Steve Hunter Reflects on 21 Years with the DSF
![The image shows a middle-aged man with gray hair and glasses, wearing a black suit and red tie, sitting in front of a gray striped background.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1760477643/davenportschoolsorg/nj1vncahnujlrm1m3ebk/SteveHunterDSF.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1760477643/davenportschoolsorg/nj1vncahnujlrm1m3ebk/SteveHunterDSF.jpg","width":282}])
Story written by Norm Bower
Steve Hunter has been a dedicated proponent of Davenport Community Schools for many years but he recalls a really inspiring moment of interacting with students and families at a Mid-City High graduation a decade ago. “The alternative program had just been re- invented at Mid-City and I was so impressed by the young people who were getting their diplomas. The graduation ceremony was so important to them and their families because it was a first for many of them.”
Steve is now stepping down from the Davenport Schools Foundation Board after 21 years of service. He was vice president for several years, then served as president for two years. He happily recalls overseeing a DSF scholarship awards celebration at which, “students awarded scholarships were introduced to the donors and representatives of the donors of the scholarships they had been awarded. You could see the immediate connections between the parties.” He previously served on the Davenport School Board from 2000 to 2003. His wife, Mary Ellen Hunter, is retired after 20 years of teaching pre-school in Davenport schools, primarily at Monroe Elementary School in Davenport. Steve and Mary Ellen look forward to focusing on enjoying their seven grandchildren—in Bettendorf, New York and Montana.
Steve has enjoyed a distinguished career as an attorney in Davenport since 1974, just after graduating from St. Ambrose in 1972 and the University of Iowa College of Law in 1974. He has specialized in real estate, commercial and banking law, and has served on the Davenport Zoning Board and the Davenport Chamber of Commerce Downtown Development Corporation. He graduated from St. Joseph High School in DeWitt, Iowa; his three children graduated from Davenport Central. Steve enjoys gardening, photography and travel, with a special memory of his 50th wedding anniversary in Paris in 2023. “We had lunch at the Louvre Museum and dinner at the Eiffel Tower on our actual 50th anniversary date. It was a good day,” he said.
He has high hopes for the Davenport Schools Foundation as he encourages the next generation to come on board, literally. “We need to foster close relationships with students and faculty to serve them all better, no matter what AI (artificial intelligence) throws at us,” he said. “We need to be open to change and make opportunities for self-learning.”