Hot Spring County legend to be honored this Saturday by Golden Achievers
While today more and more people are recognized for what they achieve by way of social media or some other form of internet sharing, there is one group of people that is often ignored. Septu, octo, and nonagenarians often do not get the recognition for their lives that they deserve.
The Golden Achievers was created by Carolyn Cooley about six years ago.
“I wanted to expand recognition to other people,” Cooley said.
Cooley was in church many years ago and realized that, while her church was recognizing people over 80, every week it was the same few people. “I wanted to recognize people not just in the local church,” said Cooley, so that’s why she started The Golden Achievers.
Just in the first year, Cooley and her team were able to host the Achievers at none other than the state capital. “We decorated it, had live entertainment, and we recognized the first group,” she said.
Little did Cooley know, she had a lot to learn about her distinguished guests. “Unbeknownst to me when I did this, it was several people’s first time at the state capital,” she said. “I was like ‘ wow!’ You’re eighty and you live in the Little Rock area and you’ve never been to the state capital? That blew me out of the water and made me more adamant to recognize people like this.”
The Achievers didn’t stop at the state capital, however. They’ve even had engagement from the national capital.
“The first year,” Cooley explained, “I wrote to the White House. I sent ( the Achievers) birthday to them and I received cards from the White House to give them on their special days.”
Cooley’s main mission is to recognize these elderly people while they’re still around to feel the admiration. When they do pass, however, the admiration doesn’t stop. Each year the Achievers hold a special event honoring Golden Achievers, both alive and perished.
While Cooley certainly has her hands full with The Golden Achievers, she isn’t alone. “My programs are put together by a young girl out of Houston,” she explained, “and another girl from Alabama. I know what I like and what I want, but they put it together for me. I have the vision and they have the skills.”
None of the success of the Achievers would be possible without the committee behind it, either. The committee includes Calvin Anderson, Angela Griffith Nerkirk, Edward Thomas, and Stephen L. Cooley. “They are blessed with talents and gifts to implement my deep thoughts for this project,” Cooley said.
While recognizing those who deserve it is at the top of the list for Cooley, she and the committee are always looking for different ways to do this. One such project brought The Golden Achievers to Malvern.
A few years ago, Cooley and her team began working on collecting oral histories of the elderly throughout Arkansas. “I have connections with so many different people,” Cooley explained, “so I contacted them and asked if they had interest in telling these stories.”
In her search for stories, she was led to Malvern. “We came down to Malvern and interviewed some people in 2019,” she said. “George Miller Smith was one of them.”
George Miller Smith was born in Leola in 1931. He moved to Malvern in 1951.
He started a business in the town, Smith’s Wrecker Service, and operated it until he was 87. A retired volunteer fireman for Perla Fire Department and a former reserve deputy for the Hot Spring County Sheriff’s Department, Smith cared deeply about his town.
Smith was a member of Bethel A. M. E. Church and served as steward, choir member, treasurer, trustee, and security guard. He was an usher for more than 60 years.
Smith’s eldest son is the reverend of the very church his father spent so much time at. Reverend Rex Smith couldn’t be happier at the honor that The Golden Achiever’s are posthumously bestowing upon his father.
“I’m 67, so I’ve been knowing dad for many years,” Smith said. “I’m a reverend, and I’m the one who did his eulogy at our home church.”
Smith lost his father earlier this year, but at his age, he is no stranger to death. “I lost my brother, sister, older sister, and my mom,” Smith said.
Smith’s father suffered from dementia and Alzheimers in his later years, so it took a lot of care to make him comfortable. “I took care of my mother for six years with her battling Stage 4 breast cancer,” Smith said. “She used to talk about things going on with him, but I really didn’t understand it until later.”
After his mother’s death, Rex Smith took on the full time responsibility of caring for his ailing father. “That’s when I really took on the task of making sure he was going to be okay,” Smith said. “I did whatever I could to make sure everything was going to be alright. Just like the bible says, ‘ honor thy father and thy mother.’”
Smith’s father, affectionately known as “Miller” to his friends, was a known entity in Hot Spring County and surrounding areas. “I swear, I bet there’s not too many people that didn’t know him,” Smith said.
There was a reason that Smith’s father’s name was seemingly known by everyone. “If he saw someone along the highway or on the side of the road, he’d pull over and see how he could help them,” Smith said. “I don’t think anybody could say too much of a bad thing
about him.”
Since he was a young boy, Rex Smith’s father taught him values to live by. “He was a hard working man, and I’m the same way,” Smith said. “I don’t let the grass grow under my feet.”
While “Miller” was loved by most, he couldn’t help but let others know how he felt as well. “He told the people he loved that he loved them,” Rev. Smith said. “Cousins, uncles, friends… he’d just go up to them and say ‘ I love you.’ People come up to me all the time and tell me that.”
Carolyn Cooley knew she found something special when she stumbled upon George Miller Smith’s story. “Mr. Smith stuck out to me,” Cooley said. “He could not read nor write, but he worked at several businesses and cared for his family the entire time.”
Cooley and the Achievers had plans to honor Smith this year. “When we were talking about who we were going to honor, his name popped up in my head,” Cooley said. “Unfortunately, he passed away before our event.”
Cooley does not take The Golden Achievers lightly. “We don’t get paid to do any of this, all of this is volunteer,” said Cooley. “I care so much about this project. It gives us a chance to say thank you to the people for what they’ve done.”
The Golden Achievers will honor Smith, along with others who have made differences similar to his, on Saturday at 9: 30 a. m. The celebration will occur at 1624 Welch in Little Rock.
While George Miller Smith may have passed away on May 8, he will not soon be forgotten. “I think about him every day,” Rev. Smith said. “I may not see ninety, but I tell you what, I thank God every day that he gave my dad ninety.”