Who: Kevin Davis
Occupation: Police Officer
Resides: Hyattsville, Md.
I command a Police District in the 27th largest police force in the nation in Prince George's County, Maryland. I achieved the appointed rank of major three years ago as a 13 year veteran, an almost unheard of accomplishment on an agency of this size in a jurisdiction of over 900,000 people and considerable violent crime challenges. I occupy a much sought after command as a District Commander that has traditionally been reserved for tested commanders with considerably more years of experience. In my tenure, I have fought to achieve double digit reductions in major crime categories that were on a 10-year upswing until I took over as Commander.
I am neither the smartest, most articulate or philosophically endowed member of our agency's command staff. What I do bring to the table, however, is an unrelenting competitive spirit to be the absolute best that I can be with my God-given abilities. I will rise earlier, stay later, and work harder than any of my peers as I literally treat each day as if it's my last opportunity to make my agency and community a better place to live.
A hot August day in 1986 served as an awakening to me when Bill McGregor, my head football coach at DeMatha Catholic High School, stood over top of me during calisthenics and proclaimed that nothing in this life is easy. "If it were", he said, "We'd all be winners." He seemed to look only at me and said that if I want something badly enough, then I'd just have to take it no matter what the sacrifice. Well, I took it and started at offensive guard that season - at 5-foot-9 and just 180 pounds. And, our team ended with the No. 6 ranking in the nation that year.
Football is America's favorite sport because it is quite simply the game of life. Victory belongs to the most persevering, and size and talent alone just aren't good enough to be a winner at this game; nor in life. Bill McGregor changed my life in 1986 when he challenged me to be a winner through hard work and perseverance.