CBC legends Louise “Scottie” Stephenson (left) & J.D. Lewis will be posthumously inducted into the Raleigh Hall of Fame in September.
View the Slideshow of the 2010 Raleigh Hall of Fame Induction

The Raleigh Hall of Fame inducted two deserving CBC legends into its prestigious list on Tuesday, September 28, 2010.   Louise “Scottie” Stephenson and J.D. Lewis posthumously received recognition for the many contributions they made to Raleigh during their long and storied careers at Capitol Broadcasting Company.

FOX 50 Producer Scott Reid, Stephenson’s nephew, received the medallion on behalf of his aunt, and Yvonne Lewis Holley stood in for her father. Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker presented the honors, and WRAL-TV Anchor Bill Leslie served as emcee.  CBC was the Title Sponsor of the event. 

FOX 50’s Scott Reid (r to l) accepts the medallion for his beloved aunt, Scottie Stephenson. His wife, Kathy, & daughter, Samantha. accompany him at the ceremony.

Yvonne Lewis Holley (center) accepts the medallion for her dear father, J.D. Lewis. Here she poses with several other Hall of Fame inductees after the ceremony.

Stephenson worked for CBC for 58 years, ending her employment only with her death in April of 2002.  She changed the diapers of current President & CEO Jim Goodmon and helped his grandfather, A.J. Fletcher make and win the plea in Washington, D.C. to get WRAL-TV the first VHF television license in the Triangle.  In fact, she was the only woman on the five-person team.  Stephenson worked for CBC longer than any person in the history of the company, including founder A.J. Fletcher. She was the first employee on WRAL-TV’s payroll. During her career with CBC, she did everything from writing commercials for radio sportscasts to filing FCC reports to being the “Lost & Found” lady on Fred Fletcher’s radio show to serving as Secretary to all of CBC’s wholly-owned subsidiaries.

The Raleigh Hall of Fame cited Stephenson as “Pioneering matriarch of Capitol Broadcasting Company, patron of the arts, champion of the under-privileged and a vital force in Raleigh’s business, civic and social communities, she is famous for her leadership in winning Raleigh’s first VHF license and memorialized through the naming of the Louise ‘Scottie’ Scott Stephenson Amphitheatre at the Raleigh Little Theatre.”

J.D. Lewis became a Raleigh staple first on radio and then on television, with a long list of “the first African-American to do” a variety of things and fill a variety of roles.  Raleigh viewers flocked to their television sets to watch Lewis’ Teenage Frolics, a local music & dance show in the vein of Soul Train & American Bandstand, which debuted in 1958.  He later became the first Human Resources Director at CBC and went on to become Director of Minority Affairs.  Beyond the walls of CBC Lewis worked diligently in the community helping, leading and inspiring others.

The Raleigh Hall of Fame calls Lewis a “trailblazing broadcaster, effective community activist, mentor and role model for countless youth, matchless leader of the Garner Road YMCA.” Lewis retired from CBC in 1997, after 43 years of dedicated service.  He died in February of 2007.

Stephenson & Lewis join several other CBC’ers in the Raleigh Hall of Fame.  CBC founder A.J. Fletcher was inducted in the inaugural year 2005.  His son, Fred Fletcher, Jr. followed in 2007, and Fletcher’s grandson, current CBC President & CEO Jim Goodmon and his wife, Barbara, were inducted in 2008.