Priscilla Eugenia Daves

Priscilla Daves
Priscilla Eugenia Daves, 71, a longtime, award-winning journalist who later
worked as communications director for the Medical Association of Georgia, has
died of complications from COVID-19.
Daves was an outspoken advocate for doctors, representing the powerful, 6000-
member physician group throughout most of the '90s as its top spokesperson and
lobbyist.
"Physicians enter medicine to help people," she once wrote. "Unfortunately,
because they spend too much time fighting through paperwork and by phone
with insurance companies and the government every day on the patients' behalf,
they may not always be able to give you all the time you would like."
Daves was uniquely qualified for the job. She had long navigated the halls and
back rooms of the Gold Dome, rubbing elbows with the state's most powerful
lawmakers.
Colleagues remember her as a fearless, determined reporter who could get to the
bottom of almost any story. A native of Jefferson, she reported for the Jackson
Herald, The Savannah Morning News and The Times in Gainesville. Her ties to the
community provided her with sources across North Georgia but also keen,
compassionate insight into the region and its people.
A graduate of Jefferson High School and the Henry Grady School of Journalism at
the University of Georgia, she was a formidable adversary when covering the
Georgia General Assembly in Atlanta, but navigated the Gold Dome with a kind of
Southern grace that could charm the truth out of lawmakers who sometimes
would have preferred it not come to light.
"Priscilla could turn out the copy," recalls Phil Hudgins, her first city editor at The
Times. "And no one was going to run over her. She knew her rights as a reporter,
and she stood her ground. She also loved a good laugh."
After leaving newspapers, she headed communications for Brenau College and
the Medical Association of Georgia before starting her own marketing firm, The
Daves Group. She also co-edited a magazine focused on Jackson County and, as
editor, worked with students to produce the Jackson County Comprehensive High
School newsletter.
Priscilla had a deep love of history, Southern traditions and loyalty to causes in
which she believed. When she worked with the City of Arcade to create a
permanent tribute to veterans on City Hall grounds, she donated a large school
bell that became focal point of the structure.
In more recent years, she suffered a number of serious health challenges, but
remained keenly empathetic to the needs of others.
"Although the effects of surgeries and other treatments for cancer took away
much of her capacity to perform at a sustainable level, she never stopped trying,"
said Jackie Sosby, who was her district editor at The Times and remained a
lifelong friend. "Priscilla was always supportive, both professional and personally.
However, she never shied away from giving me a needed reality check or helping
me see humor in what I saw only as a dire situation."
Among many other accolades, she was named Conservation Communicator of the
Year by the Georgia Wildlife Federation and was the recipient of the Jack Lindsay
"Service Above Self" award from the Jefferson Rotary Club.
Priscilla was living at a long-term care facility in Marietta when she was
hospitalized on the morning of April 15 and died later the same day.
She maintained a lifelong connection to her native Jackson County. She served on
the board of directors of the Crawford W. Long Museum and was active with the
Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club. She was a member of First Christian
Church in Jefferson.
Priscilla was pre-deceased by her parents, Jewell and Boyd Daves, as well as her
sister, Lucretia Sears. She is survived by her sister Teresa Sauls of Jefferson, and
her nephew, Jonathan Sears of Atlanta.
A memorial service is not possible at this time but will be held at a later date.
Donations in her memory can be made to the Crawford W. Long Museum, 28
College Street, Jefferson GA 30549 or at crawfordlong.org.