Monday March 18th, 2024 11:22PM

C.W. Davis, former Hall Co. Schools Supt. and founder of Lanierland Basketball Tournament, dies

By Ken Stanford Contributing Editor

C.W. Davis, a longtime Hall County educator, former superintendent of Hall County Schools and founder of the Lanierland Basketball Tournament, died Saturday at the age of 96.

Davis, a lifelong educator, served a Hall County Schools Superintendent for six years, 1977-1983, but became an employee of the system in 1953.

The current superintendent, Will Schofield, said in a statement issued Saturday afternoon "Mr. Davis dedicated a significant portion of his life working for the boys and girls of Hall County. Even after the age of 90, he created a scholarship fund to ensure deserving students had access to higher education."   C.W. Davis Middle School in the southern part of the county is named after him. 

Davis grew up in Lavonia, Georgia, and while in college, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps.

He later earned a bachelor’s degree from Piedmont College in Demorest, a Master’s degree from Vanderbilt University and a Specialist degree in school administration from the University of Georgia.

“The Lord sent me to Hall County in 1953,” he once said, according to his obituary, “to substandard facilities and curriculum in an agriculture-based community and society.”    He served as principal of Flowery Branch School and South Hall High School before being named superintendent.

In addition to education, Davis had a love of athletics.  Having played basketball at Piedmont College, Davis, in 1960,  founded the Lanierland Basketball Tournament among local high schools, now the state’s longest-running tournament.  

In a 2004 interview, Davis said the county high schools, at the time, for one reason or another, couldn’t get into holiday tournaments in North Georgia, so, it was decided to create one just for them.

“We found that, really, the three Hall County schools were the red-headed stepsister in terms of what other schools were doing.”

The tournament's Most Valuable Player awards are named for him. 

Davis was a member of a number of professional and civic organizations and once served on the Oakwood City Council. 

A celebration of life service is scheduled for 2:00, Tuesday, at First Baptist Church of Oakwood with interment following at Memorial Park South Cemetery. 

(A full obituary can be found on the AccessWDUN Obituaries Page)

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