SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2019 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 757
Commending James E. Davis.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 4, 2019
Agreed to by the Senate, February 7, 2019

 

WHEREAS, in 2018, James E. Davis retired as emergency services director of Pittsylvania County after 37 years of diligent work to serve and protect his fellow community members as a first responder, law-enforcement officer, and emergency dispatcher; and

WHEREAS, following in the footsteps of his father, a volunteer firefighter in North Carolina, James “Jim” E. Davis began his long and fulfilling career in public safety as a dispatcher with the Danville Fire Department in 1981, at a time when there was no 911 system in the area; and

WHEREAS, after a consolidated emergency dispatch was created under the Danville Police Department in 1982, Jim Davis helped implement basic and enhanced 911 services and subsequently became a sworn officer of the department, rising to the rank of lieutenant; and

WHEREAS, in 1995, Jim Davis was selected by the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors to design, implement, and oversee the creation of a countywide 911 system; and

WHEREAS, Jim Davis assembled a highly motivated team of dispatchers to map county roads, create an accurate list of addresses and telephone numbers, and collaborate with local public safety departments to set policies and procedures; and

WHEREAS, Jim Davis was officially named emergency services manager in February 1996 and ably led the department through its first major test later that year, when Hurricane Fran struck the East Coast; and

WHEREAS, over the course of his 22-year tenure, Jim Davis maintained a wide array of credentials and certifications for emergency services and disaster response and adopted cutting-edge technology and techniques to keep Pittsylvania County at the forefront of public safety communications; and

WHEREAS, respected for his expertise at the regional and state levels, Jim Davis has served as president of the Virginia chapter of the National Emergency Number Association and the Virginia Emergency Management Association and chair of the Piedmont Regional Criminal Justice Training Academy; and

WHEREAS, Jim Davis will continue to utilize his public safety expertise as a member of Mission Critical Partners, which helps 911 centers throughout the United States expand and enhance emergency communications systems and better serve their communities; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend James E. Davis for his 37 years of service to the Danville and Pittsylvania County communities as a first responder, law-enforcement officer, and the founder of the county’s 911 communication system; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to James E. Davis as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his diligent work to safeguard the lives of Danville and Pittsylvania County residents.