“We’re getting to know each other because there’s that connection,” she said.
Davidson, a Huber Heights resident for more than 20 years, is behind many of the city’s holiday events. Huber Haunts started five years ago when Davidson noticed a couple of houses that were elaborately decorated for Halloween, and she created a map of 13 bedecked homes. Last year there were 142 participating houses.
“Now I have so many houses I can’t create the map anymore,” she said.
Lights in the Heights, in December and into January, has expanded to include not only holiday decorations but hospitality tents with hot chocolate and snacks. And this year marked the debut of Hopping in the Heights Egg Straveganza, with more than 100 houses distributing candy and filled eggs, along with prizes from participating businesses.
“We’re creating memories,” said Davidson, 57, the 2021 City of Huber Heights Volunteer of the Year.
It isn’t about the activities themselves, but about the ability to experience them together, she said. Davidson knows that visitors come to Huber Heights from other communities for these activities, and they wonder how they can start them in their own towns. It takes one person to step forward, but many to support them and make them a success.
“It won’t work if it’s just one person,” she said. “It works when we’re doing it together.”
The holiday events are organized through Davidson’s nonprofit organization, Peace and Tranquility Lake Corp. The name comes from the 2.5-acre pond where she and her husband built their home on the south end of Huber Heights in 2016.
The pond hosts a variety of groups, from students to at-risk kids to veterans to firefighters for training sessions. A former long-time volunteer with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office who was president of the nonprofit Police Athletic and Activities League, she wanted to continue to help kids when she stepped down. This was her way.
By putting a fishing pole in children’s hands at the pond, they know they will always have an activity and place to go when they are having a bad day, said Davidson, who co-owns Davidson Garage, 5166 Wagner Ford Road, with her husband, Scott. He, too, is involved in the city, as vice chair of Huber Heights’ zoning appeals board and as her “right hand” – which sometimes means dressing up as Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny for the events she organizes.
Lorie Hunter, who nominated Davidson as a Dayton Daily News Community Gem, has known her for more than three decades, when Davidson went to school with Hunter’s younger sister.
“She makes us realize that we can be the change,” said Hunter, who also lives in the city.
Hunter called Davidson inspiring and selfless. She has shown Huber Heights what it means to be a community.
“She is loved by so many people,” Hunter said. “Not just a handful – hundreds of people here in Huber Heights.”
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