TCSG State Board Member Carvel Lewis visits South Georgia Tech

September 17, 2019
South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford is shown above seated with TCSG State Board Member Carvel Lewis, who came to visit South Georgia Tech recently. Also shown are SGTC Vice President of Administrative Services Lea Coe, SGTC Vice President of Economic Development Wally Summers, SGTC Vice President of Operations Karen Werling, SGTC Vice President of Student Affairs Eulish Kinchens, Assistant to the President Don Smith, and SGTC Vice President of Academic Affairs Davis Kuipers. Not shown is SGTC Vice President of Institutional Advancement Su Ann Bird.
South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford is shown above seated with TCSG State Board Member Carvel Lewis, who came to visit South Georgia Tech recently. Also shown are SGTC Vice President of Administrative Services Lea Coe, SGTC Vice President of Economic Development Wally Summers, SGTC Vice President of Operations Karen Werling, SGTC Vice President of Student Affairs Eulish Kinchens, Assistant to the President Don Smith, and SGTC Vice President of Academic Affairs David Kuipers. Not shown is SGTC Vice President of Institutional Advancement Su Ann Bird.

Carvel Lewis, a member of the Technical College System of Georgia Board, visited the South Georgia Technical College Americus campus recently and met with SGTC President Dr. John Watford and members of the college’s senior staff.

   Georgia Governor Brian Kemp appointed Carvel Lewis of Georgetown, GA to the Technical College System of Georgia Board in May 2019. He is the TCSG Board representative from the 2nd Congressional District.

   With Georgia being ranked as the top state in America for business for six years running, technical education is vital in producing a quality workforce for businesses. Being committed to economic development and advocating for rural Georgia, Lewis will help foster greater partnerships between businesses and Georgia’s technical colleges especially those in this part of the state, Albany Tech, Columbus Tech, and South Georgia Tech. He is also the first TCSG state board member in the funeral service business, bringing a unique perspective to the importance of technical education.

   Lewis is the licensed embalmer and funeral director for Lewis Mortuary, his family’s business in Fort Gaines, GA, and manages the second location in Georgetown, GA. He currently serves as Chairman of the Georgetown-Quitman County Board of Commissioners and the Quitman County Library Board. He has previously served on the Quitman County Planning and Zoning Board and as Chairman of the Quitman County Water and Sewerage Authority.

   In 2015, Lewis was appointed by Governor Deal to the Middle Chattahoochee Water Council. Also in 2018, President Donald Trump appointed him to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Local Government Advisory Committee and EPA’s Small Communities Advisory Subcommittee. Lewis is also a member of the Board of Managers for ACCG (Association of County Commissioners of Georgia) representing Georgia’s consolidated governments.

   He is also a member of the Quitman County Rotary Club and the local PTA, President of the Quitman County Civic League, and serves as a Steward, Trustee, Sunday School teacher and Director of Christian Education for St. Stephen AME Church in Georgetown.

   Lewis is a graduate of Hampton University in Hampton, VA with an undergraduate degree in Biology and an associate degree in funeral service from Gupton Jones College of Funeral Service in Decatur, GA. Lewis served for over 20 years on the National Hampton Alumni Association, Inc. Board, chairing various boards and serving as Southeast Region President and National Vice President for the Eastern Regions. He is a member of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and the single father of one son. They reside in Georgetown.

   Lewis toured South Georgia Technical College’s Americus campus and learned more about the system’s second oldest technical college and one of only two colleges’ in the system with on-campus housing.