Each month, Eagle Radio in Great Bend will recognize groups or individuals that make a big impact on our community. This Appreciation Month is highlighting the Great Bend City Council.
By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Davis Jimenez can vividly remember where he was at when the terrorists
attacks happened on Sept. 11, 2001.
“I was in Mr. Beaumont’s 6th grade class at Eisenhower Elementary
School,” said Davis. “Maybe I did not understand the full capacity of it, but I
knew it was going to change the world.”
Jimenez knew he wanted to do something more in his life and eventually enlisted into the Army at the age of 17.
“I was goal driven. It was my plan to pay for college. I had a plan for the
next two years and then afterwards I could go to college.”
As a signal support specialist in the Army, Davis deals with anything with a
signal from radios to internet-related equipment.
Jimenez has been deployed overseas twice to places like Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq and
most recently returned to Great Bend in December 2019.
“I appreciate life here in the United States,” said Jimenez. “It is not
perfect, but it is pretty close compared to other areas.”
Outside of a few years living in California in his early teenager days, Jimenez
has spent his life in Great Bend. He was able to attend Barton Community
College and eventually started working with Aflac Insurance in 2018.
“A lot of people do not understand insurance or do not want to talk about it,”
said Jimenez. “I like helping people by explaining it and finding their needs.”
That desire to help people pushed Davis to seek a seat on the Great Bend City
Council this year. With no one filing for a Ward 3 seat in this past election, Jimenez
was appointed to the vacant seat and took his oath of office Feb. 1.
“Part of helping people is listening to them,” said Jimenez. “I want to hear
what people’s concerns are regarding issues.”
Jimenez joked that he has probably asked City Administrator Kendal Francis too
many questions as he gets a feel for how things operate throughout the city.
The Army Reserve member stopped by the Fire Department and Police Department to
get a better understanding of what their processes are like.
“I am still gathering information. I am not trying to start talking about
something, acting like I am an expert. I am still learning.”
Jimenez takes on his new role on the city council while looking after his two
children and making time for his favorite pastime of hunting and target
shooting. His wife is currently active duty with the Army, stationed in Fort
Knox in Kentucky. The two met while deployed in Kuwait.
“On deployment, my future wife and I did not talk,” said Jimenez. “It was not
until we got home that we talked while she was stationed at Fort Leavenworth.”
Davis credits great communication his wife and him have to how they make
their relationship work while she’s stationed in Kentucky and he is working in
Great Bend. It is that type of communication that he hopes to carry over into
his role on the city council.
“I really want to help everyone and I am always open to hear citizens’
concerns.”