[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 131 (Tuesday, September 23, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H8461-H8464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  J.C. LEWIS, JR. POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2533) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 10701 Abercorn Street in Savannah, Georgia, as the 
``J.C. Lewis, Jr. Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2533

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. J.C. LEWIS, JR. POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 10701 Abercorn Street in Savannah, 
     Georgia, shall be known and designated as the ``J.C. Lewis, 
     Jr. Post Office Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the J.C. Lewis, Jr. Post Office Building.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from

[[Page H8462]]

Pennsylvania (Mr. Murphy) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murphy).


                             General Leave

  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members have 5 legislative 
days to revise and extend their remarks on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), the sponsor of 
this legislation.
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to start out saying that there is 
a statement, I cannot quite get it right, but it states to the effect 
that men who have monuments built after them to honor them do not need 
monuments built after them to honor them because their achievements 
speak for themselves. Nothing could be truer for Mr. J.C. Lewis, Jr. 
His achievements have touched and reached thousands of lives in 
Savannah, Georgia, the State of Georgia, and the United States of 
America. He is truly a renaissance man, a modern day Cincinnatus, who 
goes and leads his community time and time again in cause after cause 
and then returns to his own business life or quietly takes a step 
offstage to avoid the applause.
  In fact, the bill today, Mr. Speaker, would not be here if the family 
had their wish; but I have known the Lewis family for some time, and I 
know the sons well enough to speak frankly, and I have told them 
despite their opposition because they do not really seek the limelight 
under any circumstances, to a person in the family, I said, we need to 
do this for your dad. I figured that forgiveness was easier than 
permission, and waiting around for the permission of any Lewis to give 
them honor will keep one waiting for a long, long time. So we are 
moving forward.
  When I spoke to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Burns) about this, 
whose district contains this post office, he absolutely jumped up and 
down about it because the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Burns) knew of 
Mr. Lewis long before committing himself to run for the United States 
Congress. And so we are proud to offer this legislation as partners. It 
basically names this post office after Mr. J.C. Lewis, Jr., not 
sufficient enough in terms of an honor to a guy who has done so much 
for our community; and yet in another way it is a token, just one way 
of saying thanks not just to Mr. Lewis but to his wife, Nancy, and to 
the six children, Nan, Curtie, Walter, Wistar, Scott, and Christian. I 
hope I named six of them. It is a big family. I know they will kill me 
if I left out one of them.
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KINGSTON. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman for 
yielding. I join with the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) and the 
entire Georgia delegation in honoring J.C. Lewis, Jr., by the naming of 
the post office on Abercorn Street in the 12th District of Georgia. As 
the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) pointed out, Mr. Lewis seeks 
no recognition. A humble man, a servant of our community for decades, 
he was born in Savannah, Georgia; and throughout his life he has served 
Savannah and the low country and the rest of our State, his community, 
his country, and his God. He went to public schools in Chatham County 
and attended and graduated from the University of Georgia with honors. 
J.C. Lewis, Jr. is a true Bulldog. He later received the school's 
outstanding award as an alum. I am sure that was one of the proudest 
moments in his life.
  After his university education, he acknowledged his patriotic duty. 
He served in the United States Navy. He continued to remain devoted to 
the U.S. military in his actions. One of the most significant things 
that he has done for our community is serve as chairman of the Mighty 
Eighth Air Force Museum. He has also served as president of the 
Association of the United States Army and is a member of the Navy 
League.

                              {time}  1615

  After his education he returned to his childhood home in Savannah 
and, with his wife, Nancy Nelson Lewis, and their children, made it his 
home and his dream and his passion. He became the first Republican 
Governor in Georgia since reconstruction when he was elected as mayor 
of the city of Savannah. He is a successful businessman, serving as 
President and CEO of J.C. Lewis Enterprises. He is a devoted family 
man, a member and deacon of the First Baptist Church of Savannah.
  But I think probably most notably that when most other Americans Mr. 
Lewis's age were retiring, he was just getting started. He was 
concerned about the rising problem of homelessness in the city of 
Savannah. He approached the Board of the Union Mission in 1985, nearly 
20 years ago. He then purchased and donated facilities that provide for 
the care of both homeless men and women, and shelters are located 
there. He also funded a cancer program for the homeless, the J.C. Lewis 
Health Center, and he serves continuously as the honorary chairman of 
Union Mission's capital campaign as they seek in their mission to end 
homelessness in the city of Savannah, Georgia.
  Throughout his life, J.C. Lewis has been a physically and personally 
devoted individual to helping and serving mankind, and I join the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) and the rest of the Georgia 
delegation in supporting H.R. 2533 as just a very small way that we can 
thank Mr. Lewis for his service to Savannah, Georgia and to the 12th 
District.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, 
I am pleased to join with my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 2533, 
which designates a U.S. postal facility in Savannah, Georgia after J.C. 
Lewis, Jr. H.R. 2533 was introduced by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Kingston) on June 19, 2003. Mr. Lewis, the former mayor of Savannah, 
Georgia, serves on many charitable and community-oriented boards. A 
given and committed man, he financed the building site for the Savannah 
Baptist Center, which serves as a recreational and education center in 
town. He is best known for his work with Union Mission to end 
homelessness in Savannah. He purchased and donated the Union Mission's 
main office building and helped to renovate the facility so that needed 
and necessary health care services could be provided to those in dire 
straits. Mr. Lewis is currently the honorary chair of Union Mission's 
capital campaign.
  Mr. Speaker, oftentimes individuals are involved and help raise money 
and generate money, not always do they give as much of their own money 
as Mr. Lewis seemingly does. So, Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman 
from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) for seeking to honor such an individual, 
and I urge swift passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
for yielding me this time. And I also want to thank the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Davis) for those kind words about a very important local 
hero, but I think one who shows what kind of country we have and why 
this country is so great.
  The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Burns) had enumerated so many of J.C. 
Lewis's accomplishments, but I wanted to go over a couple of them, just 
maybe from a personal standpoint.
  I first got to know the Lewis family through my father-in-law, Archie 
Morris, who was a boyhood friend of his. And my mother in-law, Betty 
Morris, has been friends with Mrs. Lewis, and the Morris kids and the 
Lewis kids were all friends. In fact, I think my first encounter with 
one of them was with Wistar Lewis when he was riding a horse down the 
street, down Milledge Avenue in Athens, Georgia for one of his Kappa 
Alpha fraternity parades and they were going by the Lambda Chi House, 
which I was a member of. And I was proud to see that my fraternity 
brothers spooked his horse and caused his date to fall off the horse in 
hopes

[[Page H8463]]

that she would join us as far better bulldogs than that fraternity. 
Wistar never let me forget that, and I was really surprised when I 
started dating my wife, Libby, and the Lewis family was known for 
having a big Christmas party on Christmas night in Savannah, and they 
invited me through the Morrises to come to it, and I thought I do not 
know why they would want me to come. They hardly know me. But I 
realized I was riding the coattails of my future in-laws. But that is 
the kind of people they are. Opening up the doors on Christmas Day for 
people to come, strangers and mere acquaintances, to come in and enjoy 
their fellowship.
  The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Burns) had spoken about Mr. Lewis 
being in the Merchant Marines, in the Coast Guard, and the Navy. He 
also did not know that from there he went on to have a lot of fun 
fishing and had a boat at one point called the NAUTI-NAN, and I think 
in time the children sort of took over. Certainly, Scott and Wistar 
became the big mariners in the family, but I think all of them enjoyed 
it. In fact, I think that webbed-feet tradition continues and his son 
Curtie, actually, I was counting his boats this summer, and he has four 
of them. I do not know how one would utilize all those, but the Lewises 
absolutely loved the waterfront and living in Savannah, Georgia, on the 
water.
  The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Burns) had pointed out that he has 
been active in the First Baptist Church and on the board of deacons and 
the trustees. He has also been very active in our Wednesday 
Businessmen's Bible study with a Presbyterian minister, Terry Johnson, 
who is in charge of it, but Mr. Lewis and son Scott and son Christian 
are very active and stalwarts in that Bible study. And what happens 
every Wednesday is they try to drill the Gospel message into the thick 
skulls of business people such as myself and a lot of our friends. But 
to see people like that, each and every Wednesday, devoting time to the 
Lord is very instrumental for the rest of us.
  The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Burns) talked about when J.C. Lewis 
was mayor of Savannah and pointed out that he was the first Republican 
mayor of Savannah, a major Georgia city, but one of the things that is 
interesting, from that point on, he did somewhat become the godfather 
of the Republican Party in Savannah in as much as anybody who ran under 
the Republican ticket always went by to see J.C. Lewis. But rather than 
assume the role of local political Republican kingmaker, he took a much 
broader approach.
  Number one, he would not just see aspiring Republican candidates. 
Democrats, or Independents, the door was wide open. And he never said 
this is the strategy for winning, so that I can grow my kingdom and my 
influence and my clout. It was always, What do you stand for, and what 
is best for Chatham County, Georgia? What is best for Savannah, 
Georgia? How are we going to make this a better community? So whether 
one's name is Jack Kingston, Max Burns, Saxby Chambliss, or anybody 
else, Sonny Perdue, he always tried to do what was best for the State 
or the community or the country and never would call them. Once they 
were elected, he would never say, I want you to vote on House bill 
whatever. He has never made such a call to me to ask me to vote for 
anything. And I can tell the Members how rare that is, and we have 435 
Members of Congress who would certainly agree to that.
  As a businessman, Mr. Lewis lost his father at a young age, and he 
took over an automobile business, which probably the easiest thing 
would have been to sell it, but instead he grew it. It became one of 
the largest Ford dealerships in coastal Georgia. But, in addition, he 
added broadcasting and equipment leasing and real estate and insurance.
  For example, they have had a television station, WJCL, which is an 
ABC affiliate. They also had WJCL for many years on the radio, which 
had some of those great classic tunes that we all enjoyed from the 
swing era. It kind of always put a little class and a little taste in 
the city of Savannah airwaves.

  Charitable donations, an incredible list of them. He gave land to the 
YMCA on Habersham Street; for the Agudath Achim Congregation Synagogue; 
for Memorial Baptist Church; land for Virginia Heard Public School; 
land for the Episcopal Church in Oakdale, Georgia; land and building 
for the Skidaway Island Baptist Church; land and building for the 
Savannah Baptist Center; and funded the new Cancer Program at the J.C. 
Lewis Health Center.
  The Gospel tells us that to those whom much has been given, much is 
expected. Mr. Lewis has followed that line. He also has been a Free and 
Accepted Mason and the past potentate of the Alee Temple Shrine, and 
part of the creed of Masons is somewhat to look after each other, and I 
have heard many Masons who do not know Mr. Lewis personally say Mr. 
Lewis is a Mason who looks after his brother Masons and looks after the 
community in general.
  A friend of mine, a formal liberal, which I cannot tell if he is 
still a liberal anymore or not. He still tells me he is a Democrat, but 
Reverend Michael Elliott, whom the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Burns) 
and I deal with on homeless issues, he and I were talking over the 
weekend, and I told him what we were doing with this legislation, that 
we were sneaking out something on Mr. Lewis and hoped he would forgive 
us. He said, he is the guy that I have had the opportunity to have this 
homeless shelter built, because of his generosity, because of his 
leadership, and the fact he has opened so many doors for me and getting 
other businessmen to see them.
  When we think about all the down and out people in the world that 
have benefitted from the generosity and the leadership of Mr. Lewis, 
there again, we do not know who is always benefitting. In the Gospel 
there is a part where followers of John the Baptist asked him, Are you 
the Messiah? And he says to them, No, I am not the Messiah. I have come 
to prepare a place for Him, and I am not even worthy to pick up the 
breadcrumbs from his table. That, Mr. Speaker, is so important because 
often when we do things for others, we do not know who is going to 
benefit, and indeed, when we receive these blessings, we do not know 
who caused these blessings to happen. That is the case with Mr. Lewis 
on everything that he has done.
  Civic responsibilities, and I know this is just voluminous, but I 
want to name a few. He has been active on the Board of the Kiwanis 
Club; on the Bethesda Home for Boys, on the Board of Directors; the 
Georgia Baptist Children's Home; Woodberry Forest School Board of 
Trustees; the President of the YMCA; the Chamber of Commerce Board of 
Directors; the United Community Appeal or United Way; Savannah Country 
Day School, Board of Directors; Association of the United States Army, 
President, Coastal Empire Chapter; the Elks Club, Lodge 183; American 
Legion, Post 184; the Navy League; Salvation Army as an Honorary 
Director. The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Burns) mentioned the Mighty 
Eighth Air Force Museum Foundation; and many more. And I think one of 
the more important things, recently, was he was the sponsor of the Isle 
of Hope Mudcats baseball team in the U12 League last year and probably 
will be doing it again.
  His awards, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Burns) had mentioned some 
of these: A Brotherhood Award from Agudath Achim Synagogue, the 
President's Award from Savannah State College, Outstanding Alumni Award 
from the University of Georgia; Union Mission, Golden Heart Award; 
Community Service Award from the Georgia Municipal Association; 
Department of Army Award for patriotic civilian service while serving 
as President of the AUSA, Coastal Empire Chapter; Salvation Army, 
``Others'' Award; Savannah Exchange Club, Golden Deeds Award; the 
Rotary Club, Paul Harris Fellow, which one of the big motives of the 
Rotary Club is service above self, which I think, again, he epitomizes; 
the Oglethorpe Leadership Award; a two-time recipient of the Ben 
Franklin Quality Dealer Award sponsored by Time Magazine; and also an 
inductee in the Savannah Business Hall of Fame. And I want to say this 
on behalf of the local Chatham County Republican Party, we name our 
annual award in his honor, the J.C. Lewis Award.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not often when people like this are born, and with 
Mr. Lewis, it is a family unit. If we know

[[Page H8464]]

him, we know his family, and we know they are all in it together. They 
have made Savannah and Georgia and the United States of America and the 
world a better place to live. So I am very honored to be a cosponsor 
with the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Burns) on this piece of 
legislation.
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this 
resolution which honors J.C. Lewis, Jr, a man truly worthy of our 
commendation.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Culberson). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murphy) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2533.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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