“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5
By Marilyn Miller
How does one work his way up to being called a “peacemaker”?
In 1964, Tommy Davis was living and working in Stephens, Arkansas, just northeast of Magnolia. After finishing his degree at the Capital City Business College in Little Rock, he distributed goods for a grocery company. His “high school sweetheart” and wife, Vernie Davis, was working on a degree in teaching.
When Vernie graduated and got a temporary job at Minden High School (teaching Physics & Chemistry while Mrs. Harol Thompson was out on maternity leave), the decision to relocate was easy. He continued distributing to grocers in the Minden area until 1966. That’s when he took a sales job with Rucker Pharmaceuticals in Shreveport. O.R. “Shorty” Long, who would become a well-known Minden businessman, was on the sales staff there, and trained Tommy.
The job carried them to Ft. Smith, AR, where Tommy and Vernie grew their family, welcoming son, Scott Davis (and Teri); son Stanley Davis (and Dena); and daughter Suzanne D. (and Greg Barnett). In 1972-’73, Tommy, Shorty, and three other partners founded UAD Laboratories in Minden.
In 1978, Tommy relocated his family to Minden, where he managed the UAD office. However, he left UAD in 1980, and in 1984 he purchased the Mobil Oil gas distributorship on Shreveport Road.
Tragedy struck during those years. Vernie was diagnosed with brain cancer, and at age 53, she passed away.
“That was in 1996,” Tommy said. “I took care of her day and night.” He sold the Mobil business to Mike Waller that year. Ever an entrepreneur, Tommy then went to work with Robin Beck, earning his real estate license. When the Becks left Minden, he joined Laura Stanley at her real estate company.
And here, Tommy’s years of public service began.
“Mayor Bill Robertson asked if I would serve on the Minden Planning Commission, and I said “Yes,” Tommy recalled. “Then when Drew White’s seat on the City Council came open,” he threw his hat into the ring and won. He ran unopposed his second term. However, Mayor Robertson died, leaving mayor pro temp Joe Cornelius as mayor until an election could take place. Tommy and Joe ran against each other in the special election, and Tommy won the seat, and finished Robertson’s term. He ran unopposed for his next full term.
Tommy served one term as mayor, choosing not to run for a second term because, “I didn’t want to be 80 years old when I got out of office.” Why?
Tommy had married his wife, Nelda, in 1998. They were introduced by his good friend, Ty Pendergrass. Nelda also has three children, Sondra Robertson, Jimmy Hensley, and Missy Walley. Between them, they have 18 grandchildren! Question answered!
The entrepreneur/public servant thought he was retired until Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards asked him to serve the unexpired term of Mayor Terry Gardner, who passed away from pancreatic cancer during his last year in office. That was in June of 2022. “I was in Houston with Kyle Robertson, who was getting a pacemaker, when the Governor’s office called.
The preceding three-and-a-half years had been tumultuous ones for the City of Minden, with the council split on almost 100 percent of their issues, including the passage of a new budget.
To the question, “Are you a peacekeeper or a peacemaker,” Tommy responded, “I think I’m a Peacemaker. My job was to keep the boat afloat and moving forward. We passed the budget in the few months that I was in there.”
Tommy is most proud of the six years of unity shown by the councils he served under, and his special service, as well as the installation of new, automatic water and electric meters citywide. He was also proud of getting the City’s reserves built back up. He laments the SWEPCO contract and said that “it really changed from the original contract…The transferring of electricity changed…it is the cost of transferring the electricity to Minden” that upped utility bills. “Overall, the contract was good for the City.”
“I traveled to Washington several times to try to get us out of that contract,” he said. That effort was not successful.
Tommy is a board member and past president of the Minden Lions Club, and he is a longtime member of the First Baptist Church of Minden, where he has taught Sunday School for over 40 years and is a life-time Deacon.
He recently returned from a mission trip to Nome, Alaska with 11 other men from First Baptist. Hosted by “Alaska Missions,” volunteers work many activities, including the final of the annual Iditarod Race and “a giant baseball tournament” that included native men and women. “We worked concessions for the weekend. You make a lot of friends,” Tommy said. “But they depend on us as volunteers.”
Minden’s “Man of the Year” for 2023 is an avid supporter of the United Christian Assistance Program (UCAP). A board member, he spends hours each Wednesday refilling the shelves with donated food goods. Just last week, he assisted with the 36th annual Hungerfest and Dessert Auction,” which is the primary source of funds for UCAP.
“UCAP meets a great need,” Tommy remarked. “I enjoy working there. I’m just a volunteer down there…if the phone rings, I don’t have to answer it…I don’t have to make all the decisions.”
On his “elder status,” Tommy says that “God blessed me with good health.”
“I can certainly look back and see bad times, but mostly I just see how good God has been to me.” Tommy is a big believer in doing what you are able to do, and what God has called you to do. One of his favorite sayings reflects that belief:
“Pray to God, But Row to Shore,” he advised.
