At the Statesboro High School campus, there is an amazing array of new technology. Needless to say, it constantly demands attention. Staff member Toby Davis has developed a reputation for being able to wrestle almost any technological glitch or malfunction into submission.
Davis has not spent his whole life as a computer geek, but spent many years as an insurance claims adjuster, following in the steps of his father. When he moved to Bulloch County, he went to work at the Cooper-Wiss plant, which closed in 2000.
As part of the closure, the company arranged for its employees to retrain at Ogeechee Tech, where he began taking classes in networking and computers.
Davis said, “I knew that this was a good field to get into, and as I always liked to tinker with stereos and VCR's, it kind of came natural.”
He is married to Margaret, who recently retired from Farmers and Merchants Bank. They have five children: Brenda, Pam and Jenny, who live in Brooklet; A.J., who lives in Ellabell; and Richard, who lives in Evans County.
Davis at first worked half time at the Central Office and half time at SHS.
He said, “I found out that networking was pretty much like what the people at Ogeechee Tech had taught me, with a lot of software installation and the rest hardware upgrades and repair.”
When Davis came to SHS, the old school had Pentium 2 computers that were loaded with Windows 98. Now, the new school has 'Dual-Core' Intel processors with XP Professional on board. There are a total of eight computer labs at the school, making it the only school in Bulloch with two 'Techs' (Jenna Adams and Davis).
Davis is charged with, first and foremost, keeping all the technological gadgets up and running.
Shannon Anderson, one of two media specialists at SHS, declared, “Toby is one of the hardest-working and most-dedicated people I have ever met.”
She continued, “ He is always willing to help anyone. If he doesn't know how to fix it, he will go and find out how, instead of just giving up and leaving the job to someone else.” During the first week of the school year, according to SHS Principal Marty Waters, Davis basically lived at the school.
“All of the equipment in all of the rooms had to be tested and then connected to the networks. Toby understood the importance of this technology to the teachers, and he was determined to see that they had what they'd need.”
The staff elected Davis as the SHS Support Person of the Year, an acknowledgement by them of the critical role he plays in the education of Statesboro's public school children. And yet, Davis goes above his role as just SHS's resident geek: he coaches the cross-country team at archrival Southeast Bulloch High School.
About this curious connection, Davis said, “I run a lot, and when they started the 5-K Peanut Run as part of the Brooklet Peanut Festival, I entered the race. I met the man behind the race, John Burgess, who before the third year of the race asked me if I would agree to take it over.”
This race is the main fundraiser for SEB's team. Coach Brannen at SEB soon convinced Davis to become an assistant coach of the SEB Track Team, telling him it was only natural that he worked with the school's runners if he was going to be associated with the 'Peanut Run.' At SHS & SEB, it would seem that Davis is always on the run.
Davis has not spent his whole life as a computer geek, but spent many years as an insurance claims adjuster, following in the steps of his father. When he moved to Bulloch County, he went to work at the Cooper-Wiss plant, which closed in 2000.
As part of the closure, the company arranged for its employees to retrain at Ogeechee Tech, where he began taking classes in networking and computers.
Davis said, “I knew that this was a good field to get into, and as I always liked to tinker with stereos and VCR's, it kind of came natural.”
He is married to Margaret, who recently retired from Farmers and Merchants Bank. They have five children: Brenda, Pam and Jenny, who live in Brooklet; A.J., who lives in Ellabell; and Richard, who lives in Evans County.
Davis at first worked half time at the Central Office and half time at SHS.
He said, “I found out that networking was pretty much like what the people at Ogeechee Tech had taught me, with a lot of software installation and the rest hardware upgrades and repair.”
When Davis came to SHS, the old school had Pentium 2 computers that were loaded with Windows 98. Now, the new school has 'Dual-Core' Intel processors with XP Professional on board. There are a total of eight computer labs at the school, making it the only school in Bulloch with two 'Techs' (Jenna Adams and Davis).
Davis is charged with, first and foremost, keeping all the technological gadgets up and running.
Shannon Anderson, one of two media specialists at SHS, declared, “Toby is one of the hardest-working and most-dedicated people I have ever met.”
She continued, “ He is always willing to help anyone. If he doesn't know how to fix it, he will go and find out how, instead of just giving up and leaving the job to someone else.” During the first week of the school year, according to SHS Principal Marty Waters, Davis basically lived at the school.
“All of the equipment in all of the rooms had to be tested and then connected to the networks. Toby understood the importance of this technology to the teachers, and he was determined to see that they had what they'd need.”
The staff elected Davis as the SHS Support Person of the Year, an acknowledgement by them of the critical role he plays in the education of Statesboro's public school children. And yet, Davis goes above his role as just SHS's resident geek: he coaches the cross-country team at archrival Southeast Bulloch High School.
About this curious connection, Davis said, “I run a lot, and when they started the 5-K Peanut Run as part of the Brooklet Peanut Festival, I entered the race. I met the man behind the race, John Burgess, who before the third year of the race asked me if I would agree to take it over.”
This race is the main fundraiser for SEB's team. Coach Brannen at SEB soon convinced Davis to become an assistant coach of the SEB Track Team, telling him it was only natural that he worked with the school's runners if he was going to be associated with the 'Peanut Run.' At SHS & SEB, it would seem that Davis is always on the run.