Lewis makes involvement official - Wayne-Wilson News Leader, Fremont, NC

13 December 2007 — Being elected a commissioner for the Town of Pikeville is mostly just a change of title for the board’s newest member, Dennis Lewis.

Though he began his first term as a board member earlier this month, Dennis has been involved in town projects and town politics for many years. In addition to being one of a handful of citizens who regularly attend the board’s monthly meetings, Dennis has also volunteered many hours for the town. He has helped plan and organize several local festivals, and led efforts to construct a veteran’s memorial for the town.

The veteran’s memorial, which was constructed and dedicated in 2005, is a project that holds a special place in Dennis’s heart: the story that inspired the idea was a life-changing moment for him.

During a visit to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, DC several years ago, Dennis said he came across a man at the wall who had lost an arm.

“Being the kind of person that I am,” he said, “I asked him what happened to his arm. He told me he gave it away.”

After more conversation, the man said that he gave his arm for his country in Vietnam. Dennis said that experience shook him up, and changed the way he thought about a lot of things.

“Until then I lived for me, just having a good time,” he said. “But at that moment I realized that many men better than me had died for me, and that I owed a great debt.”

Dennis, along with a committee of others who had the same feelings, began raising money and constructing the veteran’s memorial, which now stands at the Pikeville Park.

While he spurred the idea along, Dennis said he couldn’t have realized the project without the help of people who feel the same as he about honoring veterans.

“It’s not my project,” he said. “It’s theirs.”

A celebration, God and Country Day, is held each year to rededicate the monument. This year, two inscribed stones will be added to the monument. A special service will also honor the thousands of dogs who perished in the war.

“Dogs were used to go into mines and booby traps during the war to save people,” he explained, and this year he will read off a list of the names of the dogs killed in action during the war in Vietnam.

Animals also hold a special place in Dennis’s heart. He says he treats his dog Josie like his child, and loves her just as much as one.

Dennis has also helped to organize other events for the town, including a Halloween in the park event for children and the Independence Day celebration. For the Christmas Parade, Dennis received lots of help from his brother Richard.

Dennis also does the fireworks show each year at the Independence Day Celebration in Pikeville. He said he got into the business of shooting fireworks when he helped organize the first celebration, because he figured it would save a lot of money if the committee didn’t have to pay someone for the show.

Pikeville’s current police chief, Ken Barrett, shot the first fireworks show with Dennis. He said after watching Ken and learning how, he has presented the fireworks for ten years at the annual event.

After many years of saying exactly what he thinks about town issues, Dennis said he has earned a reputation in town, and that reputation is one of the main reasons he tends to stay involved.

“I ran for a commissioner’s seat, and I stay involved, because certain people don’t want me to,” he said.

Dennis said he’s not going to apologize for the fact that he rubs some people the wrong way.

“If I think something is stupid, I’m going to say it’s stupid,” he said.

But his primary motivation for always staying involved in his town is a desire to shape and help his community.

He said he knows that no one person can change the world, but he has witnessed that people can change their community. And his desire as a commissioner, he said, is not to dictate what can or can’t be done, but to serve the people who elected him to the position.

“A lot of people get into this thinking it’s about ruling,” he said. “It’s about serving, and one of the best ways to serve the people is to genuinely listen.”

When Dennis isn’t busy around town, he is usually driving a truck for National Welders or spending time with his wife Lisa and dog Josie.

He is also a volunteer fireman with the Antioch Fire Department, a group he said he’s very thankful to have in his life.

“Those guys took me in when I had nowhere to go, and I’m grateful to them for that,” he said.

Dennis says he knows he might ruffle a few feathers along the way, but he intends to be true to himself and to the people of Pikeville as he serves out his term as commissioner.

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Issue of 13 December 2007

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