In 1996, Dr. Lonnie J. Edwards Sr. was featured on the Sally Jessy Raphael Show for making a significant difference in a former student’s life that was born with a physical disability. Nancy Johnson Miller was born with little vestiges of fingers, mostly little “nubs” and kept them hidden from teachers and students by carrying a towel over her hands at all times. At the time of their initial meeting, Dr. Edwards was a first-year physical education teacher at the school where Ms. Miller was a 5th grade student. According to Ms. Miller, Dr. Edwards was instrumental in enabling her to move past her disability by accepting it and by being confident in using and/or developing the talents that God did give her. For this reason, she wrote the Sally Jessy Raphael Show, stating that she wanted to thank him on national television for changing her life.

As a result of his impact on this student’s life, Dr. Edwards wrote a book entitled, A Teacher’s Touch: Reaching Beyond Boundaries. He was also featured in the “Heroes for Today” section of the September 1997 issue of the Reader’s Digest. And, out of the Sally Show reunion, more than twenty-five years after their initial interaction, the Edwards-Miller Foundation for Physical Disabilities, Inc. was created to provide scholarships for physically and/or mentally challenged individuals to pursue a college education. Dr. Edwards served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the foundation which, from 1997 to 2009, assisted twenty individuals to attend colleges nationwide and to pursue their dreams.