SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – In front of a few dozen friends and family members, Tom Davis received a South Lake Tahoe Key to the City in a celebration on Monday. Davis served on the city council for 12 years from 1992 to 2004, but his dedication to the community has lasted decades.
During Davis’s time on the city council, he was mayor four times, mayor pro tem five times, served on the Cal Tahoe JPA, was a former board member of the California Tahoe Conservancy, served four times as the chair of the South Lake Tahoe Redevelopment Agency, and was also the past chairman and member of the Airport Commission.
Besides his government roles, Davis is a former board member of the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, has been president and board member of Christmas Cheer, former president of the Lake Tahoe Kwanis club, is a former member and past president of the South Lake Tahoe Lions Club, and former chair and member of the Lake Tahoe visitors authority. Davis also served on the El Dorado County Fair board for 25 years and has served as the board president. He served two terms as the president of the Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, it was Davis who greeted the high rollers and other guests of the Sahara Tahoe and Horizon as their host.
Those who have come to know Tom Davis know that he has always had the community at heart, and for years had a table at Carina’s Cafe (and later at its replacement, Nikki’s Chaat Cafe). Davis invited everyone to join him there for a conversation or just a cup of friendship. His close friend John Cristando was often sitting next to him at that table, or later at their corner of John’s Tahoe Cleaners, before the 98-year-old WWII veteran passed away in 2024.
Davis, who recently turned 80, is currently a resident at Barton’s Skilled Nursing Facility.
Many of those near and dear to his heart were in the garden at Barton on Monday to see him receive the Key to the City, presented by Mayor Cody Bass and Mayor Pro Tem Keith Roberts.
“It’s an honor to be here today to present a key to the city to Tom Davis,” said Bass in front of those gathered. “A true legend of Lake Tahoe, somebody that has done so much for the city.”
“He helped define what South Lake Tahoe is all about,” added Bass. “I’m very honored to be here today.”
Family members who were with Tom as he was honored were his wife, Mary Davis, son Justin “JT” Davis, daughter Krystal Davis, daughter-in-law Halie Davis, and granddaughters Savannah and Stevie. Several of his friends from his years in Tahoe also stopped by.
The Key to the City program was started during Bass’s first term as a way to honor those who played a significant role in South Lake Tahoe. It has only been given to one other person, David Stephenson, when he retired as the city’s police chief.
