Page 12 October 22, 2020 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
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President Smith from front page
talents. Her road to receiving a college
degree was circuitous, though. Initially, she
attended DePauw University in Indiana. She
said that it was “kind of my father’s choice,
not mine. I didn’t fit in.” She bailed after a
year-and-a-half and traveled to Spain, where
she met her boyfriend at the time. Smith
finally received her college degree in 1987
at the age of 41.
Although she was working her way up the
corporate ranks at the iconic bowling business
Brunswick Corporation, she had not been
interested in pursuing a business degree. She
said she found the Liberal Arts curriculum
offered “so much more fun,” noting that she
had “promised my Dad before he died, that
I would finish college.”
The Brunswick Corporation has been around
for more than a century and is based out of
the Chicago area. Smith worked in multiple
areas of the corporation, finally landing in
the bowling center division, helping to operate
about 250 bowling centers across the
country. She called Brunswick “a second
family to me.” Smith said that she was “never
much into sports,” but was assigned to run
a bowling center in Denton, Texas. “It was
the toughest job that I ever had,” she said.
She said she had not really bowled much
but was told that, as a Midwestern gal, the
Texas pin-busters would have little respect
for her business decisions unless she upped
her bowling game. So, she joined a local
women’s league, a mixed league, and “actually
got pretty good.”
Next on her travails was a move to Georgia.
Moved there for “a man,” she said. While
working for Brunswick as a purchasing
agent, she was sent by her boss to Dalton,
Georgia, “the carpet capital of the world,” to
design carpet for company bowling centers.
As luck would have it, she met a gentleman
while she was in Georgia and decided to stay,
garnering her real estate license, which she
utilized for nearly two decades.
Business tailed-off real estate wise, so she
explored an opportunity with the tax-filers
H&R Block. “I am not a numbers person,”
she said, “but I am a good interviewer and
good asker of questions.” She has worked
for H&R for two decades, calling it a “great
part-time job, great for my mind,” she said,
noting the continuing education classes that
are required for a tax preparer to complete
prior to each tax season.
A grandmother of five, Smith knew that
she would be the victim of property-priced
sticker shock when she relocated to El
Segundo. She said that when she was living
in the Peach State, her mortgage for a
three-bedroom house was $900. Good luck
finding similarly priced digs here, right? But
she had a plan and got on the residency list
for the Park Vista senior housing complex
and is happy residing there with their affordable
rates.
When not Zooming Rotary meetings,
Smith said she is looking for a convenient
and comfortable venue to partake in ballroom
dancing. She also swims regularly
and peddles a bicycle.
Smith said that she had planned to get a
California real estate license when she moved
here, but her son Drew prevailed upon her to
manage, “for a few months,” his 1-800-Got-
Junk franchise. Five-plus years later, she is
still involved with the business, marketing
primarily to Realtors. She is also affiliated
with other off-shoot businesses (Hazawaytoday
and You Move Me) that the entrepreneurial
Boyles has started.
So how did a former bowling center operator
and real-estate agent end up as the El Segundo
Rotary Club president? Smith said she met a
couple of affiliated ladies in Hawthorne and
Drew suggested that she “check-out” the El
Segundo Rotary Club, and she said it “really
clicked for me. Fun people, great projects,
I love the idea of the service that we are
doing.” She became a Board member, then
ascended to the Presidency in July of this
year. “It is a great honor,” she said.
Smith said living and toiling in El Segundo
reminds her of her Midwest upbringing, noting
many move into the area for the high-quality
school system. “People here are so willing
to participate in things,” she said, noting an
earlier Rotary program that was launched in
the earliest stage of the pandemic to benefit
seniors that garnered 175 volunteers in the
community to serve their fellow citizens
who were locked-down. “It really blew my
mind,” Smith said, “that so many people in
the community stepped up and said, “yeah,
I want to do this.”
Local realtor Shiela Fowler considers
herself a great friend of Smith’s. “Val and
I originally met through the El Segundo
Auxiliary of Children’s Hospital,” she said.
“We quickly developed a friendship. One day
while attending my Rotary Club meeting, I
surprisingly saw Val. We laughed, and our
friendship bond grew even closer. The real
coincidence in our relationship is while I was
celebrating my birthday on January 17th, she
was in the hospital giving birth to her son,
Drew! So, you can say, the three of us have
a unique relationship.”
“Val and I truly respect each other,” Fowler
continued. “We have conversations about our
many travels and how we are so enriched
by living in so many different states. I truly
admire Val for her work ethic, whether it be
supplementing her income or volunteering in
our community.”
Said Smith’s friend Adele Bouett: “Val
is an asset to El Segundo for the numerous
philanthropic organizations she belongs to.
She does this with a dedication one does
not often find. I know that she puts so much
thought and care into the meetings and
members. Not to forget raising money and
making sure the organizations are deserving
and represent the consensus of the club.”
“When I first moved to El Segundo, she
introduced me to so many people, and I
decided there that if this was the quality of
people in El Segundo, I want to live here.
She is kind and thoughtful and always has a
smile on her face. She also listens when you
talk, which can be rare in these times. Val
says what she means and means what she
says. If she says, she will do something she
does, not empty sayings in her book. She is
a loyal friend. Last year I had some serious
back surgery that was only supposed to have
me in the hospital for a week. It did not go
as planned, and I was there a month. She
was there to visit and support my recovery.
She would do things for me that I took for
granted before, like going to the market,
picking up meds, and trying to deal with the
plethora of medical folks. She helped me
with my dog: all the little and big things. I
do not know how I would have come as far
as I have without her help. She just showed
up and did it.”
Like the rest of us, Smith is looking forward
to the time when we can return to a
sense of normalcy, have in-person meetings,
and nurture social contacts. Until that time
comes, Smith will continue fulfilling her
Rotary Club duties, stay current on tax laws,
and, hopefully, find a venue to indulge her
passion for ballroom dancing. •
Valerie Smith