The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Houston is one of nine cities participating in a Texas bike tour commemorating the life of Ted Jones, who was instrumental in opening Edward Jones's first branch office, according to Financial Advisor Karen Collier in Bridge City.

The nine-city tour, beginning in Houston on Oct. 11 and concluding in Dallas/Fort Worth on Oct. 19, is aptly named Tour de Ted - Ride the Lone Star.

The bike tour celebrates the life of the firm's second managing partner, Ted Jones, and commemorates his unique vision of serving clients in local communities.

Two years ago, Tour de Ted followed a 13-state route that traced the path of a telegraph wire that stretched from Colorado to St. Louis in the early days of the firm, which was established in 1922.

The event's focus is to raise funds for cancer research, the disease that claimed Ted Jones' life more than 20 years ago.

In 1987, Jones became intrigued with the conversion of an abandoned railroad track running along the Missouri River into a hiking and biking trail.

Inspired by a bike trip on which he met his wife, Pat, and a later tour in Wisconsin, Jones spent many hours in Missouri's capitol lobbying for the proposed trail. He donated $2.2 million to help officials purchase the trail land and turn the abandoned rail line into the longest continuous hiking and bicycling trail in the country.

Anyone interested in participating in the bike tour in Houston may contact Karen Collier or Balie Viator at 735-9413 for more information or register at www.tourdeted.com.

Edward Jones, a Fortune 500 company, provides financial services for individual investors in the United States and, through its affiliate, in Canada.

Every aspect of the firm's business, from the types of investment options offered to the location of branch offices, is designed to cater to individual investors in the communities in which they live and work.

The firm's 13,000-plus financial advisors work directly with nearly 7 million clients to understand their personal goals -- from college savings to retirement -- and create long-term investment solutions that emphasize a well-balanced portfolio, diversified portfolio.

Edward Jones embraces the importance of building long-term, face-to-face relationships with clients, helping them to understand and make sense of the investment options available today.

Headquartered in St. Louis, Edward Jones ranked No. 4 overall in FORTUNE magazine's 2014 100 Best Companies to Work For ranking. Visit our website at www.edwardjones.com and our recruiting website at www.careers.edwardjones.com. Follow us on Twitter @EdwardJones. Member SIPC. FORTUNE and Time Inc. are not affiliated with and do not endorse Edward Jones products or services.