Bob Davis, a longtime leader in the Volusia County hotel and tourism industries, has passed away at the age of 87. He’d been battling multiple types of cancer for some time leading up to his passing. At the time of his death Davis was the President & CEO of the Lodging and Hospitality Association of Volusia County.
Having moved to Daytona Beach in the mid-1960’s, Davis didn’t take long to become a key figure in the area’s hotel industry. As Volusia County rose to the tourism pillar it is today, Davis spent nearly the entire 70’s and 80’s decades managing Daytona Beach Shores’ Hawaiian Inn. Prior to that he got his start in business working in New York.
Among the many monuments to Davis’ towering stature within the local business community, Daytona State College named a scholarship after him in 2024. As reported by the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Davis was in the midst of enduring chemotherapy treatments for liver and pancreatic cancer when the school chose to establish the Bob Davis Culinary and Hospitality Endowed Scholarship. He was honored with a benefit luncheon at DSC’s Hosseini Center in Daytona Beach.
“He was one of the most sincere, generous, and dedicated individuals I’ve ever had the privilege to know,” said Volusia County Councilman Matt Reinhart in a Facebook post on Sunday. “Bob was widely loved, deeply respected, and will be sorely missed. There will truly never be another like him. There will only ever be one Bob Davis.”
“Bob was truly a one-of-a-kind individual,” added Volusia County Schools Superintendent Dr. Carmen Balgobin. “He never went long without picking up the phone to call about an opportunity to contribute to our schools or sending an email with the latest articles on education news.”
Chris Gollon is a Flagler County resident since 2004, as well as a staple of the local independent music scene and avid observer of Central Florida politics, arts, and recreation.
