Walt Davis, 67, will be retiring from his position as Chair of the Aviation Department after five years of doing a job he first thought he had no chance of obtaining.
“I thought ‘well, gee, my chances of getting it are pretty slim, why bother,'” said Davis, who led the Aerospace Academy at Warren County Career Center when he applied for the position.
Davis said he received a call, two weeks later, informing him that he got the job.
Over the course of his lifetime Davis has worked in many fields.
He was in the United States Air Force for 11 years, which led to his next career as a war planner for the Pentagon. After leaving the Pentagon, he went to King’s Island and helped build “The Beast” rollercoaster while maintaining a position as director of maintenance and construction and later on, as director of park operations. He then went on to build The Beach, a waterpark that is located two miles from King’s Island.
Next, he did consulting work in China, and later became vice president for Japanese rollercoaster company, TOGO International Inc.
And, he finally became a pilot at the age of 60.
“It’s been awesome,” said Davis of his time as Chair of the Aviation Department.
“This is like getting paid to play.”
He complimented the quality of his staff.
“The people are fantastic,” Davis said. “(They) are supportive and friendly and very professional.”
Davis joked about how fast the time has flown by.
“In aviation all puns are intended.”
The department is still looking for a replacement, Davis said.
“I’ll pass on some clues to my successor, when he or she is picked,” he said.
As soon as he’s retired Davis will spend most of his time doing hobbies, like farming.
“I have a large farm,” he said. “We have people to do the farm work for us, but I’ll enjoy messing around with that.”