Pub. 59 2018-2019 Issue 4

32 Smitty’s support and help over the years, we would not have grown our family‘s business. Smitty loved being a car dealer. He was a dealer for over 60 years. He was always a gentleman and treated every employee with respect, no matter their position. Smitty loved his family; he and Lenora were married for 67 years. They have five children, 13 grandchildren, and now 28 great grandchildren with one on the way. It was always the grandchildren and later the great grandchildren that would bring the biggest smile to Smitty’s face. Smitty had three other passions in life after family and the car business — UT football, Boating on Lake Travis, and Quail Hunting. It would be very difficult to rank which one he loved the most. Smitty also had a deep passion for TADA. He served on the Board for a number of years and always encouraged us to do the same. He said more than once that you need to be involved and support TADA. It is the strongest and most effective Association in the nation. In 1989, Smitty was honored as one of the NADA Time Quality Dealers. In closing, I know if Smitty was with us tonight, he would be humbled and honored to be receiving this award. He was a young man who went to war to fight and defend the freedom of this country. He was a small-town dealer who loved serving his community. He was a risk taker, moving to Houston and expanding his family business. He loved the car business, he respected both his employees and customers, and he was always proud of his growing family. So, on behalf of the entire Smith family, I would like to thank TADA and its members in recognizing W. C. Smith as a Texas Legend.   TADA LEGEND — CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31