Sandra Davis was born August 9, 1946, in the Indian Valley section of Floyd, VA, to loving parents. Sandra spent free hours as a child reading and in high school, she played basketball and volleyball. In her junior year Sandra was inducted into the Beta Club, served as president of FHA and FBLA. She also was the editor of the school newspaper and yearbook. At 14 she attended 4-H camp at VT. It was during her 14th year that her father had a heart attack that he eventually succumbed to, but not before he shared with his daughter how sad he was that with him transitioning there would be no money for college. He advised Sandra to learn a trade or find a job with a bright future. In addition to telling his daughter to look at courses in high school that would allow her choices in the workforce.
By the time high school graduation approached one of the most promising avenues to success, besides having a good job was to marry. At the age of seventeen Sandra married Patrick Cupp and was a wife and headed to New River Community College night school. At NRCC she took shorthand and a college prep course. Those courses made her realize she was a businessperson at heart. The shorthand led to eight years at the State Health Department as a Supervisor/Health Director helping citizens in Radford and Giles County.
Marriage proved to be a fruitful partnership out of Floyd and to career choices in the NRV. Growth in the job market did occur for Sandra in retail banking at Bank of Christiansburg (now Wells Fargo) where she had developed a strong relationship with co-workers and the community and in 14 years she was Senior VP. Banking courses at UVA led to her handling commercial loans. While in the loan department Sandra was on the cusp of understanding the ins and outs of purchasing residential and business buildings. Before long, her knowledge of the real estate world along with a strong push from her husband, Sandra left banking to create her own business. The business BCR Realty/Property grew because she and her husband saw a need for student housing, and they reviewed the multiple property inventory. The couple started looking for other individuals who wished to sell property or enjoyed sales to first time homeowners and business owners and were ready to venture in developing multi-housing units. Their first venture for multi-housing was in Radford, because they bought area homes for a fair price and their reputation was shared with others, making them welcome realtors in the city. Business was growing and they relocated their offices to Radford and Blacksburg.
By the time BCR realty was in business for fourteen years Sandra and her first husband Patrick Cupp, built a team of realtors by providing a way for each of them to gain more realty experience and the Cupp’s personal motto was “with me, not for me”. Sandra made certain to make a connection with all employees from maintenance to management and treated each with respect and appreciation. The goal for BCR was to be a team player, honest, profitable, and visionary. The business plan proved to be a valuable tool for success, until the unexpected occurred with the tragic death of Mr. Cupp in September 2000. There is no script or business plan to help a wife navigate the loss of her husband and business partner. However, the business team that had evolved over the 14 years at BCR did not waver and Sandra went on to keep the business running another twenty-two years.
At the helm of BCR Management, Sandra became committed to supporting education and economic development. The fact that she could not attend college because of the lack of financial resources, made her more committed to learning from her many work experiences and service to the community.
Sandra’s economic development passion comes from understanding the small and big pieces needed to ensure job creation and how education ties into the careers that are attainable by individuals.
Her good fortune as a business leader has led to her being a donor to a scholarship fund at VT in memory of her first husband who was an athlete at the institution. Her other education ties are as a board member for VT Foundation, VT Athletic Board, and the Campaign Steering Committee at Radford University.
Sandra has been a board member of GO Virginia/Region 2 that focuses on creating more high-paying jobs through incentivized collaboration between business, education, and government to diversify and strengthen the economy in every region. In addition to serving on the Blacksburg Partnership and Carilion Board of Directors – Radford. She is also seated on the board of the Business Council of Roanoke. She co-chairs the New River Passenger Rail Commission (Radford, Pulaski County, Giles, New River Valley).
Awards:
William H. Ruffner Award – VT
Honorary Alumni -VT
Honorary Education degree – RU
Owner of the Year – Blacksburg C of C
Citizen of the Year – Montgomery C of C
Citizen of the Year – Blacksburg Rotary
Sandra Davis was inducted into the Southwest Virginia Business Hall of Fame in 2022.
