The backstory
Originally from Lewisville near Dallas, Smith began his teaching career at New Braunfels High School. He then became a teacher and later an assistant principal in Keller ISD. After returning to New Braunfels in 2005, he served in Comal ISD schools as assistant principal of curriculum. In 2020, Smith became principal of NBHS before retiring in June 2024, dedicating 28 years to education.
Explaining the role
Smith continues to serve his community with the same passion, this time with a new age group.
“I have a servant's heart,” Smith said. “I've served my community for 28 years, and this job seemed to be a very easy transition to continue to serve.”
As executive director, Smith said he wants CCSCF members to age happily and vibrantly.
Smith spoke to Community Impact about his new role and what the CCSCF does in the greater New Braunfels area. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What has it been like serving a new age group?
First of all, it's a day-to-day operation here, and we try to provide a place for our members to come for a variety of activities. Some come here for fellowship because they live alone. We give them a place to be in community with other people by providing a wide variety of physical activities like water aerobics, tai chi, chair aerobics, wood carving. We have all sorts of different things that we provide for 50-year-olds and older.
What should members know about you and how you’ll support them?
Primarily I want seniors to know they are loved and cared for and that they are not forgotten. I want members to know that this is their place to thrive and age vibrantly. Our members are very vocal, and we want them to share ideas on how to improve use of our facility.
As you take on this position, what do you want to do differently, and what do you look forward to?
One of the things that we're trying to do is to, obviously, service more people. We have about 880 members right now in a very large community. We are partnering with the city’s parks and recreation department, the library and fire department in January with new ideas to see how we can better serve our senior community. I don't know exactly what that partnership is going to turn into, but I'm excited about that.
What are current needs for the foundation?
I'm trying to figure out how to better utilize our facility. We are looking into partnering with other outside agencies for multiuse of our building, but the biggest challenge for us, and really any nonprofit, is the funding source. Through the Alamo Area Council of Governments, we are only reimbursed for some of the meals we provide. We fundraise for meals that are not funded by AACOG, which is about $41,000 a month. We get support by our community, and we have an amazing community and grants that come in. We also depend on volunteers and donations.
- 710, Landa St., New Braunfels
- www.nbsenior.org
