It’s SAFE to see this lady with a heart for kids is OUT there getting it done!

If I made a list of highly motivated people who love to learn, are creative, and are fun-loving, the list would have to include Karen Smith of Huntsville. I would also add that she is a “great achiever” and has taught in public schools and summer camps for many years and has umpired girls’ softball for over 28 years. Karen is a person you would want on your “good friend” list. Let’s get acquainted with this multi-talented lady!

Please share some background information.

I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but moved at age one to Fort Bragg in North Carolina. I spent my entire upbringing at Fort Bragg (now renamed Fort Liberty). My dad was in the military for 31 years. I have two sisters and one brother. My sisters and I attended parochial school until my sixth-grade year, at which time we moved to Germany for two years. We moved back to Fort Bragg where I rode a bus into Fayetteville to attend junior high school. My dad was eventually assigned to Korea, and we moved to Maryland where we lived with our grandparents. My grandfather encouraged me to get involved in sports and I played basketball, ran track, and was on the archery team, as well as a member of Future Homemakers of America (FHA) and Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).

We returned to Fayetteville a year later, where I graduated from high school and attended a business college, Worth Business School. Immediately upon graduation, I landed a job with Civil Service on the military post in the self-service supply center. This was like the “Walmart” of the Army. In addition, I met my future husband, Bruce Smith, and we have been married for 56 years.

Sounds like you lived “life on the move.” Hopefully, the following years were a little more settled.

No, not really! Fortunately, I knew “the life” well. Bruce served in the military police and was a helicopter pilot. By this time, we lived in Huntsville, and he was assigned to Viet Nam from 1969-1970. He suggested that during his absence, I attend Sam Houston State University, and I jumped at the idea. His parents lived next door and were able to take care of our baby while I attended school. Along with studying, I wrote a letter to Bruce every night. Upon his return, we were assigned to Fort Rucker, Alabama, where he was a helicopter instructor for pilots going to Viet Nam. After that, he was assigned to Ft. Lewis, Washington, for three years. While there, I was involved in running, racquetball, and bowling, and served as secretary for the Officer’s Wives’ Club.

Bruce received his next assignment which was to Panama. I was sharing this with an acquaintance who had orders for Alaska. He was also a pilot. I jokingly mentioned aloud that it would be great to make a trade on assignments. This was on a Sunday. By Friday, my husband was reassigned to Alaska. We were thrilled, and off we went! While there, I worked in a school for physically and mentally challenged children. This was a new experience, but I reaped an abundance of rewards in doing so. Learning some basic sign language helped immensely to communicate with these children. I taught them how to sign “I love you” and “I really love you.” One of the kids asked me how to sign someone the words, “I hate you,” and I just responded that I didn’t know. Staying positive is always best! Knowing some basic sign language has helped in other situations down the road.

After Alaska, we moved to Kansas for a year, then on to Florida. I graduated from a community college and then attended The University of Central Florida in Orlando for my final two years, graduating in 1983 with a major in Physical Education and a minor in Biology. I was awarded the most outstanding physical education student and graduated Cum Laude. We moved to Weatherford, Oklahoma, where I worked for a brief time at a McDonald’s as manager and hosted the kids’ birthday parties. They figured me as a party person! I do love kids and delight in making their lives fun and memorable.

Word got around that this “new girl” had a secondary teaching degree, so that led first to a substitute teaching role, then fulltime, teaching 7th and 8th-grade science for the next three years. I was also given the responsibility of starting a pep club which eventually numbered 125 students and was also sponsor for the cheerleaders. In 1987, Bruce retired, and we moved back to Huntsville.

Finally, here in Huntsville to stay! Tell us more.

Upon retiring, Bruce remarked that he was going to take care of me like I did for him, so I embarked on a teaching career for 27 years, retiring in 2011. I taught at Huntsville Junior High, Huntsville Intermediate School, and Mance Park Junior High. In 1995-96, I was HISD Teacher of the Year and Region 6 Teacher of the Year. I love kids and enjoy seeing them learn and be successful. During a seventh-grade science class, I taught the students how to extract DNA from a strawberry. I took them through the tedious experiment step-by-step, stressing the importance of doing every step well, and all twenty-eight kids were successful. This is what teaching is all about! It’s how I have taught my HEAP and Camp Invention courses each summer.

HEAP is the Huntsville Enrichment Activity Program each summer during June for kids aged 6-13. I’ve taught science activities to ages 6-9, entitled MAD SCIENCE, for the past 30 years. My goal has been to make sure the kids can be successful. We’ve learned about inertia using balloons, using stethoscopes to learn about our hearts, making rockets out of film canisters, and performing other experiments to bring science concepts to life. I also enjoy teaching the kids one fact about the American flag each day, such as, “Is there ever a time that it is appropriate to fly the American flag upside down?”

Another summer program that has been a success and is rewarding to me is CAMP INVENTION. This is a weeklong program for grades 1-6. During a week’s session, we work on four projects, with one of these always being a robot. The kids love it, and it sure makes those little minds churn. I’ve had the pleasure to work with this program for 15 years.

You are one busy lady! There is one more endeavor that we want to discuss, and that is your involvement with Huntsville Girls’ Softball.

I’ve been involved in this for over 30 years! I serve as Vice President of the Sam Houston Umpires Association. I learned about umpiring in college. In 1987, when moving here, there was a women’s church league, and umpiring was right up my alley. I was a beginner at this, but quickly became comfortable in the role. I’ve enjoyed working with both younger and older girls’ softball leagues and, as in everything else, my goal is to be fair and encouraging to the kids. Known for my loud voice, I used it to clear raucous spectators out of the stands. This was not a Huntsville group, I might add. Another thing I do when time allows is to explain a rule to a questioning parent. The rules do change every year, and the better the parents understand the rules, the more positive the experience is for both girls and spectators. I love umpiring and am grateful to have had many years in doing so.

Aside from teaching and sports, do you have time for other responsibilities or hobbies? Also, what advice would you pass along to young and old alike?

Bruce and I attend St. Thomas Catholic Church, where I serve in several capacities including Eucharistic minister, a lector, and a sacristan, and we visit nursing homes to deliver the body of Christ. We also help with food drives at Thanksgiving and Christmas by organizing and delivering food and gifts to families, and I paint faces at the church bazaar. And there is always time for family. We have two married children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

My hobbies include reading, calligraphy, and sewing. I’m always happy to take on sewing projects for friends to mend things that look to be beyond repair. And, of course, I can’t leave out my love of cooking. My favorite recipes include chicken and rice, buttermilk pound cake, and a chicken enchilada recipe I created. For a quick meal after a full day of work, pulled pork roast is a favorite. In the morning, I put a pork roast in the crockpot, pour a can of Coke over it, and cook it on low all day. Shred, add your favorite barbecue sauce, and enjoy on a bun or baked potato. It is a delicious way to top off a productive day!

My advice to a person of any age is to view every day as a practice. Every day, you are practicing for something. You don’t know what it is until you are called to try something new. And that’s what I do, and what I have done all my life. My jobs have never been work. I have loved every single day!