Bill Davis is a unique individual who has risen to the greatest heights possible in his home region of Oneonta in Otsego County and yet has never forgotten his early hardscrabble days as a Sidney native in Delaware County. Bill worked hard for everything he ever achieved, served his country proudly in World War II, and was an early and dynamic proponent of growth in the future of Sidney.
Bill established himself as an automobile dealer in Sidney and Oneonta in the heady days when America was on the move, and he never looked back. Perhaps a crowning achievement was his being named "Automobile Dealer of the Year" by Time Magazine in 1994.
A longtime resident of Oneonta, Bill has been a founding and guiding member of a host of organizations, including the Sidney Rotary Club, the Future of Oneonta Foundation and the New York State Automobile Dealers Association. He has been a benevolent and charitable neighbor to many not-for-profit agencies, such as the Tri-Valley Horseman's Association and the Otschodela Council of Boy Scouts of America, and he has been the recipient of many humanitarian honors and awards including the SUNY Delhi College Meritorious Service Award and the Otsego Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Citizen Award.
Even today in his mid-eighties, Bill Davis leads an active lifestyle and remains an important presence in his business enterprises at Country Club Automotive Group, continuing to inspire those who know him to strive for higher goals and loftier ideals.
On a local level, Bill has served at the helm of the Sidney Village Board of Trustees, the Sidney Chamber of Commerce, the Oneonta Rotary Club and the Future of Oneonta Foundation. His involvement with Hartwick College, both with his sage advice and his generous contributions has been, in the words of college president Margaret Drugovich "invaluable."
Bill's legacy as a force for good is testified by the fact that every living mayor of the City of Oneonta was eager and honored to write an encomium in support of Bill's nomination. In the words of Senator James Seward: "A hall of fame is only as special as its members, and the Sidney Wall of Fame will be that much more exceptional with the inclusion of Bill Davis."