Crestline’s Jerome Lewis named finalist in national Janitor of the Year contest

For the last two years, the students, faculty and parents have watched as one of their own has not only battled his cancer diagnosis, but faced it head-on. Jerome Lewis, the head custodian at Crestline, has never let his diagnosis keep him from the work or the people he loves. Despite the cancer treatments, which have slimmed his body, Lewis has continued to work at the school at his own insistence.

Through April 15, the entire community is asked to rally behind him once more and vote to select Lewis as the nationwide Janitor of the Year. The contest, sponsored by Cintas Corporation, aims to recognize the best-of-the-best in school janitors. On March 16, Lewis learned that he had been selected as one of 10 national finalists competing for a $5,000 cash prize along with $5,000 in Cintas and Rubbermaid products and services for his school.

Crestline Principal Laurie King helped coordinate Lewis’s top-10 placement via the school’s morning announcements on Wednesday, March 16.

“He makes an impact so quickly on a person,” said King ahead of the official announcement. “It only takes a moment, and you know you have met a very special person.”

King said that despite his own struggles, Lewis remembers and asks about the troubles of Crestline’s students and parents. Since 1984, when she first began working at Crestline, King said she has never seen quite the same level of love and support from students and parents that is given to Lewis.

“Even after they move onto the junior high school, students will still come back to visit Jerome — as will their parents,” she said. “There’s just no other Jerome,” said King.

Dale Wisely, Director of Student Services for Mountain Brook Schools, said Lewis made it to the final round of voting based on the number of people who nominated him.

“That’s impressive,” said Wisely, “given that it’s one school in a small town. Jerome is beloved by this community in ways I can’t even describe. He is without question one of the finest people I have ever known. No one leaves an encounter with this man unchanged.”

In an address to her school two years ago when she announced that Lewis was ill, King said Lewis had “worked his magic and touched more lives with our students, our staff, and our parents than one could ever believe.”

King said Lewis’s smile was infectious, one that became a staple around the school in his nearly decade-long career there.

“He is one of those rare individuals that makes every person he speaks or listens to feel like they are the most important person in his life,” said King in her address. “His work ethic and drive are unparalleled. He gets more done in a day than any two people.  Along the way he brings joy to everyone he meets along the way.”

It was the fall, two years ago, that Lewis disclosed he had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Lewis would have to have surgery and the only hospital that could perform the procedure was MD Anderson in Houston. 

As soon as word spread among the school, parents set up a fund for him. In a matter of days, students were having bake sales, car washes and lemonade stands while parents and staff members made donations. 

“We had people that had never met him wanting to help,” said King.

The community raised enough money to allow both Lewis’s wife and son to travel with him to Houston for treatment.

“These kids, this community, this staff, the school board, people I’ve never met…they all rallied around my hurt with cheerful giving. It was all out of love,” Lewis said according to a school booklet distributed to parents.

While in Houston, the Crestline community kept Lewis in their thoughts and prayers, sending countless letters filled with love.

“Tears would stain our cheeks because of what these babies wrote. It was their hearts — no parents telling them what to write. It was their heartfelt concern for my family and me.”

The Janitor of the Year Contest is open to janitors of educational facilities of all levels — elementary through college. In its third year, according to a news release about the contest, the award shines a spotlight on those who work behind the scenes and often go unnoticed.

“When we started this contest, we were looking for a way to honor those who work so hard year-round to make schools a safe, healthy, clean place for our children to learn,” said John Engel, senior marketing manager at Cintas according to the release. “But what we learned was that there is so much more to a janitor’s relationship with their students and staff than we ever knew. These janitors truly are a beloved part of their school.”

To cast your vote for Crestline’s Jerome Lewis, or to read more about the other nine finalists, visit www.cintas.com/JOTY. Voting will close Friday, April 15.