The Poplar Bluff Rotary Club recognized Ed Lewis with the a Lifetime Service Award for the 57 years he gave in the service to the club.
Lewis joined Rotary Club in 1966, Poplar Bluff Rotary Club President Stephen Hicks said.
“(He) quickly became an integral member and leader, serving as club president in 1971-72. Rotary Club’s motto is ‘Service Above Self,’ and Ed certainly exemplified this,” Hicks shared.
During his presidency, the club hosted the Three Rivers College Junior College Basketball Tournament, the annual Rotary Radio Auction, Spaghetti Day and an Easter Egg Hunt, “while he continued to grow the club to 75 members,” Hicks said.
Lewis also has held various positions at the local and district levels of Rotary.
According to Hicks, Ed Lewis fondly remembers meeting at the Dunn Hotel downtown, and he is often called on by club members as a club historian.
Ed’s father, K.Q. Lewis, also served as club president and district governor. The pair published The Rotary Rambler, a weekly club newsletter that continued into the 1990s.
“Ed’s son, Steve, also served as club president in the 2000s, and with a combined total of 115 years of service to the club, these men constitute the only three-generation family of presidents,” Hicks said,
Ed Lewis was honored at the club’s installation banquet June 29 with the Service Award and an Honorary Membership in the club.
“Poplar Bluff Rotary would like to thank him and his family for all the leadership and service they have provided,” said Hicks.