January 29, 2010
Cherokee Tribune
by Marguerite Cline, Columnist

On Thursday, the Rev. Charles Davis was named Cherokee County’s 2010 Citizen of the Year.

To say the least, he was shocked. He had been lured to the Chamber of Commerce luncheon under false pretenses.

Someone said that Charles Davis, “oozes compassion and caring.” He has a servant’s heart, and he is a minister to everyone. His parish is everywhere, and his parishioners are anyone with whom he has contact.

For 40 years, Charles Davis has quietly gone about our county helping those who are grieving, hungry and hurting. In many cases the people he helps are those society seems to have forgotten.

He seeks no publicity and no awards. He had never aspired to be rich or famous. Until today you have probably never seen his picture in the newspaper. He is generous and kind. Most of his service is on a one-to-one basis.

A girl who had been drug dependent turned to the Rev. Davis. He found her a job, a place to live and helped her to be reunited with her family.

A woman was living in a house with no gas during a very cold winter. He personally paid for her to stay in a hotel until the account could be settled.

When he learned a woman who was 99 years old wanted to go to the north Georgia mountains to see the fall leaves, our Citizen of the Year took her there.

When a local man became gravely ill while out of state and was hospitalized for months, the Rev. Davis called the man’s wife at the hospital every day.

A local doctor tells about a couple who lost their children in a car accident. “This couple could not have survived this tragedy without the hours Charles spent with them.”

A college student whose family was financially strapped tells how Charles Davis helped him to move his things on a college campus a hundred miles away when he had the opportunity to be the first person in his family to attend college.

After Hurricane Katrina, the Rev. Davis loaded his van with supplies and personally took them to Mississippi. Incidentally, this was not an easy trip. His van is an old bread truck.

An elderly woman needed to move to an assisted living facility, but had no one to help her. When our Citizen of the Year heard about this, he got some people to help him, went to her home, loaded her things in his van and moved them for her.

For about 30 years Charles Davis served as the volunteer chaplain at R.T. Jones, now Northside Hospital-Cherokee. He followed up with seriously ill patients after they left the hospital with home visits and telephone calls. Though he no longer holds the position, he continues to visit patients at the hospital and at Cameron Hall Assisted Living Facility on a regular basis.

A pregnant, unwed and destitute mother credits him with making the hospital delivery of her baby possible. Another tells of the role he played when her baby was born while her husband was away serving our country.

When there is a death in our community where the family needs spiritual guidance but has no religious affiliation, funeral homes call Charles Davis. He has conducted many funeral services for people he had never met. His message is one to comfort the family of the deceased.

He has never failed to come when called by a funeral home and does not accept payment for his services.

By the way, I am told he conducted at least one funeral while a child. It was a service for a dead cat.

He chartered Cherokee Community Church, Community Christian School, Little Ones Learning Center and the Easter Sunrise Service at Cherokee Memorial Park.

Charles Davis was born in Winsboro, S.C. He attended Lee College and then went into the Air Force. While stationed in Biloxi, he met his wife, Eva Cox Davis. They had five children – Linda (Chuck) Roden, Elaine (Gene) Thomason, Charlene Hasty, Skip (deceased) and Carol (Jack) Ridings.

Before moving here he served as a minister in Rome, Atlanta, Moultrie, Milledgeville and Screven County. He has lived in Cherokee County for 41 years.

Perhaps one of the reasons Charles Davis “oozes compassion and caring” for his fellowman is because he has experienced hurt, hardships and grief in his own life.

As a young child, he lived in an orphanage for several years.

His brother was brain-damaged at birth. His only son was killed in an accident when he was only 16 years old.

Someone who has observed the work of our Citizen of the Year for decades wrote, “It is known that Rev. Davis extends himself well beyond the church podium with his hands on involvement, and that his actions define his faith by his assisting with physical work, food and transportation needs and financial aid – exemplifying not only the Golden Rule, but also, is attestation of what a poet stated: “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.”

It is noteworthy that the people I have written about singing the praises of the Rev. Davis are not members of his church. This is not just a case of a minister doing his job. He greatly surpasses expectations.

Congratulations, Charles Davis. Although you did not seek this or any other award and probably are not enjoying the attention you are getting, no one deserves it more than you.

Marguerite Cline is the former mayor of Waleska and a former county school superintendent.