Greg Davis WCCC Distinguished Alumni
Greg Davis, a 1979 graduate of WCCC and Little Miami, has been selected for induction into the WCCC Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame for 2021. Greg is the owner of Avid Signs Plus, a successful business he has operated for 10 years in Lebanon. He completed the Drafting Design program, with instructor Stan Heath.
Greg is known in the Lebanon community and beyond as a leader in service. He is President of the Lebanon Rotary Club for 2021-22, and will oversee the many civic projects supported by the club.
For two years he has been involved with “Sleep in Heavenly Peace,” an organization that provides beds for children in need. The organization builds and delivers new beds to children ages 3-17, and their motto is “No kid sleeps on the floor in our town.” He is active in his church, the Lebanon Methodist Church. He regularly supports other local businesses and organizations by highlighting
them on his social media. His business, Avid Signs, supports many school and community events with sponsorship and involvement.
This spring he became involved in the WCCC Alumni Association and his company produced T-shirts as a fundraiser for the WCCC Education Foundation to provide scholarships for WCCC adult and high school students. He also offered an internship to the WCCC Graphic Arts student who won the T-shirt design contest, and gave that student, Angel Wilson, an opportunity to work on real
projects this summer at Avid Signs.
“We are very proud to have Greg Davis affiliated with our school,” Superintendent Rick Smith said.
“He is a well-respected leader in our business community and with civic and charitable organizations.”
In his acceptance speech, Greg talked about the influence that his time at the vocational school, now called WCCC, had on his education, career and his character as a person.
“In my sophomore year of high school, I had the pleasure to tour this ‘new concept’ school of Vocational Training. The Warren County Joint Vocational School, now the Warren County Career Center, was being built and we were given the list of courses offered. I had always enjoyed technical drafting from general shop class and when I saw the listing for Drafting and Design, I was excited at
the potential of putting something I enjoyed into a career.
“I loved that I could go to a brand new, high tech building (with central air conditioning), that many of my friends were also going to attend, and I could still be a part of my home school for sports, etc.
The Drafting and Design class gave me the opportunity to see and experience several aspects and career options for Drafting such as Architectural, Mechanical, Civil Engineering, etc. At the time, jobs were hard to come by and college was very expensive. So, coming out of high school with a variety of basic skills that could lead down different pathways was a great option.
“Mr. Stan Heath, Our Instructor. Stan as he wanted us to refer to him, was more of a supervisor than a teacher. He taught us how to calculate equations to get the correct end results. He made us do everything in long math not using calculators, or computers as he would refer to them. By the use of his first name he gave us the feeling of being in a real-life job position. We were also taught how to present and sell our designs in mock presentations to the class which were critiqued, sometimes brutally, by fellow classmates, who acted as co-workers. His philosophy was that anyone can design a part to work in a machine, but to stand out, we needed to be able to sell it to the boss and client.
“Other teachers that influenced me were Mr. Chapman and Mr. Johnson, my home school general shop teachers and also football coaches and Mr. Travis, High School Tennis Coach. They introduced me to not only drafting but also team work. Mrs. Schmidt, while she was not my instructor at the Career Center, she was our VICA (Vocational Industrial Clubs of America) advisor.
Being involved in VICA, as Class President I was given the opportunity to attend the Ohio State House luncheon with the State Representative, Mr. Corwin Nixon, as well as competing in regional and state design competitions.
“It is an honor to be selected as a member of the Distinguished Alumni from the school committee, my peers and community leaders. It gives me great honor to know that hard work within the community is recognized and appreciated. It humbles me to be considered distinguished anything. I am just an average, middle class kid from Morrow, Ohio.”
Greg thanked his many friends, co-workers, WCCC administration and board, and his family for their support, including his wife of 36 years, Sherre, a graduate of the WCCC Accounting and Computing class. He said that they, plus the many community leaders and business associates through the years, made him “a better person, business leader and community representative.” He also credited Lebanon resident Jim VanDeGrift for having a positive influence on his life.
(All funds benefit community project contributions.)