When he was a boy, Vincent Davis would sit at the top of the stairs in his home, listening to his grandfather’s tales of World War II. The stories transported him to the dusty battlefields of Belgium, where he would run alongside a younger version of his grandfather, bullets whizzing over their heads while the skeletal remains of cobblestone homes smoldered on the horizon.

Those richly detailed narratives nurtured a love of storytelling in Davis, who now serves as a feature writer and columnist for the San Antonio Express-News.

In a world where corruption and crime are common and political turmoil is everywhere, Davis turns his back on the darkness and highlights humanity. 

“I would say I’m guilty,” Davis said. “Guilty of trying to offer people a palate cleanser.”

Davis mirrored his grandfather’s path, enlisting in the Air Force. He served for 22 years, and after retiring from military service, he enrolled at San Antonio College, where he studied journalism and earned a job as the editorial-cartoonist for the college’s newspaper, the Ranger. 

“It was apparent from the first thing he wrote that he was a natural writer,” retired SAC Journalism Professor Marianne Odom said. “He was very naturally talented. He had an eye for detail. He had such a big heart, and he knew how to appeal to human emotions.”

Davis met Kim Fox, a deputy metro editor for the San Antonio Express-News, when he was volunteering at the Society of Professional Journalists conference. Fox offered him a position as an editorial assistant for the outlet. 

Today, Davis’s weekly column, “San Antonio Stories,” highlights a diverse spectrum of San Antonians and focuses on their everyday humanity. 

“I try to feature people from all walks of life — all races, all ethnicities, young and old.” Davis said. “I just want to give people the idea that it’s not just one demographic that’s doing good.”

One of Davis’s favorite features that he’s written follows a woman who hid painted stones with notes attached to them throughout her neighborhood, hoping to spark joy in those who found them. A man who had recently lost his job found one of the stones in his backyard, and the message taped to the back of it — “God loves you” — caused his lost hope to resurface. 

Hope is a key theme in Davis’s work. He strives to tell stories that offer readers the same captivating experience his grandfather’s stories gave him — and a little hope. 

“I just want to show that there are still good people out there,” he said.

Jose Arredondo, a journalist for Spectrum News 1 and protege of Davis, spoke to the Sundial about his mentor. 

“[Vincent] always said to treat people’s stories like a loaf of bread or a carton of eggs.” Arredondo said. “They’re not our stories; they belong to the community.” 

Although he’s not originally from San Antonio and moved around throughout his military life, Davis has come to see the city — along with its vibrant mix of cultures and friendly people — as his home. 

“The vibe of San Antonio,” Davis says proudly, “I don’t think you can find it in any other city.” 

Davis said he uses the San Antonio streets as his gold mine — his treasure trove of proof that good still exists.

“He’s part of a dying breed of quality storytellers,” Arredondo said.

On April 7, Davis’ published his first book: “The Front Porch: Stories from the Soul of San Antonio.” The collection gathers some of Davis’s finest work and “takes readers through San Antonio’s neighborhoods to trace the cultural and human legacy of a city built on the margins,” according to the publisher’s description.

Davis is very passionate about his work, and he believes human-interest features like the ones he writes are a vital component of good journalism. 

“They reaffirm that, no matter what you read about — all the corruption — people still inherently want to help people,” he said. “But I’ll tell you what; you don’t hear a lot of stories about them.” 

Sundial Editor-in-Chief Natalia Edwards recently sat down with Davis in the San Antonio Express-News newsroom, where he opened up about his time at SAC and the impact it had on his journalism career. Check out Edwards’ production. 

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