The list of lessons is long and well-used.
Tucked away in a folder as thick as the span of his hand, Steve Davis often references his handwritten, smudged and dog-eared “List of Lessons” he has compiled from his career in the media spotlight during the Columbine High School shootings 10 years ago.
“This is what I have left of Columbine,” he said, gesturing at the fat folder as he pulled out his list. In bold handwriting, he has detailed about everything from how often to give press conferences to the best ways to announce difficult news.
He has shared the list with law enforcement, school districts and others who might one day have to deal with a similar tragedy.
“I couldn’t trade what I’ve learned for anything. But would I do it again tomorrow?”
He answers with a deep sigh.
Ten years ago, Davis was the public information officer for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, where he handled the media tsunami that hit Littleton after the Columbine shootings.
The numbers tell just one piece of the story.
On the day of the shootings, 50 e-mails and phone voicemails filled his inbox every hour. His pager lit up more than 320 times. Davis faced news cameras 134 times in the first two days, answering questions for TV and newspaper groups and updating media with hourly press conferences. He estimates that he worked with up to 500 reporters who camped in Clement Park near the high school, arriving from all over the nation and world.
“I never even saw most of those interviews,” he said.
A photo hung on the far wall of his office tells another piece of his story. Davis stands at a podium, looking out into an expansive crowd of news cameras, reporters and photographers. The media crowds in around him, filling every inch of the frame.
For the first year after the shooting, Davis said he didn’t have a single day off — he answered calls and pages at odd hours when international media were starting their workday thousands of miles away. Media followed him, once even camping in front of his house.
Amid the stress, Davis said he learned how to keep cool — an essential element to the demands of the job. He also learned to quickly correct wrong information and admit mistakes — something he said strengthened his working relationship with the press.
Davis said despite the never-ending work, thoughts of the victims and families kept things in perspective.
“You have to remember how hard it is for these families who were affected. For them, the hurt is every bit as fresh as it was then,” he said.
Questions about the shooting followed him when he left his post at the sheriff’s department. Today, as a PIO in the Lakewood Police Department, Davis still takes plenty of calls about the Columbine tragedy.
When school shootings become national news, public information officers, spokespeople and reporters call looking for perspective. He’s willing to give feedback, but the talks bring back memories.
“Every time another shooting happens, I get this feeling in my stomach,” he said just days before a German teen killed 12 people at his former school. “It makes me think of the victims’ families.”
Davis may have a physical list of lessons, but other locals say the impact Columbine had on them imprinted lessons and motivation that are harder to see but undoubtedly there.
Community became the main focus for Debbie Oberbeck after the shootings. Ten years ago, Oberbeck was the vice president of the Jefferson County School Board. Today, she and her business partner run Peacekeeper, a relationship building program for managers, unions and school districts.
While on the school board, she was impressed with the support the district showed for its employees and students. When the district brought in Salvador Varela for some community strengthening seminars, Oberbeck found a window of opportunity.
“I saw the importance of building relationships and being able to talk and listen to each other,” she said.
Oberbeck partnered with Varela to expand the program to the state level. She hopes to send a message that communication and trust strengthens both working and personal relationships.
“It’s important to build communities at all times of our life,” she said.