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Where a Media Legend is Born
Greg Lewis ’65 has shaken hands with kings and queens. He has been inside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and was allowed on the infield during the 1988 Olympic Closing Ceremonies in Seoul. He has done interviews with President Gerald Ford, Prince Albert of Monaco, and athletes Arthur Ashe, Mary Lou Retton, and Greg Louganis—to name a few. It was all part of his 30-year career as an Emmy Award-winning sports journalist and TV commentator—a career that he says was inspired by his time at Colorado Academy. Though he only attended Twelfth Grade at CA, Lewis says the experience was a “gift” to him, and that Upper School English teacher Frank Slevin changed his life. “Mr. Slevin saw that I had the capacity for writing. He challenged me and opened my mind and heart to something that became the most important part of my professional life,” says Lewis, who lives in Aspen, Colo. “One year at CA was as central to my development as a person and the life I’ve led as anything else in my life.”
Heady days in TV sports journalism
When he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Skiing History Association in 2016, Lewis took the opportunity to recognize Slevin, saying: “Mr. Slevin awakened a force within me that has never waned.” That force carried him through more than a quarter-century of global travel, reporting on international sporting championships, including Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and six Olympic games. Lewis has worked with almost every major television network, from NBC and CBS, to ESPN, HBO, and Turner Sports Networks. He says his writing ability—discovered at CA—was the reason he survived for decades in what was sometimes a challenging business. It helped that he could think quickly on his feet and developed a knack for giving powerful, improvised parting lines right before a cut to commercial break.
“Those were heady days in TV, because the networks owned the audience and the airwaves,” he says. “To get TV commentator jobs in the 1970s and 1980s was virtually impossible, so everyone who had them herished their jobs and worked very hard.” Although the competitive work and extensive travel could be grueling, he felt grateful to be working with a team of people who not only were outstanding at their work, but also put in 100-percent effort all the time. He also felt fortunate to be part of a powerful industry that sometimes enabled him to make a difference in the lives of those in need.
While covering the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Lewis developed a love for the city and the people. So, when the Bosnian War started in 1992, he was heartbroken. “It was unbelievable to me that this Olympic host city was now a war zone. The parking area for the Olympic Stadium was turned into a cemetery,” he says. “I said, ‘we need to do something.’ ” He connected with Olympian Christin Cooper, who had won a silver medal in the women’s giant slalom skiing event at the ’84 games in Sarajevo. Together, they formed the Spirit of HOPE (Humanitarian Olympians for Peace) organization, with the goal of mobilizing the 80,000 living Olympians for humanitarian service. Lewis traveled to Sarajevo during the war to help the International Rescue Committee deliver sports gear to children.
Lewis at the Closing Ceremonies of the Seoul, Korea Olympics in 1988
Despite his storied career in journalism, Lewis says his greatest literary achievement is the children’s book he wrote called Chasing Wonder. A novel written in six-line rhyming stanzas, Chasing Wonder follows the journey of a lovable oyster named Wonder who is thrown out of his oyster bed. Along the way, Wonder—and young readers—face challenges and learn the meaning of friendship and community.
“It’s a story about being thrown out into the world and having to figure it out, about seeing the world as it is,” he says. The book has an accompanying teacher’s guide and audio book, which includes original musical by Aspen composer David Melton. Middle School science teacher Sue Counterman has led her class in reading Chasing Wonder, and Lewis visited the class to discuss the book with students.
“That book is the most important writing I’ve ever done,” Lewis says.
The source of success and joy
Lewis connects the writing of Chasing Wonder back to his time with Mr. Slevin, who helped him discover and hone his talent for writing. “I came of age at CA,” he says, recalling his small Senior class. “We got a lot of attention and freedom. I loved having lunch in the dining room with the teachers. It was a nurturing environment for me all around.” He competed on the school ski team and learned how to kayak, which remained a passion of his for more than 30 years. He gained appreciation for the natural world through CA outdoor programs, and he made meaningful friendships. “The success and joy of my life all go back to CA,” he says. “I have gone all over the world, telling stories about great and aspiring athletes and delivering them right into people’s living rooms. That is as rich a life as I could imagine, and none of that would have happened without CA.” n
