Carol L. Smith earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1973. A talented athlete, she participated in American Athletic Union (AAU) track events and played softball in the American Softball Association (ASA) as a teenager and young adult. Although she completed her degree in physical education, opportunities to excel in sports were limited and she pursued a variety of professional opportunities. She completed her certification and joined the Louisiana High School Athletics Officials’ Association. Successfully negotiating the male dominated organization, she was the first female to officiate boys’ high school baseball and basketball, and the first female to officiate the Sweet 16 Girls’ State Basketball Tournament. As she worked her way through college, she was the first female “lineman” hired to work for Gulf States Utilities and later the first female in plant production (instrumentation) for Ormet Corporation. In 1977, Carol became the first head coach for women’s softball at Louisiana State University. That was an era when positions for coaches of women’s sports were not full time jobs, so during that time Carol also started her construction company C. L. Smith Builders. Carol left Baton Rouge and the construction business in the late 1980’s during challenging economic times. She climbed the corporate ladder at Home Depot, relocating to Tampa, FL and later to Connecticut where she became an assistant store manager. In 1994 she returned to home and family in Baton Rouge. She is currently President and co-owner of Harvey Smith Construction. She has been active in the Capital Region Builders Association, chairing the 2007 Parade of Homes and serving on the Board of Directors since 2008. She has been involved in community service, serving as a house leader at the Women’s Build of Habitat for Humanity each year since 2005. She enjoys gardening and volunteering for special projects in the community. She continues to enjoy being physically active as she has all of her life. She has competed in the Senior Olympics in the 10K road race and softball. She ran her first half marathon at the age of 50, and hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim last year at age 58. Her professional goal is to develop viable solutions to the constant challenges that are encountered in construction and in maintaining a family-owned business in an economy dominated by corporate entities. She plans to continue her involvement in community service and maintain her physically active life style by running her first marathon to commemorate her 60th birthday.
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Carol Smith