presented to

Ernest C. Levister, Jr., M.D.

This twenty sixth-day of June, in the year two thousand three

Dr. Ernest Levister's outstanding, unselfish contributions and dedicated service is a testimony to one of life's most persistent and urgent questions, "What have you done for others?" He is not only a highly respected mentor, scholar and leader in the Inland Empire, he is a physician whose passion is "serving the underserved by empowering and education."

Dr. Levister has been practicing medicine and educating the public about health for more than 30 years. He is a familiar voice of reason in the Inland Empire's Black Voice newspaper. His weekly column, "Our Bodies," has addressed readers' questions and provided health information to the African American community since 1986 and the column earned him the Association of Black Women Entrepreneurs' Media Award in 1995. He and other San Bernardino residents established Technology Access Partnership Foundation, a sister foundation to the Enterprise for Economic Excellence, as a vehicle to raise funds to promote and provide access to informational technologies for under-represented citizens and businesses in the Inland Empire. He served as chair until 1999. A past president of the California Society of Industrial Medicine and Surgery, he received their Silver Scalpel Award in 2000 for devoting his career to protecting the rights of injured workers and the physicians who treat them. The Inland Empire Black Nurses Association also recognized him for his tireless efforts in educating the public about health, and he and his wife, Christine, were co-recipients of the 2000 Black Rose and Humanitarian of the Year Award from the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation for their achievements in the community.

Dr. Levister served as President of the J.W. Vines Medical Society, a component of the National Medical Association, from 1994 until 2001. The organization supports and advocates such issues as equal opportunity education, the development and retention of African American physicians and improving the overall quality of patient care in our communities. He is actively involved in a community speaker's bureau. He, with his colleagues, founded the Vines Foundation, the organization's philanthropic arm, to provide educational opportunities for African American students desiring careers in health and science professions.

Dr. Levister's testimonial to achievement of the near impossible came in 2002 when the California Legislature ordered UC Riverside to re-structure its elite Bio Medical Sciences Program or lose funding. The changes will provide more disadvantaged students access to the openings regardless of their majors and promote the hiring of additional under-represented pre-med faculty.

For over 30 years of dedicated service to medicine, the people of San Bernardino County, and the physician community, we are pleased to present the 2003 SBCMS Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Community to Ernest C. Levister, Jr., M.D., a person of extraordinary vision, compassion and achievement.

Frank Randolph, M.D.
President

Additional Information:

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2003 Outstanding Awards