After 56 years of distinguished work as a Realtor, Elgin Smith is retiring. A reception held in honor of his service to his profession, his community, and his church took place Thursday, Dec. 18 at the last place he called home as a real estate agent: Prudential Realty Center in East Brainerd.
Smith was originally licensed on Aug. 26, 1958. He first worked with Carroll Groner and Groner Realty.
He opened his own company, Elgin Smith Agency, in January 1961. He later incorporated the company as Elgin Smith, Inc., Realtors.
In 1968, Smith organized Town & Country Developers, Inc., and developed several subdivisions, including Williamsburg Estates and Hurricane Creek Estates in the East Brainerd area.
Smith was elected president of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors in 1966. He was asked to serve a second term in 1967. He served as president of the Tennessee Association of Realtors that same year.
In 1968, he was named Realtor of the Year for the Chattanooga Board of Realtors and also for the Tennessee Association of Realtors.
Smith served on many committees of the National Association of Realtors between 1967 and 1987.
In 1972, Gov. Windfield Dunn appointed Smith as a commissioner on the Tennessee Real Estate Commission. He served three years.
Smith served as president of the TAR a second time in 1989.
In 1990, Smith merged Elgin Smith, Realtors with Hale Realty.
During Smith’s more than five decades as a Realtor, he made time to serve his community well. He served in 1972 and 1973 as Civilian Chairman of Chattanooga’s Armed Forces Week. The 1972 celebration won the Freedom Foundation’s Gold Medal Award. Smith was a member of the Chancellor’s Roundtable at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and was on the committee that developed UTC’s “Roundhouse.” He was Chairman of the Better Business Bureau in 1983 and 1984.
Smith is a World War II veteran of the U.S. Navy and has served as a deacon at Brainerd Baptist Church. He’s married to Jean Smith, his wife of 65 years. Together, they have one child, three grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.
For more photos, pick up a copy of the Hamilton County Herald.