Best Buy Health employee Roy Davis credits his military service with shaping him into the person he is today.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1984 right after high school and said his eight-year service taught him responsibility, how to take pride in his work and dedication to something greater than himself.
“In school, I didn’t apply myself,” Roy said. “But something changed when I was in the military. I developed leadership skills and learned how to push myself to be my best.”
Roy has taken these lessons with him into adulthood, where he is an infrastructure associate engineer, working on Best Buy Health applications, servers and technology infrastructure. He tries to pass on the same values to youth as unit commander of the Young Marines program in Yuma, Arizona.
“I love seeing the young people grow and learn,” he said. “Young Marines is teaching youth how to prepare for adulthood and value the sacrifices of military members.”
Joining Young Marines
Roy signed up to lead the Young Marines unit after his granddaughter expressed interest in joining. He was excited for her.
“I wanted to support however I could,” he said.
Young Marines is a national youth education program for teens to learn the military values of leadership, teamwork, self-discipline and support their local communities through service projects.
Participants learn about military ranks and take on more leadership roles as they progress through the program. There are also career development workshops to teach skills, such as interviewing, that can prepare teens for military and civilian life.
Guiding tomorrow’s future leaders
As unit commander, Roy organizes fundraising, plans meetings, recruits new members and enlists the help of volunteers. Mostly, he says, he’s there to guide the youth as they run their own meetings and service events.
“I’m there to mentor and guide them,” he said. “It’s my job to let them lead the group.”
While he lets the teens take the lead, it’s still a major commitment. Roy says he spends about 30 hours a week managing Young Marines activities, which is only possible due to his family and Best Buy Health team’s support.
“My team is extremely supportive and always happy to work with my volunteer schedule,” he said.
In addition to his team’s encouragement, Roy is grateful for Best Buy’s volunteer match — where for every 10 logged volunteer hours, Best Buy makes a $100 donation to the employee’s chosen nonprofit up to $1,000 per year. In Roy’s case, the funds all go to the Young Marines Yuma chapter to support the group’s community service and education programming.
“I’d encourage anyone to get out there and help out your community,” he said. “Whether it’s teaching our youth to prepare for the future or another cause, it’s rewarding to see the impact you make on others.”
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