Noah Smith was inducted into the South Campbell County Rotary Club on Tuesday. He is pictured here with his sponsor Ann Ayers Colvin after receiving his Rotary pin.

 By Charlotte Underwood 

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – WLAF Alum Noah Smith guest spoke at the South Campbell County Rotary Club luncheon on Tuesday at the LaFollette Methodist Church.

Smith is the assistant to the University of Tennessee President Randy Boyd in Knoxville.

A Campbell County native, Smith graduated from UT this past December and was hired at the university before he graduated. 

Last summer, he was a legislative intern for Bill Haggerty and has also served on the Campbell County School Board. Smith is an Eagle Scout and was the 2016 Boy Scout of the Year. 

He is currently working on obtaining his pilot’s license. 

Smith was also inducted into Rotary as its newest member. His name was proposed by longtime Rotarian Ann Ayers Colvin. 

He said he was excited to join Rotary and was a past recipient of a Rotary scholarship. The 23- year- old is among the youngest Rotarians to join the club.

“I’m honored to be a part of it and appreciate all that this club does for the community,” Smith said. 

He spoke briefly about the University of Tennessee and his position there, as well as the record growth taking place with the university throughout the state.

He said there was a lot of exciting things going at UT with record growth at all of the university’s locations across the state.

The University of Tennessee has seen a three to four percent of growth over the past year. 

“We took in a record amount of freshman last year. Record growth also comes with the need for expansion,” Smith said.

Noah Smith was inducted into the South Campbell County Rotary Club on Tuesday. He is pictured here with his sponsor Ann Ayers Colvin.

He spoke about the creation of UT Southern in Pulaski County to help meet this growth.

University of Tennessee in Knoxville is also contracting with the private sector to have three new dorms built to meet the housing need.

He spoke about the “Grow Your Own” program and its push to get more vets, doctors, dentists and teachers through school and into the workforce across the state.

“We need vets, doctors, dentists and teachers in Tennessee and here in Campbell County as well. We’re partnering with rural areas to pump resources into rural Tennessee and looking how to grow these areas and sustain our living in rural Tennessee,” Smith said.

According to Smith, something the university is looking at is how it can help combat the opioid and drug addiction epidemic.  He said UT was looking at strategic and innovative ways to try to solve these challenges across the state.

According to Smith, it’s the people in this county and community that make the difference.

“Never forget where you come from, never forget your roots, and I never will. I love rural Tennessee, I love Campbell County and we’re looking at ways to benefitting Campbell County,” Smith said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 03/29/2023-6AM)

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