coach often puts you in a position to also be a surrogate parent," Jones says. "There are two kinds of poverty — financial and spiritual — and a lot of kids here have been exposed to both."

Over the years, Jones has learned to leverage every dollar and every available partnership to shield his athletes from the hunger, abuse, shame or hopelessness too many experience away from school. These responsibilities only increased as Jones took on additional duties as cross country coach and student services coordinator.

Jones spearheaded the school’s annual Turkey Trot, soliciting donations from local businesses to ensure that every student who runs gets a turkey to take home.

To make sure his kids understand the importance of giving back, Jones also helped to establish the Feeding a Neighbor program, in which students work with businesses and churches to gather food to feed homeless people in the area.

Jones has also been a driving force in trying to get an artificial track to serve area schools and the community. The project was approved in 2005, but funding has been shelved.

Jones said his work is a tribute to Burkett, who died of leukemia in 2000.

"He taught me the preciousness of time and gave me an urgency to complete the projects that mean the most to me," Jones says.

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Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com.