Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 1 February 1996 — Page 3

The Muncie Times, February 1,1996, Page 3

Smith continued from page 1 I could better serve the Housing Authority in my current job because I would have more dealings with the tenants and residents. I felt I could work better with housing agents and tenants,” she said. But the longer she remained interim director, the greater the pressure built on her to apply for a permanent appointment Still she resisted, even when the board approached her. But she also began to think about it, to discuss the issue with her family and her pastor and to pray about it “As I served as interim director, I felt better about the job. People would stop me and tell me that I was doing a good job. Since I once lived in Munsyana Homes and raised my children in public housing, I knew that I understood the needs of the people here. My sister told me that she thought I could do a good job. “Then I gave it prayerful consideration, discussed it with my family and with those whose opinions mattered. Some of them pointed out that you don’t always have to go outside Muncie to get people who know how to do the job here. “Still, I never formally applied for the job here. The board of commissioners just kept asking me to reconsider my decision not to seek the job. I wasn’t ready. I prayed some more. I prayed to God to see if it was not right for me to take the job. Then I talked to more people, including my oldest and youngest sons. “I also talked to Deacon Willie Gholar, Jr. who told me that if I continued to pray and did what God wanted me to do then God would give me courage. I called the board of commissioners and told them that I would reconsider. I also voiced my concerns to the board and the board was receptive. When they offered me toe job, I was receptive,” she said, flashing one of her frequent smiles. Smith, 42, has come far and in the process overcome difficulties that would have defeated many people. She has had to overcome physical limitations that include poor vision. “I am almost legally blind,” the bespectacled Smith said, smiling again. “I have had surgery on both eyes. “When I was young, I suffered an injury so that I couldn’t use my right hand. I had to force myself to learn to use my left hand. Today I am left handed, but I can use both hands in coordinated activities. One time I could not walk unassisted. I was told I probably could not walk by myself again. But, through prayer and positive thinking, I was able to overcome that” As she leans back in her chair, interrupted constantly by staffers wanting to talk to her or get her signature on various documents. Smith hardly looks like someone with physical limitations. She is toe third of four children bom to toe late Bennie R. Smith and Marylouise Walker of Muncie. Her oldest sister, Stephanie Sanders, lives in New Orleans, La. An older brother, Robert, lives in Fresno, Calif. Her younger brother, Frankie Hoosier, lives in Anderson, Ind. Smith has two sons, Adrian, 25, a Burris Lab school grad who lives in Indianapolis with his wife, Erica, a Ball State graduate, and Jason, 18, a student at Clark University in Atlanta, Ga. She was bom in Whiteley, attended Longfellow Elementary School and then moved to Atlanta when she was 12. But she came back and graduated from Muncie Central High School in 1971 and then went to Ivy Tech where she earned as associate degree in business. Since then, she has received federal Housing and Urban Development certification. Her first job after Ivy Tech was as an ACTION, Inc. typist In high school she had been a mail handler for toe post office. She worked for Borg-Warner from 1973 until she was laid off in 1975. After that, it was Community Development, back to Atlanta in 1978-79, and then back to Borg-Warner in Muncie. “I returned home because my father was terminally ill,” she said. But living in Atlanta had opened her mind in ways that nothing else had done. “In Atlanta, I saw blacks who were doctors, lawyers and in other professions. I had never seen that in Muncie. I had grown up in a place like Muncie where you did not see blacks in toe professions,” she said. “When I came back to Muncie, it was easier to believe that blacks could do other jobs than just those menial ones. I began to wonder why a black person could be a doctor or lawyer in Atlanta, but not in Muncie.” While growing up in Munsyana Homes, Smith never dreamed that one day she would work for the Muncie Housing Authority, let alone be its boss. “My mother is a very strong Christian woman. She and my father raised us with a very strong work ethic. My father grew up in Union, S.C., which was very prejudiced. My mother and father respected other people and expected respect in return. We grew up under those conditions. “We also always had high self-esteem. Personally, I know that I may not always be

Jenita and family (1 to r), Linda Smith, Marylouise Walker, Robert Smith, Benita, Adrian Smith, Jason Smith, Elliott Sanders and Stephanie Sanders.

the best at what I do, but I will be the best Benita Smith doing it That’s why, although I had some physical limitations I never allowed them to stop me. Sometimes it just took longer to get things finished, but I always finished whatever I started. I also never felt that I was too good to do anything,” she said. “I grew up in Munsyana Homes. It hasn’t changed that much. But I think there is now greater acceptance of public housing and of people of color in Muncie. There is a feeling that public housing—and Muncie in general—is a good place to raise children. In Muncie you are still exposed to many good things and you are also still within driving distance to many big cities. “I liked Muncie but I never thought I would find myself in the position that I am today. It shows that if you have faith, all things are possible. I am one of those who see SMITH on page 5

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