Remembering Fred Davis, champion for ethics
Since his death, much has been written about Fred Davis’ contributions to the political, social, and civic fabric of Memphis. Stories have noted that he was the founder of one of the first African-american insurance agencies in the South and a founding director and president of the Mid-south Minority Business Council.
I didn’t move to Memphis until 1991 and wasn’t fully aware of the breadth and depth of Fred’s accomplishments until I joined the Better Business Bureau of the Mid-south in 2002.
Fred served on the BBB’S Board from 1975 to 2019, the longest tenure of any director in its history. Our board comprises 35 owners and executives from leading businesses and organizations of all sizes, all of whom join me in mourning Fred’s passing.
Davis upheld BBB guidelines
The BBB’S mission is to be the leader in advancing marketplace trust and we do it by setting standards for how businesses should operate in their dealings with consumers.
The standards include advertising honestly, living up to all written and verbal agreements, maintaining required competency licenses, addressing complaints in a good faith manner, and approaching all marketplace transactions with integrity. All businesses should meet the standards; BBB Accredited Business members sign an agreement committing to do so.
If a member strays from a standard, my staff and I work hard to try and get them back in compliance and are able to resolve most issues to the mutual satisfaction of all parties involved. In that case, the member retains its BBB Accreditation.
But sometimes we’re not successful and have to recommend to the board that a business be expelled from the BBB. It’s not an action the board takes lightly and it often leads to thorny discussions. What’s right or wrong is sometimes in the eye of the beholder and there may be mitigating circumstances that have to be weighed.
Line between ethical, unethical isn’t always clear
Fred was able to discern that line with far greater clarity and certainty than most and his own standards for how businesses should operate were high. After others had expressed sometimes differing opinions on a recommendation to expel a member, Fred would invariably raise his hand (always the gentleman), ask to speak, and offer his wise counsel on the issue. I can’t say that his position always carried the day, but the decision was always better informed after he spoke. I often referred to Fred as “the conscience of the Board.”
The BBB system was 100 years old in 2012 and in a Centennial celebration we recognized companies who were founding members of our BBB in 1948 and/or were also 100 years old. We honored one individual as a “Guardian of Ethics.” That was Fred Davis.
When Fred retired from the BBB Board for health reasons in 2019, we installed a bronze plaque in our lobby recognizing his 44 years of service and citing him as “An enduring champion for ethics in the business community.” We’re grateful that he was able to attend the unveiling of the plaque.
Randy Hutchinson is president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of the Mid-south.
The late Fred Davis served on Better Business Bureau board for more than 40 years.