Catching up with . . . George Davis

At my request, George Bing Davis, who came from Stark County to the BJ so long ago that he was my immediate predecessor as BJ TV Editor (and I started that job in 1980), provides an update on his life since the BJ.

      Life is still good for me and my wife of 50 years, Merleen. We celebrated with dinner for 28 family members and significant others on Feb. 22 at the Bistro in Green. What a great place and staff. Our four children, 10 grandchildren and a great-grandson born last October were there. All are healthy and delightful to be with.

George and Merleen Davis with granddaughter
Allison Jeffries at her Kent State graduation

      I have been listed as retired from the BJ since July 31, 2001, but that's only partially true. I became the city of Canton's first and only Public Information Officer that October, working for more than two years as a liaison between the media and the city, especially the Canton PD and FD.

       I came back to the BJ in 2004, working from home as a correspondent, covering Green. One year and a week later, I was named the first editor of the Jackson Observer weekly for five months – until a second left-knee replacement put me on the shelf.  A third replacement occurred in March 2007 and all has been good since.

    A month after the third replacement, MERSA staff infections for three years and a total of nine surgeries I returned to covering Green school board and city meetings for the BJ. I love keeping my fingers in the business and still cover the meetings while also providing Crime Watch weekly coverage of northern Stark and southern Summit counties police agencies, which I truly enjoy.

      I spent 32 years at the BJ and worked in all newsroom departments other than sports, although my start in the business in 1958-59 involved covering sports while still in high school.

      I'll never forget my colleagues because they were tremendous. I am still in touch with several via email. Their talent and devotion during the decades were rewarded with three team Pulitzer Prizes and a fourth for John S. Knight's compilation of columns. What a newsroom team we had!!!

      Merleen and I enjoy chartered bus trips to see a wide range of locations throughout the eastern U.S. and also visiting with our youngest son and his family in Joliet, Illinois.

      We have been to the National Gospel Quartet Convention and spent time with former high school classmates scattered around the country.

      We have lived in Perry Township in the home we had built in 1975 to raise our brood. We also have a year-round home at Guilford Lake State Park between Salem and Lisbon, where we enjoy boating, cooking out on the deck and sharing life with friends and neighbors. Just a simple phone call is all you need to let us know you'd like to visit and make sure we'll be there.

      My email address is mediaman@sssnet.com , and my new twitter address is davis_mediaman. You can call my cellphone at 330-575-2926 between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. (We no longer are early risers... unless there is a hot a.m. bingo game nearby. LOL)

     

George Davis