page 1 - Mature Living in the Southeast
page 1 - Mature Living in the Southeast page 1 - Mature Living in the Southeast
there, and got involved withthe vocal ensemble and thedrama department. I was alsothe editor of the number onejunior college newspaper in thecountry, The Kernel.”Edie went on to UGA andearned a home economics degreewith training in both journalismand nutrition.“The more I got into nutrition,I found it was basically apre-med degree. It was thechemistry of food, and I justloved it! So I went from creativewriting to science.”When she reached the endEDIE SMITH (LEFT) AND HER HUSBAND LAMARSHOW OFF THEIR CATCHES ON A FISHINGEXCURSION TO COSTA RICA.continued from page 24ily members to have breakfastwith the iconic actor JohnWayne. She was about tenyears old at the time.“He looked just the same aswhen you saw him in the movies,”Edie recalled.Her school, Mauk Academy,closed after Edie’s eighthgrade year, and she graduatedfrom Taylor County HighSchool.Edie has always likedcooking and entertaining, andto this day enjoys lookingthrough and reading cookbooks.Growing up, shedreamed of becoming a foodeditor for Southern Livingmagazine. After graduation,her parents thought the transitionfrom small Taylor Countyto the huge University of Georgiawould be tough, so theyinsisted she first attend MiddleGeorgia College in Cochran.“I was an honor graduateand headed for Georgia,” sheremembered, “but I have ayoung birthday, in September,so my parents said ‘You’re goingsomewhere smaller first.’ Ifought that, but it was honestlythe best thing that ever happenedto me. I met Lamarof her degree program, she hadto decide whether to enter thefield of dietetics, pursue aPh.D. and work for an institutionlike Emory, or branch outinto medicine, veterinary science,or pharmacy. This decisionwas influenced by anotherfamily member from TaylorCounty.“I have an aunt who is apharmacist, who went toschool at Georgia in the1950s,” Edie explains. “Shewas one of the only twowomen in the pharmacy schoolat the time. She was a greatmentor for me and was veryinstrumental in my decision to26Mature Living Winter Edition
decide on pharmacy. She hada family and a career, and shetook off time to raise her children.Then, when they weregrown, she went back. That’sreally what I’ve done.”Like Edie, Lamar began hiscollege experience at MGCand finished at Georgia. Hethen went to work in sales forRotary Corporation, whichsent him to Texas. When Ediegraduated from pharmacyschool, he returned and theywere married. The couple setup housekeeping in Atlanta,and the new bride worked asmanager/pharmacist in a newstore in the metro area.“We were open from eightin the morning to ten at night,”she recalled, “then I did thebooks and made a deposit. Itwas very hectic, and I wasn’treally happy.”A friend told Edie about anopportunity with a companythat was developing computersystems for hospital pharmacies.When she met the managerfor an interview, he discoveredthat Edie had providedspecial music for the weddingof his cousin, which he had justattended. She was offered thejob on the spot, despite her lackof computer or hospital experience.She remained with thefirm for fifteen years, helpingto develop technology that iswidely accepted in the fieldtoday.Edie was moonlighting at alocal hospital, and Lamar wasjust as busy, operating two differentmail order businesses.One distributed Vidalia Onons,as well as other foods andifts. The other was a supplierf horticultural supplies forandscapers. When the boys arived,twenty months apart,hey were welcomed to a beeiveof activity.“For a while, we were botheaving at 6:30 in the morning,dropping them off at daycare,and coming back,” Edie remembered.“It was just notgood. We didn’t have any familyup there, but of course anyof them would come if weneeded them, like if the boysgot sick. We decided that weprobably needed to make aTHE SMITH FAMILY - (L TO R) STEVEN, LAMAR, EDIE,AND TAYLOR SMITH POSE IN FRONT OF THECHICAGO SKYLINE.lifestyle change.”Because it was closer toLamar’s supply chain, thecouple decided to move thefamily to the Reidsville area,where his parents still lived.When Edie informed herbosses, they asked her to experimentwith telecommuting,which she did.“Lamar set me up a littleoffice in the back of his warehouse;I had a phone line and acomputer,” Edie recalls. “I dialedin every day, and went toAtlanta once a month.”When computer transmissionswere interrupted, herbusiness associates would jokethat “a cow had stepped on theline again,” but these co-workerswere also frequent visitorsto the couple’s new SouthGeorgia home. Edie servedcustomers all over the UnitedStates, in England, and inSaudi Arabia, and her companyenjoyed tremendous growth.After a merger, however, auditorsnoticed accounting problems,and profits suffered. Theentire experience left a badtaste in her mouth, and whenthe boys entered kindergarten,she said goodbye to the businessworld.By that time, Lamar’s businesseshad done very well, andhe had also gotten into real estate.Today he owns LamarSmith Signature DevelopmentGroup, a company which developscommercial and residentialreal estate, mostly in thegreater Savannah area.But Edie couldn’t stay athome for long. Desiring tokeep her license, she filled inat The Drug Store inReidsville. She also workedpart-time at the hospitals inMetter and Claxton. Lamarwas serving as president of theParents’ League at PinewoodChristian Academy, where theboys were enrolled, and Edievolunteered at the school. Shealso found time to help withRotary International and theAmerican Heart Association.When the boys were in highschool, Trent Akins of Allcareasked her to fill in for a day,then offered her an interim position.When he decided to proceedwith the idea for Buy$mart, Edie was in the centerof his plans for the new business.Having just sent Taylorand Steven to Athens, she wasready for the challenge.Buy $mart offers pharmacyservices and home medicalequipment, providing full serviceand low-cost options onhigh quality products. Edieserves as pharmacist, but alsodoes some bookkeeping, marketing,and retailing. She isworking hard to get to knowmembers of the community.“This is not my base, but Ireally love the people here,”she commented. “I’ve joinedthe Chamber of Commerce andhave been at every function.Trent has also lent me a pharmacistfor a couple of hourseach week, and I’ve been ableto go around town and meetpeople.”Like their mother, theSmith boys wanted to go“straight to UGA.” Unlike her,they actually did, having establishednetworks of friends andacquaintances which put themahead of her in terms of socialdevelopment by the time theygraduated from Pinewood.Taylor is now twenty; Stevenis eighteen.“Like many people’s children,they’re completely opposite,”Edie explained.“Taylor’s very creative; wetease him that he’s ADHD, butMature Living Winter Edition 27
- Page 1: Mature LivingIN SOUTHEAST GEORGIAA
- Page 4 and 5: health newsHeart conditions can be'
- Page 6 and 7: feature storyPassing His Blessings
- Page 9 and 10: enteen years old,” he remembered.
- Page 11 and 12: Continued from page 9happen the nex
- Page 13 and 14: The First Baby BoomerFew people att
- Page 15 and 16: perhaps their greatest accomplishme
- Page 17 and 18: Every tidbit had to be verifiedfor
- Page 19 and 20: THE LEGENDARY STORY OFObediah’sOk
- Page 21 and 22: spot it was built. Although itwas n
- Page 23 and 24: owed assets.IRA: Individual Retirem
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- Page 29 and 30: talented.”Edie took piano lessons
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- Page 33 and 34: Why go the Distancewhen there’sCa
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- Page 37 and 38: health newsIs Poor Posture Aging Yo
- Page 39 and 40: R ENTZR&ENTZINSURANCE, INC.453 SOUT
- Page 41 and 42: continued from page 38you want to f
- Page 43 and 44: nity volunteers that believe charit
- Page 45 and 46: Still Searching for a CureToday, as
- Page 47 and 48: Tison school as a child, where she
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- Page 51 and 52: out of respect for what’s happene
- Page 53 and 54: Helping a Parent After the Loss of
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- Page 61 and 62: Annual Peaches to the BeachesYard S
- Page 63: Good “Ole” HumorGoing Visiting:
<strong>the</strong>re, and got <strong>in</strong>volved with<strong>the</strong> vocal ensemble and <strong>the</strong>drama department. I was also<strong>the</strong> editor of <strong>the</strong> number onejunior college newspaper <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>country, The Kernel.”Edie went on to UGA andearned a home economics degreewith tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> both journalismand nutrition.“The more I got <strong>in</strong>to nutrition,I found it was basically apre-med degree. It was <strong>the</strong>chemistry of food, and I justloved it! So I went from creativewrit<strong>in</strong>g to science.”When she reached <strong>the</strong> endEDIE SMITH (LEFT) AND HER HUSBAND LAMARSHOW OFF THEIR CATCHES ON A FISHINGEXCURSION TO COSTA RICA.cont<strong>in</strong>ued from <strong>page</strong> 24ily members to have breakfastwith <strong>the</strong> iconic actor JohnWayne. She was about tenyears old at <strong>the</strong> time.“He looked just <strong>the</strong> same aswhen you saw him <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> movies,”Edie recalled.Her school, Mauk Academy,closed after Edie’s eighthgrade year, and she graduatedfrom Taylor County HighSchool.Edie has always likedcook<strong>in</strong>g and enterta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, andto this day enjoys look<strong>in</strong>gthrough and read<strong>in</strong>g cookbooks.Grow<strong>in</strong>g up, shedreamed of becom<strong>in</strong>g a foodeditor for Sou<strong>the</strong>rn <strong>Liv<strong>in</strong>g</strong>magaz<strong>in</strong>e. After graduation,her parents thought <strong>the</strong> transitionfrom small Taylor Countyto <strong>the</strong> huge University of Georgiawould be tough, so <strong>the</strong>y<strong>in</strong>sisted she first attend MiddleGeorgia College <strong>in</strong> Cochran.“I was an honor graduateand headed for Georgia,” sheremembered, “but I have ayoung birthday, <strong>in</strong> September,so my parents said ‘You’re go<strong>in</strong>gsomewhere smaller first.’ Ifought that, but it was honestly<strong>the</strong> best th<strong>in</strong>g that ever happenedto me. I met Lamarof her degree program, she hadto decide whe<strong>the</strong>r to enter <strong>the</strong>field of dietetics, pursue aPh.D. and work for an <strong>in</strong>stitutionlike Emory, or branch out<strong>in</strong>to medic<strong>in</strong>e, veter<strong>in</strong>ary science,or pharmacy. This decisionwas <strong>in</strong>fluenced by ano<strong>the</strong>rfamily member from TaylorCounty.“I have an aunt who is apharmacist, who went toschool at Georgia <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>1950s,” Edie expla<strong>in</strong>s. “Shewas one of <strong>the</strong> only twowomen <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> pharmacy schoolat <strong>the</strong> time. She was a greatmentor for me and was very<strong>in</strong>strumental <strong>in</strong> my decision to26<strong>Mature</strong> <strong>Liv<strong>in</strong>g</strong> W<strong>in</strong>ter Edition
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