Joe “D.K.” Smith
› Office: Hamilton County Board of Education, District 3
› Party: Nonpartisan race
› Previous public office experience: Served on Hamilton County Board of Education since 2016; former chairman State of Tennessee Athletic Commission.
› Why voters should choose me: I am a lifelong resident of District 3. I have spent the last 30 years raising two biological children and 19 foster children. My entire life has been about doing whatever I can to influence young people and helping them to mature and grow into productive, contributing members of society.
› Biggest challenge facing the office I seek: Nothing is more important in Hamilton County than the education of our young people. As a board member, I am tasked with doing whatever I can to ensure that all children in our district have an equal opportunity to get the very best education possible. At the same time, I must be fiscally responsible with taxpayer monies. Balancing these two is at times challenging and difficult.
› How I will address this challenge: As a school board member, we have one employee, the superintendent. It is our job to work closely with him/her to develop goals, policies and initiatives that are challenging, yet reasonable and obtainable, and then support, encourage and hold the superintendent accountable. I will remain committed to being open-minded and creative with regard to considering programs and initiatives that improve the education experience for our youth. I will continue to work with the superintendent and my peers on the board as we seek to grow partnerships with business and industry, community schools, philanthropists, and state and federal dollars.
› Policy position of mine that may surprise people: I am a supporter of open enrollment in our schools in Hamilton County. I believe that any child, regardless of gender, race or orientation, should be allowed to attend any school they wish, provided the school they wish to attend has openings after the children that reside in that particular school zone are given first choice. However, if a student wants to attend a school he/she is not zoned for, they must provide their own transportation. This would be a wonderful opportunity where local churches that have buses sitting in their parking lots all week, and local education advocacy groups, to step up and help students and families get to the school they wish to attend.
› Public servant I most admire: There are several; however, pursuant to the office I seek, the Hamilton County school board member that I remember and I admire the most is Everett Fairchild. For years as a school board member in Hamilton County, he fought tirelessly for every student, teacher, administrator and parent. Mr. Fairchild demonstrated daily his passion for a child’s education and was a role model for what it truly means to be a trusted public servant and school board member.
› Campaign office: 1002 Olde Mill Lane, Hixson, TN 37343
› Campaign phone: 423-400-8472
› Campaign email: jobox2win@aol.com
› Campaign website: n/a
› Campaign Facebook:
JoeSmithSchoolBoardD3
› Campaign Twitter: n/a
› Campaign Instagram: n/a
PERSONAL
› Age: 64
› Occupation: Youth counselor, coach, mentor
› Education: Red Bank High School graduate; attended Chattanooga State and University of Tennessee
Family: Married to Paula C. Smith for 43 years; two children; 19 foster children; now I am “Pops” to many grandchildren
› Residence city: Hixson
› Church/civic involvement: New Vision Church; board of directors, FCA; Friends of Hixson; Kiwanis Club of Hixson; State of Tennessee Athletic Commission; board of directors, Kids N Pros; group facilitator, Live On Point; volunteer official, USA Boxing; bivocational youth pastor; public safety committee
› Quote or saying I live by: This ain’t home; we are just passin’ through. I have come to realize that I cannot keep what I have unless I give it away. The older and wiser I get, the more I realize the brevity of this life. It’s important to me to find someone every single day to love on, to mentor, to encourage and to hold accountable. I’ve learned that the way for me to get everything in life that I want is to help others get everything in life that they want.