Reportedly there are more than 300,000 handbell choirs in the United States. What kind of person can transform 13 teenagers into the benchmark of the handbell world? Meet Jason Wells.

Jason is proud to be 100 percent a product of Adventist education, graduating from Monterey Bay Academy. A trumpet player, he was recruited by Virginia Gene Rittenhouse to play in the New England Youth Ensemble at Atlantic Union College. After two years there, he spent a year in Palau as a student missionary.

While in Palau he found a set of handbells in a closet and created a small group of ringers from the seventh and eighth graders. That little group played at the inauguration of the president of Palau.

After graduating magna cum laude from Walla Walla College in 1996, Jason was hired by Tualatin Valley Junior Academy (TVJA) to teach English, history, photography and videography to ninth and tenth graders. Today, he is also the junior high vice principal, sponsors the yearbook and directs the Ring of Fire. Jason is married to Heather who is a neonatal intensive care nurse at Emanuel Hospital in Portland.

Jason’s journey to excellence started at home with his parents, Doug and Diane, also WWC graduates, who have always supported him in his pursuits. He gives tribute to his teachers who opened the world to him, saying, “So many Adventist teachers, from Walla Walla College, to Atlantic Union College, to Monterey Bay Academy and to Mesa Grande Junior Academy have greatly impacted my life.” He wants his life and teaching to impact the lives of his students. Jesse Cone, TVJA principal, says that Jason expects his students to succeed and so believes in them that they can and will give their best.

And how do his students feel about the excellence he demands from them? Ian Holm, 15 and a four-year veteran ringer, says, “Mr. Wells is the best director a group could have. He has always demanded the best from us and has always set the bar high. I have an enormous amount of respect for him and will never forget having him as a leader.”