Skip to main content
Davis Knox

Davis Knox

Board Chair

Davis resides in Athens, GA with his wife of 15 years, Gena Neely Knox. They have four children: Neely Knox (8 years old), Genevieve Knox (6 years old), Georgia Mae Knox (4 years old), and Bickley McLean Knox (4 months old).  Davis & Gena’s children currently attend Barrow Elementary School in Clarke County.  Gena is a native of the ‘Peach Belt’, a three-time cookbook author and the current spokesperson for the Georgia Peach industry.

Davis and Gena both graduated from UGA.  Davis graduated in 1998 with a degree in Finance from the Terry College of Business. Gena graduated in 2000 with a degree in Landscape Architecture. Davis was initiated into the Gamma chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order in 1995, where he served as an officer. After college, Davis worked in small business sales, marketing and general management and later as Marketing Manager for AirServ, which grew to employ 4,000 employees nationwide within their first two years of operations.

In 2003, Gena and Davis founded Fire & Flavor, which is a leading Brand on all natural grilling products sold in over 10,000 stores nationwide. They helped popularize ‘Cedar Plank Salmon’ as a new concept in grilling. They now sell over 40 products ranging from Charcoal to Seasonings and in leading retailers such as Target, Kroger, Lowes & Publix nationwide. In 2008, Fire & Flavor was listed on the Inc. 500’s list of fastest growing businesses in America.  In 2010 and again in 2011, Fire & Flavor was listed on the Bulldog 100 list of fastest growing UGA businesses. In 2012, Fire & Flavor was named the Goodwill of North Georgia Small Employer of the Year for the work as a work-training site for the disadvantaged.

Gena and Davis are members of the 2009 Leadership Georgia Class. Davis is a founding member of the Terry College Young Alumni Board and was honored in 2009 as their Distinguished Young Alumni award recipient.  Davis currently serves on the Executive Committee for the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce and has for the past 3 years.

Lastly, in 2016, Davis founded an Athens based nonprofit called Athensmade in partnership with Athens-Clarke County government to drive economic development and interconnectedness with local educators such as the University of Georgia and Athens Tech.  Davis is passionate about his community, his alma mater and the great outdoors. 

Davis joined the board in 2018, became Vice Chair in January 2020 and as a resident of Athens, represents the Northeast Region.

Davis resides in Athens, GA with his wife of 15 years, Gena Neely Knox. They have four children: Neely Knox (8 years old), Genevieve Knox (6 years old), Georgia Mae Knox (4 years old), and Bickley McLean Knox (4 months old).  Davis & Gena’s children currently attend Barrow Elementary School in Clarke County.  Gena is a native of the ‘Peach Belt’, a three-time cookbook author and the current spokesperson for the Georgia Peach industry.

Davis and Gena both graduated from UGA.  Davis graduated in 1998 with a degree in Finance from the Terry College of Business. Gena graduated in 2000 with a degree in Landscape Architecture. Davis was initiated into the Gamma chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order in 1995, where he served as an officer. After college, Davis worked in small business sales, marketing and general management and later as Marketing Manager for AirServ, which grew to employ 4,000 employees nationwide within their first two years of operations.

In 2003, Gena and Davis founded Fire & Flavor, which is a leading Brand on all natural grilling products sold in over 10,000 stores nationwide. They helped popularize ‘Cedar Plank Salmon’ as a new concept in grilling. They now sell over 40 products ranging from Charcoal to Seasonings and in leading retailers such as Target, Kroger, Lowes & Publix nationwide. In 2008, Fire & Flavor was listed on the Inc. 500’s list of fastest growing businesses in America.  In 2010 and again in 2011, Fire & Flavor was listed on the Bulldog 100 list of fastest growing UGA businesses. In 2012, Fire & Flavor was named the Goodwill of North Georgia Small Employer of the Year for the work as a work-training site for the disadvantaged.

Gena and Davis are members of the 2009 Leadership Georgia Class. Davis is a founding member of the Terry College Young Alumni Board and was honored in 2009 as their Distinguished Young Alumni award recipient.  Davis currently serves on the Executive Committee for the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce and has for the past 3 years.

Lastly, in 2016, Davis founded an Athens based nonprofit called Athensmade in partnership with Athens-Clarke County government to drive economic development and interconnectedness with local educators such as the University of Georgia and Athens Tech.  Davis is passionate about his community, his alma mater and the great outdoors. 

Davis joined the board in 2018, became Vice Chair in January 2020 and as a resident of Athens, represents the Northeast Region.

The Right Team, Right Time

“Thank you very much to Georgia Foundation for Public Education...I hope you can show this 'model' to other business and education partnerships. It is the innovation that our students need to better secure their futures." --Mark Whitlock, Coweta Schools