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South Florida Baptist Employee Honored For 50 Years Of Service

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By GEORGE WILKENS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 15, 2008

PLANT CITY South Florida Baptist Hospital employees took time Wednesday to honor a colleague who began working there long before many of them they were born.

Shelba Davis, who was hired at the Plant City hospital at age 22 on Sept. 2, 1958, was surprised with a midday reception that included a video depicting highlights of her half-century of employment.

Davis, a Georgia native who moved to Plant City in 1949, said she has no immediate plans to retire and will continue to work as long as she remains healthy.

The milestone makes Davis the longest tenured employee of BayCare Health System, which operates nine Tampa Bay area facilities, including St. Joseph's Hospital, Tampa.

Since 2001 Davis has been secretary to South Florida Baptist's education manager, but started in what was then the contributions department, an early fundraising arm of the not-for-profit private hospital, now a 147-bed acute care facility. The plan was simple, Davis recalls: "Here's the Plant City phonebook, let's start mailing letters. We would accept $1," and most who responded with contributions mailed cash, she said.

Over the years, Davis worked in the hospital's finance department and, briefly, in plant operations.

"It's a great place to work," she said. "I've enjoyed the people, they're great to work with It's just like having family here."

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