Hall of Fame
When the name Clifton Davis is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is sacrifice, whether in terms of community involvement or his family. Even in his high school days at Simeon Vocational in Chicago, taking responsibility was a part of his make-up, as he worked instead of competing in sports because his mother had become very ill. Clifton graduated from vocational school in1981, then traveled north to MATC where he played basketball. His stats were not eye-popping, but his coach, Jack Brenegan said, “Clifton would do anything for the good of the team. He was willing to sacrifice individual goals for team success.” The sacrifice paid off for Clifton, as the MATC team won the State Junior College Championship that year, and reached the NJCAA Region XIII finals.
The past nine years Clifton has served the greater Madison community as a family-community liaison, and more recently as the director of the Atwood Avenue Community Center, and now the Vera Court Neighborhood Center. He worked with the kids at the Marquette Elementary School in Madison. Clifton’s joy, other than his family, has been the development of the “Brothers Effort Against Social Turmoil” organization in 1992, which has expanded to other major cities, helping set up youth recreational programs with positive role models. Awards have been common place for the dedicated Davis. Some of these community based awards have been a nomination for the J.C. Penney Golden Rule Presidential Award in 1994; the Reverend James C Wright Award for working with youth in educational and recreational programs; and an award from Madison Community Service through project Jammaad, which helped raise money for 14 young people conducting an educational exchange with Jamaica.
Clifton, who will received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia University, says his main joy is his wife, Carolyn, and five children.
