Davises surprised to receive Good Neighbor Award

When Conway Area Chamber of Commerce Chairman Johnny Adams began to describe the recipients of the Good Neighbor Award at the recent annual meeting, Milton and Claudia Davis thought something sounded strangely familiar about those folks.

The couple was presented with the award after almost 30 years of volunteerism and philanthropy in the community. Milton Davis is a financial advisor for Edward Jones with his offices at Toad Suck Square, and both he and Claudia Davis have volunteered in numerous capacities.

The couple laughed while sharing that it took a while for them to realize they were the ones Adams was describing.

Claudia Davis said, "We were very shocked. When they started describing the person, they mentioned one graduated from UCA in 1955, and I thought, 'We probably know these people.' They mentioned they lived in a little three-room house, and I thought, 'They started out just like we did.' It just didn't dawn on me. Then when it did dawn on me, I thought they would never stop talking. We feel very honored. It was humbling. It's a very nice honor."

Milton Davis said with a laugh, "I kept thinking, 'We ought to know these people. Our lives seem to be parallel.'"

The couple both attended the University of Central Arkansas.

"Milton graduated in 1955," Claudia Davis said. "He got his BA in business."

"Thanks to her!" Milton Davis interjected.

She added, "I got my M-O-M about a month after he graduated. I had my first baby, the first of four children we had."

Milton Davis went to work in Little Rock for Continental Baking Company where he was a personnel manager and safety director. That job took the couple to Memphis, and he continued to work for the company for 10 years.

"In Memphis we were very active in community affairs. Raising children, everything they were involved in, we were involved in," Claudia Davis said.

Milton Davis worked two years in a nonprofit job with the Memphis Urban League then had his own business for 11 years as a financial advisor. In 1979, the couple moved back to Conway when Milton Davis heard about Edward Jones.

Claudia Davis said, "We loved Conway when we went to college, but there was no way to make a living then. We had an opportunity to come back to our college town. I also had a brother living here. That was just exciting to get to come back."

"It was just one of those fluke conversations that changes your life," Milton Davis said.

"We loved Memphis and we fully expected to live there forever, but when we saw the opportunity, we thought that would be fun to go back to our college town, so we decided to take that risk," Claudia Davis said.

Claudia Davis was a stay-at-home mother and always an active volunteer, she said. She has also worked in advertising, as assistant to the director of the Memphis Epilepsy Foundation, as district secretary to the United Methodist Church in Memphis and also on staff at the United Methodist Church in Conway.

She is a charter member of Main Street USA in Conway and a charter member of Friends of Torreyson Library. She has been an active member of PEO, United Methodist Women, Church Women United, Shakespeare Club, Conway Recycling Program, Faulkner County Democratic Women, CASA Advocate and the Conway Morning Rotary, where she served as the first female President in the State of Arkansas. She has also been awarded the Paul Harris Fellow with Rotary International.

Milton Davis has served as board president of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, United Way Board, Faulkner County Council on Aging, is an active member of the Lions Club and has been awarded the Paul Harris Fellow through Rotary International.

The couple are longtime members of First United Methodist Church. They support the arts financially and have appeared in a number of productions with the Conway Community Theatre. They also have the honor of having an annual award being named for them. They have also appeared regularly in Lillian Petrucelli's Murder Mystery Productions.

They have supported the United Way for years and were one of the first donors to be honored with the Alexis DeTocquville Society award. They also recently joined Centennial Campaign Leadership Team to continue their support for UCA. Additionally, the Davises have established numerous endowment funds to support programs and institutions they hold dear.