BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Erwin Davis, a 1980 Illinois Wesleyan University graduate, has been named the recipient of the 2007 Community Service Award for the Bloomington-Normal Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He was honored Thursday at the annual Freedom Fund Banquet in Bloomington.
“Really, the honor has not sunk in,” said Erwin, speaking on his cell phone last week as he stepped off an elevator in Washington, D.C., where he was working with legislators on behalf of the National Urban League. “I think of the work I’ve done as being part of a group effort, and we all have good reasons for giving back.”
Davis, a manager with State Farm Insurance Companies in Bloomington, said he has four good reasons for giving to the community – his four children. “I take education personally because of my kids,” said Davis, who sits on the Bloomington-Normal Education Achievement Gap Task Force, and serves on the boards for the McLean County Urban League and Tri-County Urban League. “I consider education the key to one’s success. An intelligent ability in today’s society is critical. I wanted that for my children, and that’s why I have always put an emphasis on educational achievement.”