District 1: Joseph E. Smith, Chairman

Your commissioner, Joe Smith is proud to call St. Lucie County home and is pleased to serve as your elected representative. A product of Fort Pierce, Commissioner Smith has lived here for nearly all his life.

Commissioner Smith received his Master of Arts degree from The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management in Washington, D.C. in 2001. He earned a Bachelor's degree with double majors in the fields of Organizational Communication and Political Science from the University of Central Florida in 1999. Commissioner Smith has also earned his Commissioner Certification through the Florida Association of Counties.

Smith is a native of Fort Pierce and a 1995 graduate of Lincoln Park Academy, the same school his mother and sister attended. As a young man in St. Lucie County, Smith showed extraordinary capacity for leadership in the community. He served as an adviser to former Superintendent David Mosrie and helped pioneer after-school programs and business partnerships. His first job was working after-school as a production assistant at WQCS 88.9FM, broadcast from Indian River Community College.

Commissioner Smith received the Bronze Congressional Award in 1993. In 1995, Smith received the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award, and the coveted Young Floridian Award, in Music. Commissioner Smith owes his recent success to the good sense and strong convictions he learned in the community where he lives.

While serving as grassroots manager for the Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN), Smith directed advocacy strategies for The Episcopal Church. As a registered lobbyist, he met with U.S. Senators and Representatives to address issues of such importance as the fight against domestic poverty, environmental stewardship and the global funding of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs. Under his tenure, the EPPN expanded to include more than 11,000 members while serving a faith community of nearly 2.5 million. Smith also served as coordinator of the National Utility Contractors Association.

Commissioner Smith currently serves as Chair of the Executive Roundtable. He is a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), graduate of the Citizens Academy #4 with the St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office, and is a member of the UCF Alumni Association, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Lincoln Park Main Street. A life-long Episcopalian, Smith serves on the Vestry at St. Simon's Church in Fort Pierce.

Commissioner Smith is the youngest of four siblings (James, Michael, Carolyn) educated in St. Lucie County Public Schools and is the son of James H. Smith, Jr. and Carolyn M. Smith.

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