JACKSON DENTIST GIVEN FULENWIDER AWARD; T. WAYNE LEWIS IS CITED FOR SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

JACKSON - A Jackson dentist is the 1993 recipient of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce's prestigious R.A. Fulenwider Meritorious Community Service Award.

The award was presented at the chamber's annual installation banquet Monday at the Jackson Elk's Lodge. The award is presented annually to a Jackson resident who has displayed exceptional service to citizens of Jackson.

This year's recipient is Dr. T. Wayne Lewis, 52, of 742 Independence. Lewis received his award from the 1992 recipient, Paul Bruening.

"Most appropriate choice," said Jackson School Superintendent Wayne Maupin, who has worked with Lewis as a member and past president of the Jackson Board of Education. "If there was ever a true servant of our community, I would have to say Dr. Lewis would be one of those," Maupin said. "He's an eternal optimist; he always looks on the bright side of things. It's just uplifting to work around him.

"T. Wayne has taken a leadership role on the school board and in the Missouri School Boards Association for the past number of years. We have all benefited from that leadership. He's a vital part of our school operation."

Jackson Mayor Paul Sander has worked with Lewis in the Jackson Rotary Club and in school-board and school-district-related activities.

He said: "Wayne has always been a person that, in my opinion, is a doer and not a follower. If you ask him to do something, he'll do the best he can to accommodate you. He takes his responsibility and more, and I think the end result of that is an award like this tonight,

"He's one of the youngest persons to have won this award, which says a lot for him; that he's done a lot in a short period of time."

Lewis is a native of Bollinger County. He graduated from Lutesville High School in 1957. Lewis attended the University of Missouri at Columbia from 1957 to 1959. He graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1961, and went on to receive his degree in dentistry in 1965 from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry.

Lewis served as a lieutenant in the Navy Dental Corps from 1965-1967 at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba.

After his discharge from the Navy in 1967, Lewis returned to Jackson to set up a dental practice that he now operates.

In addition to his professional activities, Lewis has also been active in civic and Jackson R-2 School District affairs. He is past president of the Southeast Missouri District Dental Society and past president of the American Society for Preventative Dentistry.

Lewis is a member and past president of the Jackson Board of Education, and now serves as president of Region 13 of the Missouri School Boards Association. He is also a member of the Board of Directors and Legislative Committee of the Missouri School Boards Association and a member of the Drug and Alcohol Free Advisory Council of the Jackson R-2 School District.

Lewis' civic activities include past chairman and committee member of the Shawnee District, Boy Scouts of America; past president of the Jackson Rotary Club; past member of the Jackson Jaycees, and past chairman20of the board of directors of the Jackson Public Library. He serves as president of the board of directors of Southeast Missouri Medical Center Inc. of Jackson.

Lewis is a Paul Harris Fellow in the Rotary Club and was president of the Jackson Rotary when the Rotary Lake was built in City Park.

Lewis is married to the former Linda Roderick. They have four children.