NEWBERRY COUNTY – The South Atlantic Conference will induct Wendell Davis into the 2020 Hall of Fame Class.
The SAC will honor the recipient of the Conference’s Distinguished Alumni Award, which is being awarded to Newberry alum Wendell Davis.
“It is a privilege to add these extraordinary individuals to our already impressive Hall of Fame inductees,” said SAC commissioner Patrick Britz. “The SAC is honored to commemorate each of them for their numerous and outstanding accomplishments. They are all shining examples of the rich tradition that the SAC has for both academic and athletic excellence.”
Davis, a 1981 graduate of Newberry, was a four-year member of the football team where he amassed 299 career rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns and eight receptions for 58 yards. Davis truly shined after life at Newberry when he began his career in law enforcement and public safety.
After graduating from Newberry, Davis joined the Aiken Department of Public Safety, where he served until 1993 when he was named chief of police in Orangeburg. A year later, he successfully merged the fire and police departments into one unit, the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety. He assisted the department in gaining accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies in 2003, becoming one of just three South Carolina departments to meet the 464 national and international standards.
Under his guidance, the Orangeburg Insurance Services Office rating was cut in half, reducing fire risk and reducing costs for residents living in the area. Regarded by many as a front-line leader, Davis was known for stepping out from behind the desk to personally engage crime.
In addition to his work in law enforcement and public safety, Davis has been very active in his community, including co-founding Simba/Rites of Passage Program in Aiken, which assists young African American males transitioning from boyhood to manhood. He was also the organizer/chairman of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee in Aiken, which was formed to hone in on the needs of the youth in Aiken County. He worked with Big Brothers and Big Sisters in Aiken, as well as the Boys and Girls Club of Orangeburg and is a member of the Orangeburg Rotary Club. He received the Alpha Phi Alpha Drum Major Award for mentoring and community Awareness, was named the Omega Psi Phi Citizen of Year in 1995 and was the first recipient of the Newberry College Alumni Distinguished Service Award for outstanding achievement and service to the recipient’s profession, community society or college.