When Life Throws You a Curveball, Catch It!
Artesia is home. This town adopted my family when we were just a couple of young, ambitious kids. We opened a little dive BBQ joint with no experience, raised our kids in the back office, with a smoky futon they slept on. This town supported our efforts in every possible way.
That love of Artesia manifested itself into public service. Jon recently celebrated 5 years on Eddy County Commission Board and he is now in the running for Artesia’s next mayor!
“We have always made major decisions, following a lot of discussion, weighing every pro and con imaginable and mixed in with mindful prayer. Because really, that’s all you can do, right? Make a decision and then pray for God’s will, not yours. I think that has always been the key to our success.” This personal mantra of Jon’s has never been more tested than in the last year. The difficult decision to sell the family business and to shut down a successful eatery that the Henry family (and most local folks) truly felt was needed in Artesia. “Closing Henry’s BBQ was difficult. We had discussed changing lanes and trying new business ideas for a couple years. We were in discussion with some locals to purchase it a full year before we actually closed the doors. That was always our intention, to wait till a buyer could quietly just take over, no interruption of business at all. But that didn’t happen like we had hoped,” explained Jon.
Plans drastically changed for the family in December 2020; after ten months of virtual learning, Jon and Tawnya became concerned about their children’s well being, “if your household handled the COVID-19 shutdown and a year of virtual school well, my hat is off to you! That was not the case at my house. I am forever grateful to our school system for doing the best it could with what was an extremely difficult situation. I saw the best of what Artesia Public Schools had to offer and educators that went above and beyond for both my kids,” Jon expressed. “I saw their efforts to help my son stay engaged and active with his classes but unfortunately, that wasn’t enough for him. Teenagers are already juggling so much and to be tossed into lockdown, with your mom fighting for her restaurant and your father fighting vocally against the state leadership made it very difficult. To be honest, we trusted our son to navigate this time like he was an adult and that was our mistake. Once we realized this we made the decision to put our family first and foremost in our plans—that hastened to closure of our family business.”
Jon and his family made the decision to get one child into school across the state line in Lubbock, Texas. Tawnya and her son lived there while Jon and his daughter stayed in Artesia in 2021. “Our daughter, Tayler, was a Senior during the chaos of 2020. She had already lost the last half of her junior year, we never imagined the lockdown would continue into her Senior year. We allowed Tayler the freedom to make the decision for herself and she chose to stay at Artesia High School and graduate a Bulldog.” One can imagine how dire a situation might be, to split a family and for both parents to miss out on the daily life of both kids. “We are a strong, solid family unit. We have never shied away from something because it was going to be difficult. I am proud to have those three in my corner.” Jon beams as he tells of his family.
With the closing of Henry’s Barbecue, there was a mixture of emotions, bitter sweet memories but hope and excitement for the future. The property was under contract before the doors were shut, “we knew we wanted to move an eatery back into the location. We had discussed gutting the building and making offices as well, but every time the contract fell through. And I won’t lie, we had some very interested parties once the state passed the recreational marijuana law. We kept away from that, because we truly did not feel a Main Street location was best for that.” After a year of failed contracts, the location is finally going to sell. “The deal looks solid. I think we found the person who is meant to own it. And good news, they will make it a restaurant!”
This year Jon has directed his attentional solely on public service. After serving five years on Eddy County Commission Board he now has his eyes fixed on becoming Artesia’s next mayor. “Serving is what we all should strive to do. I’ve seen a need in our town for new leadership. Someone who will fight to make Artesia grow. Someone who will take pride in our city facilities and our parks. Someone who sees the importance of our emergency services.” As a County Commissioner, Jon’s district is the majority of Artesia. “I’m already representing Artesia through the County. And my record is very clear on an unwavering support of this area. When I’m Mayor, I will bring this passion to Artesia.” His priorities for office are simple; emergency services, quality of life, and housing.
“I’ve never left Artesia and I’ve certainly never left the fight. I will bring dependable and transparent leadership when elected Mayor. I look forward to promoting Artesia in a way that makes everyone in the state wish they lived here. I will do that, with your help!”
Paid for by the campaign for Jon Henry
