man with glasses and a blue suit

Judge Keaton is the Betty J. Lewis Unsung Hero for September

Betty J. Lewis Unsung Hero for September is Judge Edwin Keaton

The SAU Tech Black History Celebration Committee is excited to announce Judge Edwin Keaton as the September 2021 Betty J. Lewis Unsung Hero.

Each year the Black History Celebration Committee, comprised of college staff and community members, hosts an annual fundraiser to raise money for the Betty J. Lewis Minority Scholarship Fund. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 Black History Celebration was canceled. In lieu of this event, the Black History Celebration Committee made the decision to name a Betty J. Lewis Unsung Hero for each month leading up to the 2022 event.

Judge Edwin Keaton has been a Circuit Judge for the 3rd Division of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Arkansas for 22 years. He attended Ouachita County High School in Bearden from 1960-1969 and graduated from Bearden High School in 1970. He graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and in 1977 he completed his Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas’s Law School. Keaton practiced law in Camden for 21 years serving as a Camden Municipal Judge from 1983 – 1998, and an East Camden Municipal Judge from 1984-1998. Keaton is a member of the Ouachita County Bar Association, the Arkansas Bar Association, and the Arkansas Judicial Council.  Keaton serves on the Judicial Council Committee of  Juvenile Judges and Specialty Courts. He has 15 years of volunteer service to the Boys and Girls Club of America. Keaton also serves on the board for Bancorp South, the Camden Housing Authority, the District Court Resources Advisory Board, and is President-Elect for the Arkansas Judicial Council. In the past, Keaton has served on the boards of the SCACAA, the Arkansas Highway Safety Systems Advisory Council, Ouachita Industries, the Christian Sports Association, the Foreign Language Interpreters, and the Board of Certified Court Reporters. Keaton is a trustee and deacon at Greater St. Paul Baptist Church in Camden.

Judge Keaton and his wife Valerie have four children: Kimberly, Carmen, Brandon, and Byron, and one grandchild, Gabriel.