Davidson receives Community Cornerstone Award

A.J. Davidson is CornerBank’s Community Cornerstone Award recipient in Arkansas City for May. In recognition of her service, CornerBank will contribute $100 to the non-profit organization of her choice. She has selected Hope Cemetery Shelter Fund and Northside Baptist Church Youth Group to share the contribution. A reception honoring Davidson’s service will be at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, May 31, in the CornerBank community room, 125 N. Summit. The public is invited to attend the reception.

Davidson was nominated for the award in recognition of her taking a strong interest in the community’s youth and serving as a positive role model.

Davidson has started a recreation volleyball league for girls in grades three through six. The Arkansas City Recreation Commission (ACRC) hasn’t had a volleyball program previously. She held a camp for the girls last summer and they have been playing in league games. The program generated enough interest to form six teams, which is an amazing turnout for a new program.

Davidson was born in Arkansas City and is the daughter of Tom and Donni McClaflin. During high school, she was involved in numerous sports and activities and volunteered at Roosevelt Elementary and coached a girls’ basketball league. She worked as an umpire for the ACRC.

She has been involved in Americorps, where she volunteered throughout the community building and maintaining a community garden, picking up trash and helping with yard work. She traveled to Hoisington to help with tornado cleanup and built playground boxes in Atlanta.

She earned an Associate of Arts degree from Cowley College and a Bachelor of Science degree in recreation and business from Emporia State University. Previous honors include being named employee of the month at Emporia State University’s student recreation center and being named to Phi Theta Kappa.

Davidson’s family includes her husband, Bryon, and daughters Ellie and Zoe. She is the assistant aquatics director for the Arkansas City Recreation Commission. She also coaches 7th grade volleyball at Arkansas City Middle School. She runs adult and youth programs including IYQ Summer Camp, Winter Break Camp, Spring Break Camp, Turkey Bingo, Santa Saturday, daddy Daughter Dance, Halloween Trick or Treat Night and many other activities. She is a member of the First United Methodist Church.

Davidson was selected for the award by the Community Cornerstone Award selection committee, which includes Bob Foster, Arleta Rice, Judy Reedy, Curt Freeland and Brenda Combs. All are previous recipients of the Cornerstone Award. Volunteers are the cornerstones of healthy communities. They’re on your corner – the people next door. They’re in your corner – helping make our community stronger. The Community Cornerstone Award recognizes the time and effort of volunteers dedicated to serving people and enhancing the quality of life in Cowley County. If you know of a Cowley County resident who has shown servant leadership in community service, contact Joyce McArtor at 442-6500 or joycem@cornerbank.com for nomination guidelines.