The Exchange Club of Springfield, Ohio takes great pride in announcing that member Wayne J. Smith has been selected as the Ohio-West Virginia District Exchange Clubs Lifetime Achievement Award winner for 2016.
Mr. Smith joined the Exchange Club of Springfield, Ohio in 1974. Wayne was first elected President of the club in 1976, was re-elected in 1977, and served a third time as Club President in 2002.
Mr. Smith served as club secretary for a number of years, earning the Distinguished Secretary Award. Wayne served on the Board of Directors of the Club for many years and was an active and thoughtful participant. Wayne was also elected to the Exchange Club of Springfield Foundation and served in a number of capacities, including Secretary, of that funding arm for the Springfield club.
Wayne served on virtually every committee possible and assisted at nearly every service opportunity including Youth of the Year, Adopt-a-Highway, G-A-K-A-F-T-W, Book of Golden Deeds, serving as chairman at times as well.
Wayne’s signature project, and one that he chaired for many years, is the Kid’s Day at the Fair Project. This project began in 1949 as a “Sunshine Special” when the Exchange Club of Springfield escorted children from the Clark County Orphanage to the Clark County Fair, providing a day of fun, games, and food for them.
The games, held at the race track, are enormously popular with the youth of today as well. The various age groups up to 18, compete in Sack Races, Dash Races, the Egg Spoon Carry, and of course the Egg Toss, were organized and managed by Wayne for several decades. This year will mark the 67th year for Kid’s Day at the Fair.
Wayne has recruited a number of new members, and shared the gift of Exchange with his family including wife Dorothy.
Wayne Smith’s exemplary service to the youth and the people of Springfield and Clark County, through his 42 years of dedication and commitment to the Exchange Club’s Covenant of Service, earned for him the Ohio-West Virginia District’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Exchange Club of Springfield was chartered in 1921. The National Exchange Club Charter began in 1917, with the first club started in 1911 in Detroit, Michigan. There are some 700 Exchange Clubs nationally with over 20,000 members. The Four Pillars of Exchange are Youth, Community Service, Americanism, and the National Project, The Prevention of Child Abuse. The local club provides funding for over 30 agencies in Clark County and Projects include distributing US Flags at the Memorial Day Parade, High School Youth of the Year, Freedom Shrine Documents of Freedom, and many Child Abuse Prevention Projects. For more information about Exchange, visit our website at www.springfieldexchangeclub.org or find us on Facebook.