This red maple tree, dedicated during a ceremony in the shade of the Springmill portico, honors Lowell Smith’s long service to Mansfield City Schools and the community at large.
Symbolizing Lowell Smith’s deep roots throughout Mansfield, a tree honoring his legacy was dedicated Thursday at the entrance to Springmill Learning Center.
Smith, who passed away in January, served Mansfield City Schools for more than three decades as a teacher, coach, administrator and board of education member.
The tree, a red maple, was dedicated during the second annual elder engagement conference of the North End Community Improvement Collaborative. A small plaque at the base of the tree notes Smith’s service to the community.
“Lowell touched more corners of this city than anyone else I know,” Superintendent Brian Garverick said during the dedication ceremony. “Student achievement was his unwavering passion.
“In addition to serving Mansfield City Schools for more than 30 years, Lowell headed a teacher development program at Ashland University for 17 years. He started that. Passion poured from his heart about teachers having the training they needed.”
Board of education president Renda Cline said Smith was “a true inspiration for me, other board members and the community.”
“He was such an important part of so many people’s lives,” she said.
Renee Thompson of Ohio State University-Mansfield, one of the sponsors of the daylong NECIC program, described Smith as “such a blessing to our community.
“Lowell was such a fighter for our young people,” she said.
Jan Smith thanked the NECIC for recognizing her late husband and his many contributions to the school district and the community.
In April the board of education dedicated a plaque naming its meeting place at the Raemelton administration building as the Lowell T. Smith Board of Education Room. Smith was elected to a four-year term on the board in 2009 and served two years as its president.