Award Winner Spotlight: Emily Anne Smith

Emily Anne Smith has been an artist since birth, and turned her God-given talent of being able to draw literally anything she sees into a decades-long career of bringing people’s dreams to life with her skills as an architectural designer.

“I’m 83 years old and I’ve always felt that there is absolutely no substitute for experience. Whether a single-family home or a community of 200 homes, a single office or a shopping center, a duplex or a condominium, a second home retreat or an entire island resort, to Emily Anne, they all equally spark an innate feeling of exciting creative opportunity and challenge,” she said. “God willing, what we design and create will be around for many decades to come. I feel a strong responsibility that my work must add to the quality of people’s lives, functionally, visibly and visually. When somebody says they have a design or a building problem, I see an opportunity for innovation. After extensive travel in this world, I saw what southwest Florida holds for me and the quality of my life. Nowhere is the sky so blue, the cloudscapes more magnificent, the fascination and wonder more sweetened than living so close to the sea, like a celebration of life itself, where sea meets land. The destination of our rivers, the crashing of the waves, I could go on and on about my love for this special place. I’m so very happy to be here.”