It was from humble beginnings that Melodie Davis, at the age of 16, intrepidly stepped into the world of Christian media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was on the humble floor of a chicken house that Davis, now 70, a local retired Christian media professional and author, took her first steps toward her field, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“On this day, November 18, 1967,\u201d Davis wrote in her new book, \u201cSunday afternoon at 4:30 p.m., I decided what I want to be: a Christian writer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis went on to work for Mennonite Media, now MennoMedia, for 43 years. She started out as a secretary \u2014 not her first choice for a job title \u2014 and worked her way up to a managing editor role by the time she retired from in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wanting to provide an updated history on the company and also to share about her experience as a woman in the industry at a time when that wasn\u2019t easy to do, Davis recently published \u201cMemoir of an Unimagined Career: 43 Years Inside Mennonite Media.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis said she wanted to share the history of her company from an engaging, inside-out perspective, drawing in her own personal life and major world events from the last half-century that illuminate her story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnyone who has memories of \u2018The Mennonite Hour\u2019 as it grew into what is now MennoMedia will love this book,\u201d Harvey Yoder, pastor of Family of Hope Mennonite House Church, said in a review. \u201cMelodie\u2019s personal story woven into this church agency\u2019s story makes this a fascinating read.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis said she entered the field when people were asking questions about working mothers on popular radio talk shows of the day, such as \u201cThe Mennonite Hour,\u201d that were produced by the company she went to work for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the decades went by, Davis, a script writer, said the company expanded into more TV and film media, including documentaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHer insights about collaboration, admitting failures, pushing the edges, caring deeply about the people in the stories and embracing changing opportunities are nuggets of wisdom to glean,\u201d Jerry Holsopple, professor of visual and communication arts at Eastern Mennonite University, said in a review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis said the documentaries were aired by local affiliates of some of the major networks in the 1980s and ’90s. One of the most interesting parts of her career, she said, was answering calls on a phone line for after the show aired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis, who grew up in the Mennonite faith, now attends a local Presbyterian church,\u00a0which she\u2019s been a part of for decades, with her husband. On the same staircase she posed for pictures on her wedding day, Davis \u2014 with her humble smile — posed for a photo with her new book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOver the years, I found what I was really enjoying doing was writing,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI realized that it was OK to be a missionary or have a mission right here in Harrisonburg.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis also wrote a column called \u201cAnother Way\u201d that appeared in the Daily News-Record in the 1990s and early 2000s. She\u2019s written nine other books and has won numerous awards for her work, including a distinguished service award from EMU and recognition from American Women in Radio and Television.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t have any evidence of it [on hand],\u201d Davis said. \u201cBut some of our stuff won American Women in Radio and Television. I got to go to New York City for a red carpet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Davis said she hopes aspiring women journalists, young people starting their career and anyone interested in Christian media history will find her book meaningful. \u201cMemoir of an Unimagined Career\u201d is available on Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[I hope] that [readers] can find ways to do things they didn\u2019t think they could do,\u201d Davis said. \u201cThings that challenge you. And just to give it your all and try to do your best work. I had a lot of help along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/08\/23133702\/62fff1a17f22f.image_.jpg\")
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