See Opinion page on A6 See Sports on page Bl*
THE CH RON icle
Volume45,Number24 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, February 21,2019
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Black History: Leaders give back
Throughout the month of February people across the country will be celebrating the lives and legacies of great
African-Americans who made contributions to society.
David Cooper - over 40 years in real estate
and still going strong
BY JUDIE HOLCOMB-PACK
THE CHRONICLE
It’s a good thing that David Cooper
didn’t listen to the naysayers when he
decided to start a real estate business.
In 1975 he was told, “The economy
is bad,” “interest rates are too high,” “it’s
too risky to go into real estate.” Cooper
decided the time was right for him - if he
could make it in bad times, he could
make it when the good times came.
Cooper grew up on a farm in
Hemingway, South Carolina, where he
learned the value of hard work and a
strong work ethic. He came to Winston-
Salem to attend Winston-Salem State
University and after graduation, worked
in the airlines industry. The job was
good, but after 14 years it had become
routine. He was bored. He wanted a new
challenge. During a visit with his brother
who lived in California, Cooper men
tioned that he was looking for something
else to do and his brother, who was in
real estate, suggested that he consider
real estate. Cooper was looking for an
opportunity to connect with people on a
more personal level and this seemed like
the perfect fit.
Cooper earned his real estate brokers
license in 1975 and worked briefly for
another company before striking out on
his own. In 1977 he became the first
African-American in the Winston-Salem
Regional Association of Realtors®.
Cooper remembers buying his first
house and having no one to help him
through the hurdles of getting a mort
gage. He knew he wanted to help others
buy their first homes and to guide them
through the process of one of the most
important decisions a person will ever
make.
Over 40 years later, Cooper Realty is
still going strong. Cooper says, “I’ve
never had a bad year, even during hous
ing slumps.” During recessions, he
maintained his business on a conserva
tive basis and planned for downtimes by
Submitted photo
David Cooper (on right), recipient of the Winston-Salem Assn, of Realtors Hall of Fame award in 2013, with his wife
Ernestine Cooper and son Alton Cooper.
investing in rental properties and part
nering with Fannie Mae, the Federal
National Mortgage Association.
Cooper doesn’t pay much attention to
negative news and says, “When things
got rough, I just worked harder.” Based
on company size, Cooper Realty has
been the number one seller for several
years, averaging about 100 houses sold a
year. Cooper says, “ ... just be honest
with folks and do the right things, you’ll
succeed.”
Cooper Realty is a family business,
which includes his wife Ernestine, son
Alton, and brother Sam. Cooper gives
credit for his success, “first to Creator
God be the glory,” and to his wife, who
he calls his “silent partner.” Cooper said,
“My desire is to work with people and
help people be homeowners, especially
first-time buyers.” His proudest
moments are when someone tells him, “I
just paid off my house.” He is now sell
ing homes to the children - and grand
children - of people he first sold a home
to when he was starting out.
Cooper has seen a lot of changes in
the industry since he began over 40 years
ago. He remembers the days of MLS
(Multiple Listing Service) books where
you had to wait for paper updates, so you
were always behind on new listings.
With today’s technology, new listings
are immediate and accessible through his
phone. “I can show a house and if they
ask if there is anything else available in
that neighborhood, I can immediately
pull up every listing there, by price or
size,” he commented. He added concern
ing technology, “Unless you move with
it, you will be left behind.”
Cooper also stressed that today’s
homebuyer is . different from when he
started out. They are more educated and
shop smarter. They are more apt to use
technology to search for a home. Cooper
said he has sold homes to people he has
never met and who never personally saw
the home until after they purchased it. It
was all done over the Internet.
Although he loves what he does, he
still finds time for his hobbies: traveling,
See Real estate on A2
Davenport pays it forward
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Throughout Black
History Month, The
Chronicle will be high
lighting history makers
from right here in our com
munity who are making a
difference and setting an
example for others to fol
low.
This week we shine our
light on John Davenport
DAVENPORT, an engi
neering, design, and con- •
suiting firm located right
here in Winston-Salem.
Jr., founder and
owner of
Growing
up
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5 *
TO
X
Davenport’s father would
regularly take him to con
struction sites where he
became fascinated with
designing and building.
Although Davenport fell in
love with construction at a
young age, he had no idea
those visits to construction
sites around town would
lead him to where he is
today.
After graduating from
East Forsyth, Davenport’s
love for construction and
design led him to continue
his education at N.C. State
University. After under
grad. Davenport went on
to attend N.C. A&T State
University where he
received his master’s in
engineering. In 2002
Davenport went out on a
limb and decided to open
his own engineering firm.
Submitted photo
John Davenport Jr.
While speaking with The
Chronicle last week,
Davenport said he never
imagined his company
would take off the way it
.did.
“When I first started, I
was just trying to survive,”
laughed Davenport. “So to
be where we are today
with over 70 employees,
that wasn’t my original
thought.”
From humble begin
nings in 2002 with less
than five employees, today
DAVENPORT is a leading
engineering and design
firm with clients through
out the Southeast, with cer
tifications in North
Carolina, Virginia, South
Carolina, and Florida.
DAVENPORT has also
worked on a number of
projects here in the City of
Arts and Innovation,
including; the Benton
Convention Center,
Winston-Salem State
University’s north parking
lot, and Simon G. Atkins
High School to name a
few.
Despite all his success,
Davenport always finds
ways to give back to the
community that gave him
his start. Aside from his
father taking him to con
struction sites, Davenport
also credits Addie Hines
and the Upward Bound
program at Winston-Salem
State University for intro
ducing him to the world of
engineering.
“I went through that
program and she was
instrumental in helping me
get in the position to go to
college and go far,” contin
ued Davenport. “Upward
Bound prepared me and
helped me understand
what that looked like.”
Since 2007, Davenport
has held a summer camp
where children from local
high schools and the
Winston-Salem Urban
League have the opportu
nity to intern with his com
pany. Davenport said giv
ing back is one of his “core
pillars.”
“...Someone gave me
an opportunity and quite
honestly, when I was at
that point in life I didn’t
even know how to get into
corporate America. I didn’t
know what engineers did,”
he continued. “But now
See Pays on A2
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