"I care" is a fitting motto for Lew. For his entire career, he has devoted his free time to enriching the lives of others.
Lew is the Former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee, has served on its Board for over 30 years and received the organization’s highest national honors, the Medallion and the Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also the recipient of the Hope Award, the most prestigious recognition of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Mr. Conner also is a Past Chairman of the Gaylord Music City Bowl Board and Tennessee State Museum Board. He has served on the Boards of the Nashville Symphony, Tennessee Business Roundtable, Pencil Foundation, Vanderbilt University School of Law and Vanderbilt National Commodore Club, and is an elder of Westminster Presbyterian Church.
On three occasions when the State of Tennessee faced difficult issues, Lew was called upon by the Governor to serve: first, as the Special Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court when the validity of the election of the entirety of the then-sitting Supreme Court was challenged; second, as the Chairman of the Tennessee Corrections Overcrowding Commission, which, under Lew's leadership, drafted legislation subsequently passed by the Tennessee General Assembly in a specially-called session to prevent a takeover of the Tennessee prison system by the Federal Courts; third, appointed pursuant to the Tennessee Merit Selection Plan and thereafter elected in a statewide race, Lew served for four years as a Judge on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, resigning to consider a race for Governor. He has remained involved in politics all of his life and has either chaired or co-chaired the finance committees for the last three republican governors and the last four republican senators of Tennessee.
An accomplished amateur golfer, Mr. Conner has won over 25 state, regional and local tournaments and is a member of the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame. He now primarily directs his passion for golf to the efforts of the Tennessee Golf Foundation in support of junior golf and the disadvantaged, as well as the Vanderbilt Golf Teams.