Hundreds of business-size cards with "Jim fun facts" were placed at guest tables for Saturday's retirement party for former Blaine County School District Superintendent Jim Lewis.
One read: "Did you know? In 1990, Dr. Lewis was appointed principal of a school in Savoonga, Alaska, heading up a staff of 12 teachers and 150 students. The town itself consisted of 600 Siberian Yupik Eskimo!"
Another stated: "Did you know? Dr. Lewis received his master's degree in educational administration from Idaho State University and his doctorate in education leadership from the University of Nevada-Reno."
Some 200 friends of Lewis attended the party at Wood River High School, in recognition of his 10 years at the helm of the district.
The event had a fish theme, in recognition of Lewis' passion for fishing.
Colorful Art Deco fish—1,000 of them, according to District Board Clerk Laurie Kaufman—made by district students hung from the ceiling in the campus commons where the event was held.
Red, blue or purple male betta fish swam in glass bowls topped with floating flowers at the guest tables.
Outside, where the event spilled over into the school courtyard, a larger, artfully made fish was hung with the name "Joyce" attached to it. Below was a small fish bearing the name "Jim." The display highlighted a long-standing joke among district staff that Lewis' wife, Joyce, caught all the big fish and Jim only caught the small ones.
Entertainment was provided by band and choral groups from the high school.
Guests were treated to fix-it-yourself chicken tacos. Someone commented that fish would have been more appropriate, but perhaps not as tasty.
Lewis and his wife roamed freely about the crowd, greeting many who attended the three-hour event.
"We're thrilled about the turnout," said Heather Crocker, executive director of the Blaine County Education Foundation and one of the party organizers. "It's a reflection of his impact on the community to see so many people, from Ketchum to Carey to Sun Valley, come to express their gratitude and celebrate with him."
Benjamin Wood, who along with his wife, Teresa Castellano-Wood, founded the Works of Grace scholarship foundation, said Lewis was "a mentor to us."
"We're going to miss him terribly," Wood said. "He's left a considerable legacy of high education standards."
Howard Royal, the district's director of buildings and grounds and a former school board trustee, was momentarily at a loss for words when asked to comment on Lewis, but managed to find some anyway.
"He's the best," Royal said. "He's a visionary. I don't know how the district could have been more fortunate than to have Jim for a leader."
Lewis told the Idaho Mountain Express that "all the credit goes to the staff. It's all been teamwork—I didn't do anything by myself."
"An administrator should take themselves much less seriously and the team that does the work much more seriously," he said. "That's where it happens, and I hope I've been that kind of administrator."
Lewis described his retirement party as "over the top."
"It shows how Blaine County tries to treat its people so well."
Lewis described the school district as "one of the best, definitely, in the intermountain West" and among the top five in the U.S. He said he knew of no other district with such a forward-thinking staff and so supportive a community.
"It couldn't have been a better place to have the opportunity to practice my administrative skills," he said.
"Now, Joyce and I are looking forward to doing special things together and with the family and staying in education with the Milepost Program."
Milepost is an accountability system developed at the district, adopted by several other districts and being considered for statewide application.
During a "tribute" portion of the event, Lewis' son Ric Lewis said his father, a former high school football coach, is a man who "always overachieved with undertalented teams."
Son Rudi Lewis said his father not only loves fishing, but is also an avid hunter and has a passion for recreational vehicles.
He said his father, who previously owned and operated two horseracing tracks in eastern Idaho, leads by example. He said one day the jockeys were complaining that the track was too muddy, so Lewis jumped on a "thoroughbred" himself and ran it around the track to show that the feat was doable.
"Whether he's Dr. Lewis, Mr. Lewis, coach Lewis or Jim to you, he's done something in your life to bring you here," Rudi Lewis said. "If you were on one of his teams, whether a sports team or an administrative team, he educated you with advanced concepts."
Regarding Blaine County, Rudi Lewis said: "I haven't seen my dad as challenged and as happy since he moved here. Everywhere he goes he seems to make it better."
Speaking directly to his father, Rudi Lewis said: "Retirement to you is finally more big game and more big mountains, and there isn't a person here who wouldn't want to follow you on to those mountains."
Phil Homer, who was school district superintendent prior to Lewis, said a question nagging at him is "who caught the big fish?" Homer was referring to a photograph of Lewis holding a large fish that was used to promote the retirement party.
Homer said there were three possibilities: Lewis either had the photo doctored, or "Joyce caught it and took the photo while Jim was holding it," or, "least likely of all, Jim actually caught the fish."
"So tell us, Joyce, who caught the big fish?" Homer asked.
"He did catch that fish," Joyce Lewis said, "but he had to hold it forward to make it look that big."
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Jim Lewis, right, sits with former Blaine County School District Superintendent Phil Homer at Lewis’ retirement party Saturday at Wood River High School.
Photo by Willy Cook
