B.S. Forest Science, 1978

Marc D. Lewis graduated in 1978 with a B.S. degree in Forest Science. He was an active member of the Mont Alto Soccer Club, Alpha Gamma Rho, and the Forestry Society. After graduation, he entered the family business, Dwight Lewis Lumber Company, Inc., and was engaged in sawmill and forestry operations. This included management planning on the company's 16,000 acres of hardwood forest and the upgrading of mill equipment.

In 1984, Dwight Lewis Lumber Company, Inc. expanded its manufacturing and marketing base, requiring Lewis's further involvement with mill operations and product marketing. By the early 1990s, the company had installed dry kilns and further expanded lumber sales and marketing, while also diversifying into dimension product manufacture. In 1995, Lewis Lumber established Lewis Lumber Products, Inc, which subsequently led to a near doubling of employment within both companies. Following the leadership of their father, Marc and his brother, Melvin, became co-owners of the parent company in 2001.

The two companies have established a reputation within their industry for high-quality products while maintaining a respect and stewardship for timber resources, the environment, and the future generations of people within their region. They are a FSC Smart Wood Chain-of-Custody certified company and their timberlands are also certified through Smart Wood.

Lewis has maintained an active role with the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association (PFPA), formerly the Hardwood Lumber Manufacturers Association (HLMA), since the group's inception in 1980. He has served as a board member and has recruited new members from Pennsylvania's industry.

In 2001, HLMA approached Penn State with an offer to complete the interior of their new General Aviation Building. The resulting design included hardwood paneling, flooring, millwork, and furniture elements. Lewis Lumber Company, Inc. and Lewis Lumber Products, Inc. led this HLMA effort in the donation of lumber, manufacture of dimension products, and provided overall coordination of the project.

When Penn State announced the formal inception of the new Forest Resources Building on the University Park campus in 2002, HLMA, now PFPA, stepped forward with a suggested donation of hardwood products for this $30 million project. Once again, the two Lewis companies led the way in the donation, design, and manufacture of nearly $700,000 of paneling, moldings, and laminated beams for the building.

Lewis has provided similar leadership to the Pennsylvania Forestry Association (PFA) over the past 25 years, serving on their board and various ad hoc and formal committees. He is currently vice president of PFA. He helped organize PFA's largest fundraiser and banquet, traditionally held in Williamsport. He coordinated PFA's campaign to name the Director's Office in the School's new building.

Lewis has contributed considerable time and effort to the School of Forest Resources and the College of Agricultural Sciences, particularly with reference to alumni interests and events. He has been a member of the college's Ag Council for the past 12 years, representing the combined interests of Forest Science and Wood Products, and has served on the Ag Council board for six years (2000-2005). He served on the council's Partnership Committee (2002), chaired the Publicity Committee (2003, 2004) and the Program Committee (2005, 2006). He organized a Dean's Tour of six forest products companies throughout central and northern Pennsylvania in May 2005, again putting forward the School's professional interests. He has been a member of the School's Ibberson Chair Advisory Committee since its inception in 2002. He has provided advice and council to Alpha Gamma Rho as an active alumnus.

Lewis has been active in regional organizations, serving as a member of the Loyalsock Creek Watershed Association and the Sullivan County Rural Electric Board of Directors, and serving on the board of the North Central Pennsylvania Conservancy, the Forestry Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania College of Technology, and the Board of Directors of the Williamsport Woodlands Bank.

April 2007

Department of Ecosystem Science and Management

Address

117 Forest Resources Building
University Park, PA 16802
Directions

Department of Ecosystem Science and Management

Address

117 Forest Resources Building
University Park, PA 16802
Directions