Earl T. Jones is home again.

Jones, advertising director at the Suffolk News-Herald for 27 years before his 1995 departure, has rejoined the newspaper’s advertising team as a sales representative.

Ironically, former publisher and current owner of the Suffolk News-Herald, Jim Boone, hired Jones as a proof boy in 1962. He rapidly climbed the newspaper’s career ladder, working for several years as an advertising sales representative before being named ad director in 1967.

&uot;It’s great to be back here, working among so many familiar faces,&uot; said Jones.

&uot;And it’s nice to come back and see the inside of the building looking so good,&uot; he said, referring to last summer’s renovation of the newspaper’s office on South Saratoga Street.

Prior to his return to the paper, Jones worked for Command Affiliates Inc., publishers of the Suffolk Telephone Book.

He opted to leave the company after its recent sale.

Jones, a Suffolk native, and his wife, Sandra, have three children: Earl, Michael, and Nancy. Earl, a Lakeland High School teacher, and his wife, Karen, have a son, Brennan. Michael and Nancy live in Richmond and Wilmington, N.C., respectively.