The Pitt-Greensburg Alumni Association (PGAA) will present its Volunteer Excellence award to Randy Davis ’84 as part of the Alumni Celebration Dinner to be held Saturday, Sept. 28, (cocktails: 5:30 p.m./dinner: 6 p.m.) at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. Registration for the dinner, part of the Blue & Gold Celebration: Homecoming & Families Weekend 2024, is available here.
The PGAA Volunteer Excellence Award was established in 2009 to recognize alumni who volunteer their time to the PGAA and the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. The award honors alumni who have dedicated a significant amount of personal time to attending alumni meetings and events, working on special projects, and contributing to the overall success of both the alumni association and the University it represents.
“As the Pitt Greensburg Alumni Association President, it is my honor to be part of a university that produces the level of impressive distinction, volunteers and leadership among our winners,” said Michel Keller.
Davis, a resident of Greensburg, PA, graduated from Pitt-Greensburg in 1984 with a BA in English Writing. Since 1995, he has worked for a Greensburg printing company where he is responsible for preparing mailing lists for computerized addressing and pre-sorting of the mail pieces printed by the company. He shared that he drives a forklift, too.
But that pales in comparison as to why he was selected to receive the PGAA’s Volunteer Excellence Award.
In 1990, he donated his first pint of blood through the American Red Cross. This was shortly after a friend, a 1989 high school graduate, died of ovarian cancer at age 19.
“In Kari’s honor and memory, I gave a pint of blood,” said Davis. “And I continue to donate in her honor and memory. It’s who I am, not just what I do.”
As of September 2024, he has donated 208 times since that first donation in 1990, all through the American Red Cross. Davis tries to donate 6 pints a year. As each pint potentially benefits three people, he estimates that it’s possible he has directly helped more than 600 people over the past 34 years. His nominator estimates that Davis has donated more than 26 gallons of blood in that timeframe.
According to the American Red Cross website (https://www.redcrossblood.org), “Every two seconds, someone in the US needs blood. It is essential for surgeries, cancer treatment, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries. Whether a patient receives whole blood, red cells, platelets, or plasma, this lifesaving care starts with one person making a generous donation.” Davis’s regular donations each year help the Red Cross to provide about 40 percent of the nation’s blood and blood components. He is one of about three percent of age-eligible people who donate blood yearly.
When not working or volunteering to help others with his blood donations, Davis pursues several hobbies: traditional archery, competitive racewalking, and amateur radio.
Davis has enjoyed “old school” target archery since the early 1970s. “Today, it gets me outside with my left-handed recurve and my friends, target shooting and stump shooting over the beautiful hills of Western Pennsylvania,” he explained. “Archery restores peace and quiet in a very loud world.”
From 1994 until 2007, Davis was an active and competitive regional race walker who participated in 5K, 10K, and 15K races, following USATF and Olympic rules and regulations. A highlight was competing at the 2003 USATF Race Walking Timed Event at California University of Pennsylvania, where he placed first in the Masters Division-1 Hour Timed Event. He no longer competes but continues to walk for his own enjoyment and fitness. As part of his walking routine, he picks up any coins he finds and donates them to various local human service agencies, donating approximately $50 a year since he began keeping track in 1991.
Since 1976, Davis has been an FCC Licensed amateur radio operator, call letters WB3EKR. At age 14, he passed the entry level Novice Class test. And around 2000, he passed the highest-class license test to attain Amateur Extra Class ranking which requires specific radio knowledge and Morse Code at 20 words-per-minute.
“We reach out to others throughout the world, using Voice and Morse, not with messages of hate or anger, but with a simple introductory greeting: ‘Are you hearing me?’,” explained Davis of his interest in this pursuit.
Davis has quietly hoped that perhaps one or two of the folks who have received his blood have since taken up archery, race walking, or amateur radio. He will never know, though, since the donor and recipient are never informed of each other.
About Pitt-Greensburg:
Founded in 1963, the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg is a publicly assisted, four-year, liberal arts college in southwestern Pennsylvania. Pitt-Greensburg offers 31 baccalaureate degree programs, including new majors in data analytics, nursing, and healthcare management, as well as 31 minors and four certificate programs. With nearly 1,400 students, more than 10,000 alumni, and faculty and staff numbering 260, Pitt-Greensburg provides a vibrant, diverse community that is a dynamic model of a 21st-century liberal arts education. As part of the University of Pittsburgh system, Pitt-Greensburg offers the resources of a world-renowned university combined with the individualized and immersive experiences of a small liberal arts college. Creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit permeate the campus and extend into its many collaborative projects with the Westmoreland County community. Nestled in Pennsylvania’s beautiful Laurel Highlands, the campus is surrounded by the region’s outdoor recreation venues and rich history. It is a five-minute drive from uptown Greensburg and less than an hour’s drive from Pittsburgh.