Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By NOAH WORTHAM | Staff Writer 

Montevallo resident Joyce Lewis was presented this year with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the NAACP after years of membership and serving her local community.

During the 16th annual Freedom Fund on May 6, Lewis was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the NAACP Coffee County Branch #5017 in recognition of her “exceptional services and accomplishments.”

“I knew what I was going to do at the age of nine,” Lewis said. “I wanted to go to college and come back and give back to my hometown.”

Lewis was born on Oct 2, 1951 in Columbiana and attended Shelby County High School during a period in which it was still segregated. Lewis received her diploma from SCHS in 1970.

In 1997, Lewis earned her bachelor’s of science degree in human resource management from Faulkner University in Montgomery. From 1992-2022, she attended the American International University where she earned master’s degrees in both business management and education.

Lewis gave back to her hometown community with a career in law enforcement at the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in 1984. In 1989, Lewis worked for the University of Montevallo Police Department, the city of Montevallo’s Police Department and the Calera Police Department.

Lewis also taught at the Columbiana Middle School in 2006.

“She has been instrumental in breaking barriers by paving the way for people of color in the Montevallo and Calera police departments,” read a pamphlet from the NAACP #5017.

During her lifetime, Lewis has received

• A Lifetime Award from the NAACP
• Hidden Helen Award from Talladega College from the National NAACP
• Citizen of the Year—Enterprise, Alabama