Video: Crestline’s Jerome Lewis named national Janitor of the Year

There wasn’t a dry eye left inside the auditorium at Crestline Elementary Monday morning, as representatives with Cintas Corporation announced the school’s beloved head custodian, Jerome Lewis, had been voted the nationwide Janitor of the Year.

Though Lewis himself could not attend the May 2 ceremony, Crestline Principal Laurie King reminded the crowd that he was right there with them.

“He asked me to tell you all, ‘Thank you, kid,’” said King, as she addressed the school.

Crestline’s cougar mascot, Champ, opened the ceremony with a “We love Jerome! He’s number one!” chant, which students gleefully participated in. Representatives from each of the school’s grades made their way up to the microphone, where one by one, each presented a special gift in Lewis’ name. Students made books for Lewis, listing the many reasons why they love him; a CD in his honor and a T-shirt featuring a tree made with students’ fingerprints.

Throughout the presentation, students talked of Lewis’ close relationship with God, his caring heart and his infectious personality.

“I’ve never seen him without a smile,” said one student.

“Every action he takes, he shows God,” said another.

Ever since he began working at Crestline, Lewis has captured the hearts of all those he comes into contact with, said King in. Despite his own struggles, she said, 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 in a previous interview. “There’s just no other Jerome.”

Lewis’ own troubles began two years ago when he was diagnosed with cancer. Since then, the students, faculty and parents have watched as Lewis, one of their own, has faced his cancer diagnosis head-on. Lewis has never let his diagnosis keep him from the work or the people he loves, said student after student at the May 2 ceremony. 

In an address to her school 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.” Lewis’s smile was infectious, said King, 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.”

Lewis would eventually 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,” said Lewis in the booklet. “It was their heartfelt concern for my family and me.”

When news spread that Lewis 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, the Mountain Brook community rallied behind him. For an entire month, from March through April 15, the entire community voted continuously to ensure Lewis came out on top. The Cintas Corporation contest aims to recognize the best-of-the-best in school janitors.

During the announcement ceremony, Shawn King, marketing manager at Cintas, said Lewis raked in more than 25 percent of the half-million votes cast nationwide. With the announcement, the crowd erupted in applause. A banner congratulating Lewis unrolled above the stage as cheers from excited elementary school students and their teachers echoed through the building’s hallways.  Cintas then presented King with a $5,000 check for Lewis and a $5,000 check for the school, as well as an engraved award recognizing Lewis as the “Janitor of the Year.”

“I spoke with Jerome last night,” said King, “and he told me he was ‘blessed and grateful.’”

King said Lewis asked the school to “stay positive and smile big.”

“I know he will feel the love we are sending his way,” she said.

The school’s third grade students closed the ceremony with a song written just for their beloved “Mr. Jerome.” The rest of the students and teachers followed along as the lyrics scrolled via an overhead projector:

“Cougar family, Jerome is the man!

The voting is done, my friend, and now starts the fun.

We all knew that he would win. Jerome’s number one!”

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.