BUIES CREEK — Campbell University honored David R. Lewis and Daphne Snell Perry for their professional accomplishments and service to their alma mater with Distinguished Alumni Awards Friday during the university’s annual Distinguished Alumni Dinner in the Marshbanks Dining Hall.
David R. Lewis
Lewis, who received a bachelor’s in business administration from Campbell in 1994, is a tobacco and cotton farmer and resides in Dunn, N.C. He was first elected to the N.C. House of Representatives in 2002, and is currently serving his sixth term, representing N.C. District 53.
In the House, Lewis is chair of both the Finance and the Elections committees and vice chair of the Agriculture and Regulatory Reform Subcommittee on Long Government Committees. He’s also a member of about a half-dozen House committees and subcommittees, including Ways and Means, Health and Human Services, and Regulatory Reform.
Beyond his service to the House, Lewis is a member of the Central Carolina Community College Harnett County Small Business Advisory Board; the Dunn Kiwanis Club; the Greater Dunn Jaycees; and the Angier, Coats, Dunn, Erwin and Lillington Chambers of Commerce. The Greater Dunn Jaycees presented him with its Distinguished Service Award in 2006.
When he was a student at Campbell, Lewis served terms as Student Government President, Student Government Vice-President, Sophomore Class President, Freshman Class President, and chair of the Student Government Research Committee. He was also president of the Inter-organizational Council and Society for Advancement Management, and a member of the University Choir.
Daphne Snell Perry
When Perry, a Roper, N.C., native, graduated from Campbell in 1960 with a degree in business education, she received the Outstanding Student Award and the Vivian Dawson Massey Music Award. While a student, she was co-captain of the women’s basketball team, the librarian for the Campbell Tour Choir, and a member of the New House Council, Beta Club and May Court.
She also met her husband, Jim Perry, at Campbell. He played basketball for the Camels from 1956 to 1959 and pitched one season. They married in 1960, and Jim went on to pitch in the Major Leagues for 17 years and won the 1970 Cy Young Award when he was with the Minnesota Twins. While they lived in Minnesota, Daphne was a homemaker and taught Sunday school and served as president of the Minneapolis Christian Women’s Club associated with Stonecraft Ministries.
Today, Daphne and her husband live in New London, N.C., and they are members of the First Baptist Church in Asheboro, N.C. Both are also involved with numerous charitable organizations and events that address societal issues and help disadvantaged individuals, such as victims of sexual exploitation. Campbell’s home baseball stadium is named in Jim Perry’s honor, and the university previously named him a distinguished alumnus.
Congratulations on your @campbelledu recognition @RepDavidRLewis
— ZanBunn (@zanbunn) October 26, 2013
My boss and good friend @repdavidrlewis was named a Distinguished Alumni of @campbelledu this evening.… http://t.co/9IqFSXvYyJ
— Mark T. Coggins (@MarkTCoggins) October 26, 2013