The Lewis Award Committee presented the Lifetime Achievement Award in Education to Anne Williams Stahel for her extraordinary support of and devotion to Catholic school educators.
Anne endowed the Father Gerald Lawrence Lewis Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1992 as a way to say thank you in a meaningful way to now Monsignor Lewis for his unfailing support to her family during good times but more importantly being a ballast for them during their times of crisis.* This Award has been honoring teachers and educators across the Raleigh diocese for 25 years. Through Anne’s hard work and the amazing support of the Superintendent and Catholic Schools Office staff the Lewis Award is now part of the fabric of the diocese.
In her comments during the presentation, Dr. Colleen O’Connor Grochowski, newly appointed Chair of the Committee, expressed that
“I have had the honor of working on the Lewis Award for the past 10 years and have witnessed Anne’s devotion to Catholic school educators. I see her face light up and her heart warm every time she observes a teacher in the classroom. I’ve observed her leadership as she addresses principals each year asking for their schools’ participation, and as she guides the committee members through the process of selecting finalists, visiting schools and through the impossible task of selecting the recipient — impossible given the excellence we witness in all our teachers. And I see her joy as she brings us together for the Lewis Award dinner each year and her determination to make the evening meaningful.”
The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to individuals who have made extended commitments and significant contributions to Catholic education in the Diocese of Raleigh, and demonstrates notable and ongoing contributions to their family, church and civic communities.
“Who could be more deserving than the person who had a vision and made this Award possible. Anne, we thank you for your ‘notable and ongoing contributions to your family, church and civic communities.’ We thank you for your generosity, your commitment to Catholic education, your energy, and the joy you bring to all you do and all whom you touch.”
*Read more about the friendship of the Stahel family and Monsignor Lewis.