Amasa Smith Sr
Amasa Gurley Smith Sr (born October 2, 1906 in El Paso, Texas; died February 27, 1995 in Birmingham) was an engineer and executive for the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company and founding president of the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama.
Smith grew up in El Paso and attended the Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy there before entering the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After graduating in 1929 he returned to west Texas to take a construction job with the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. The following year he was assigned to the engineering department of the company's Birmingham office.
Smith was promoted to vice president in 1964 and joined the board of directors in 1965. He also served on the board of the Associated Industries of Alabama He retired in 1971.
Smith married the former Sara Bates and had four children.
As a civic leader, Smith served as president of the Rotary Club of Birmingham in 1954 and president of the executive committee of the Boy Scouts Birmingham Area Council from 1955 to 1957. He chaired the "United Appeal" campaign for Birmingham Community Chest in 1959 and also served on the board of directors for the Metropolitan YMCA and the board of deacons for South Highland Presbyterian Church. He served terms as president of the Downtown Club, The Club, and the Country Club of Birmingham.
Amid mass layoffs in Birmingham's steel industry in 1980, Smith led efforts to establish a food bank at United Way-Community Chest and served as the initiative's president. The project was spun off as the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama in 1982.
Smith died in 1995 and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.
References
- "Amasa G. Smith" obituary (February 28, 1995) The Birmingham News
External links
- Amasa Smith Sr at Findagrave.com