Bill Text: VA HR50 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Charles Jones Davis, III.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 4-2)
Status: (Passed) 2024-02-05 - Bill text as passed House (HR50ER) [HR50 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HR50-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, in the economy of The Almighty there are innumerable creatures and, among human beings, countless types of character, sober, silly, humorless, or humorous, yet each bearing the imprint of the imago Dei; and
WHEREAS, Charles Jones Davis III, III a fixture in the public life of the Commonwealth for over 50 years, was simultaneously a man of character and also a man who was (and, to those with the eyes of faith, remains) a character; and
WHEREAS, Charles "Charlie" Davis inherited his character from goodly parents, CJ and Marie, and deployed his traits to grow into a character in the salubrious surroundings of Rocky Mount nestled among the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains; and
WHEREAS, after graduating from the University of Virginia with a bachelor's degree in history, in 1968, Charlie Davis served in the Audio-Visual Service of the United States Air Force in Mississippi and Ohio and subsequently with the American Forces Network radio and television service in Diyarbakir, Turkey; and
WHEREAS, upon completing his military service, Charlie Davis returned to Virginia, to Richmond, and secured employment with Newsradio WRVA 1140, first as a reporter, then as news editor, and eventually as news anchor, this in the era when radio was a dominant source of news for many Virginians; and
WHEREAS, Charlie Davis from 1978 to 1980 was employed by the Commonwealth as director of information for the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, mastering gifts in writing, advertising, and messaging, while beginning what would become a decades-long engagement with members of the Virginia General Assembly; and
WHEREAS, Charlie Davis in 1980 became executive assistant and press secretary to Governor John N. Dalton; and
WHEREAS, it was in 1983 that Charlie Davis entered into the career of government affairs, first as the vice president of government relations for CSX Corporation, a labor, and a profession, by which and for which he would come to be known—and revered—by generations of members of the legislature and of the executive branch of Virginia's government; and
WHEREAS, it was in 1991 that Charlie Davis and his devoted and talented wife, Christine, formed Davis Consultants, a public relations and government affairs firm that would for the next three decades and more manifest, on behalf of his corporate clients and their employees and products, his singular gifts of communication, persuasion, and accomplishment, each and all marked by the colorful character (accentuated by brilliant storytelling and a whiff of cigarette smoke) that was his distinctive own; and
WHEREAS, Charlie Davis in recent years was stricken by pancreatic cancer, an experience he endured with grace and with an ever-deepening understanding of his eternal destiny; and
WHEREAS, Charlie Davis succumbed at last to COVID-19, passing into the next life on September 18, 2023, at the age of 77; and
WHEREAS, Charlie Davis was bereaved by the death in 2019 of his son, Charles J. "Chad" Davis IV; and
WHEREAS, Charlie Davis is survived by his wife of nearly 40 years, Christine; his son Dr. Drew Davis of Atlanta; his faithful Irish Setter, Champ; and by a host of other relatives and friends; and
WHEREAS, Charlie Davis, though no longer a fixture in the temporal corridors of power, is assuredly making his way into the eternal precincts of the Divine, and will long be remembered for the steadfastness of his substance and the singularity of his style; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Delegates hereby note with great sadness the loss of Charles Jones Davis III and express admiration for his remarkable contributions to the government affairs profession and service to members of the legislature who welcomed, and depended upon, his information and counsel at the Capitol; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to the family of Charles Jones Davis III, as an expression of sympathy with their bereavement and admiration for the life and labors of a journalist and advocate whose like will not soon be seen again.
