My first connect with Steve was during his Linfield student days in the early 1970s. At the time I was Lewis & Clark’s SID, one of three in the NWC with full-time staff positions. Bob Woodle at Willamette and Jim Kittlsby at PLU were the other two. The summer of 1971 I invited the SIDs from Oregon’s NWC schools to lunch and an afternoon of meetings to help build a professional trust that would pay dividends for us all as the sports seasons unfolded.
Steve was one of the student SIDs who came. Bonding with Steve was instantaneous. Initially, I had a hard time believing a student who played football also could handle the sports information ropes as well. Davis proved me wrong. When he worked in that role on and on for the next decade, it was a great connect as we helped each other accomplish our tasks---whether it be football, basketball or the spring sports.A side note: Does anyone know that for one summer, Steve was a “part timer” (they now call them interns) in the Portland Trail Blazers’ sports communications office? I think Steve was the first college student ever to fill that role for the Blazers---probably in the summer of 1971, the team’s second season. Steve was one of the Blazer publicist John White’s all-time favorites. White’s daughter, Cheri, now a vice president for the Blazers but then just a teenager, remembers Steve fondly.
When I went to work for Linfield in 1987 as the college’s director of information services (also wearing the hat of sports information director), Steve was one of my best confidants. He was a big, big help in my transitioning into the World of the Wildcats. I watched with amazement when Steve, Ron Davison, Jeff Kizer and other Wildcat alums rolled up their sleeves, emptied their wallets and built over the summer of 1988 Maxwell Field’s great concession-ticket office pavilion. A vintage Steve Davis commitment to his alma mater.
Later on, I reconnected with Steve when he was at his dad’s Cherry City Electric Company in Salem, one of the subcontractors in the building of The Rose Garden in the early 1990s. By then I was working full time for the team. We got together for lunch a couple of times when he was up checking on the work going on.
Fast forward a few years when Steve was investing his passion for sports in the stadium and arena electronic signage business---Daktronics. When he was up meeting with Trail Blazers arena management, he’d call and say “let’s have lunch.” He would meet with the front office people then we’d go to lunch.
The last time I saw him was at a Blazers game one night about five years ago. He gave me his card, and said, “let’s have lunch.” Sadly, I didn’t make it that time.
He’s on my short list of the all-time great people I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside---Portland State, Lewis & Clark, Linfield, Trail Blazers, wherever.
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Photo of Steve from 1969 Linfield Oak Leaves yearbook
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Information below based on a 4/25/2014 posting at Oregonian website
