Current Community Member: Jeff Davis
Jeff Davis became a member of the Clemson community when he and his family moved to the upstate in 1999. Davis and his wife Joni graduated from Clemson, where Davis was the Captain of Clemson football’s first national championship team, among many other athletic accolades. While he is extremely grateful for the opportunities athletics has afforded him and proud of what he and his teammates were able to accomplish, it is Davis’ hope that his legacy will be one of faith and service to humanity. Davis returned to Clemson from Tampa, FL, to serve as the Field Director of the Call Me Mister program, an initiative to increase the number of diverse male elementary school teachers in South Carolina. The program recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary and the many educators who have changed the face of elementary education in South Carolina. Following his tenure with Call Me Mister, Davis worked in development at Clemson, during which he was an integral part of the fundraising campaign for the West End Zone. From there, Davis became an Assistant Athletic Director, working with Clemson’s football program. In this role, Davis founded Paw Journey, a leadership initiative that develops Clemson’s football student-athletes holistically into first-class men and world-class leaders.
While working at Clemson, Davis has engaged with numerous civic, youth, community, business, and spiritual organizations throughout the state through speaking engagements. He has also mentored and counseled young people, couples, families, and individuals as they confront life’s challenges. In 2005, Davis founded FreeWay Church, which has been an active member of Clemson’s spiritual community, and where Davis serves as the Senior Pastor. Throughout FreeWay’s sixteen-year history, it has sponsored events on Clemson’s campus, provided financial support to those in need, and built a multi-cultural, diverse church body, open to any who would come. FreeWay Church recently purchased property in Clemson, and Davis is looking forward to the church having a permanent home where it can better serve the Clemson community for a long time to come.
Historical Community Member: Ida Lucinda Heard
Pastor Carleathea M. Benson nominated Ida Lucinda Heard for this week’s historical figure. The following are Pastor Benson’s own words about her great grandmother:
“My great-grandmother, Ida Lucinda Heard, who I affectionately called “granny”, made sure the professors at Clemson College looked professional in the classroom. Clemson College was an all-male military school. Unlike the casual dress in the classroom today, the male faculty dressed in black pants with white long sleeve, front button, cotton dress shirts. The cadets’ uniforms were laundered on-campus. But, the professors’ clothes were brought to my “granny,” mostly by their wives, for her to wash, starch, and press on a weekly basis. This was manually done by hauling water from the well to her boiling pot and scrub board and to her Maytag Ringer Washer. She used Argo Starch on the dress shirts. She used candle wax on the pants to set the creases. All the ironing was done with a Smoothing Iron, which was heated on top of her wood stove. This was an all-day, many times a 3-day, process. However, every Friday, the clothes were ready for pickup. My “granny” was one of the first in-home cleaners in Calhoun, now Clemson.”