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FROM STAFF REPORTS

Columbiana native Joyce Lewis is a familiar face to many in Shelby County—for more than 20 years, she has worked for different law enforcement agencies, starting with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in 1989 and most recently the Montevallo Police Department.

Lewis, who also taught for 10 years at Ingram State Technical College, made her retirement official on Oct. 1.

“From the age of 9, I always wanted to go to college,” said Lewis, who earned her Bachelor of Science in human resource management at Faulkner University and dual master’s degree in business education and public health at American International University.

She taught courses for Ingram State, at the Alabama Therapeutic Education Facility in Columbiana.

“I wanted to give back to my community,” she said about her decision to teach.

Lewis is one of nine siblings, and both of her parents were laborers. She said her late uncle had a nickname for her and her siblings, “Crumbpickles,” which she plans to use for the title of an autobiography she is writing.

“I wanted to show people that you can make it regardless of what your status is,” she said.

In 1989, Lewis started working in corrections and communications for SCSO, and she went on to work for several agencies, including the University of Montevallo’s police department.

After retiring, in addition to working on her book, Lewis plans to continue working in community education as well as in music ministry through Shelby County area churches.