News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Former Cookeville mayors and spouses Bobby and Jean Davis were the recipients of this year’s Putnam County Good Scout Award.
The duo were honored Tuesday for their lasting impacts made to the Cookeville community. Jean Davis served as mayor from 1994 to 1998 and said it was an honor to play a role in the city’s growth.
“We’re so proud of it and to have been a part of it and the workings of developing into new industries and new streets and new whatever,” Davis said. “We felt like we have been a part of that and that makes us very proud.”
Bobby Davis’ mayorship lasted from 1967 to 1973. He said it was always about making Cookeville better for everyone.
“Cookeville has been our home for many years,” Davis said. “And, we’ve been into community life for so long and love our city and have tried to make it a better place to live.”
Besides politics, the scouting tradition runs deep in the Davis family. Both Bobby and Jean were scouts growing up and have two grandchildren that have achieved Eagle status.
“I was a scout when I was a young girl,” Davis said. “And then, grown and married and had a daughter and she was a scout. I was her scout leader for a few years. So, we’ve been promoting scouting all the time, and then the grandchildren being scouts.”
Bobby Davis was also a Boy Scout Merit Badge Counselor for 20 years. He attended Tennessee Tech and graduated with a Pharmacy Degree in 1957. Bobby then went into business with his father.
Jean Davis has a degree in nursing from the University of Memphis and later received a masters in educational psychology and counselor education at Tech. Davis spent 30 years as a nurse and retired as Tech’s Director of Student Health Services. Jean has so far been the only woman to be elected as Cookeville Mayor.
