RICHMOND, Va. –
Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia, employees gathered in the Frank B. Lotts Conference Center Nov. 24 to bid farewell to Lucy Lewis, after 41 years of federal service.
DLA Aviation Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Allan Day did a quick review of Lewis’ 41years of service for audience members.
He said Lewis was elected as president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 1992 in 2004 and has served in that role ever since. Lewis also serves as DLA’s vice president of the Inventory Control Point for DLA Council 1269, executive officer for the Central Labor Federation of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, and as a member of DSCR’s Labor Management partnership.
During her union career, Lewis served on the negotiating team for two Master Labor Agreements, advocated for federal employees and managers alike and represented and negotiated for all DLA employees globally.
“Now, let me open the box on what else she has done,” he said speaking of her work outside of Union duties on DSCR. “Lucy began her career as a summer hire at DLA Distribution Richmond, then worked at Fort Lee and then worked on DSCR with the Department of Defense Education Activity as a contract specialist and contracting officer purchasing audio visual and curriculum items for the Department of Defense Dependent schools.”
Day shared with attendees that even though Lewis is retiring, she will remain a familiar face on center as she volunteers to finish out her term as president of AFGE Local 1992, which ends August 2016.
“Lucy, I felt compelled to share Webster’s dictionary definition of the word retire with you and lay down a challenge for you [to follow it],” Day said. “The definition of retire is to withdraw, retreat from work. I haven’t heard anything about retreat from Lucy; it seems to me like her plan is to accelerate.”
During the ceremony, David Gibson, site director, DLA Installation Support at Richmond, thanked Lewis and congratulated her on her retirement.
“In my six years on center, I couldn’t have had a better partner in working through complex and difficult issues than Lucy,” Gibson said. “She was always calm and rational, though Tom Reinhardt, my chief of Security and Emergency Services, assured me that during his time at DLA Headquarters, when he ran into Lucy, she was often like a ‘bulldog on a pork chop,’ ensuring any perceived Richmond inequities were known.”
Gibson said DSCR employees and management alike couldn’t have had a more caring and dedicated individual looking after them than Lewis.
During her remarks, Lewis thanked God for allowing her to reach this milestone and referenced the gospel hymn titled “May the work I’ve done speak for me.”
“I’ve tried to lead by example and not ask my team to do anything I wouldn’t do myself, “she said. “I’ve been blessed to have two separate careers, one supporting our warfighters and another supporting all of you.”
She thanked Gibson and told him, “We always managed to come to a solution.” She also told Day, “We are a family here and you are a big part of why we feel this way.”
In closing, Lewis thanked her family and friends, and the members of Local 1992’s leadership team for their presence and support.