Andrew Smith

Swing away...

22 It’s hard to lose a loved one, especially a mother. Hampton’s Andrew Smith had to experience that recently and instead of hanging his head, Smith chose to do what a good baseball coach would tell his player to do in a slump — keep your head up and keep swinging. Smith has done just that and is touching those around him to offer encouragement and be a role model to follow.

Hampton’s Andrew Smith pushes ahead despite loss of mother

23 A ny baseball player at any level will tell you that a slump will eventually happen — sometimes it may be for only a few games and sometimes it could mean the end of a career if the problem can’t be identified as to what is causing the problem.

The first thing many players will do is lower their heads and try to overthink everything that is happening but with no end result to the slump they face.

Then there are those who close out the naysayers and listen closely to the words of the coach when they keep encouraging their player to keep swinging away.

Therein lies the key is when those bleak times come in the career of a baseball player is not to give up and hang one’s head and stop swinging but keep swinging until the bat starts making solid contact with the ball, not just a time or two but on a consistent and steady basis.

Much can be said about the game of life as it is often difficult when dark times come and it seems easier to hang the bat up and quit swinging.

But there are those who find out at an early age that when tragedy comes is not the time to stop swinging for the fences but to keep your head up and your eyes focused on the things that lie ahead.

Such can be said for Hampton High School senior Andrew Smith. Smith is much like any other young man his age as he is preparing for his final year of high school baseball as an outfielder and is making preparations to attend the University of Tennessee after making a 27 on his ACT.

The only difference is that unlike many his age, Smith is completing his senior year with someone special missing out of the equation.

His mother, Kristi, recently passed away leaving a void for Smith and his father, Todd.

“She had been feeling kind of sick for a little while,” Smith said. “We didn’t know exactly what it was because she had some health issues in the past. It turned out to be cardiac arrest and she ended up passing a couple of days later.

“It was definitely a rough period of time, very sudden and unexpected. It was a really tough time for my dad and me.”

Losing a mother for anyone at any age is a hard lick to swallow but especially for a teenager who is getting ready to make the first steps into making adult decisions.

Fortunately for Smith, he has been able to rely on his faith and people that have surrounded him and nurtured him * Story by Ivans Sanders and Photos by Ivan Sanders and Contributed*

Andrew Smith would be the first one to tell someone that although there are days that may be overcast and dreary, the best thing anyone can do is to keep your head up and keep swinging for better days.

Andrew Smith and his mother, Kristi, enjoyed watching sporting events together. In this photo, they are at a Tampa Bay Rays game at Tropicana Field in Tampa, Fla.

Andrew Smith and his father, Todd, enjoy a Tennessee Titans game together. Smith said with the passing of his mother that he and his father have developed a closer relationship.

24 through the days following the loss of his mother.

“It’s been a lot of praying and I have had a great support group around me,” Smith stated. “My family, friends, and staff here at Hampton High School along with teammates that I have had have been there for me. They have all really been good to me and encouraged me to stay up on myself and continue to be positive throughout the entire experience.”

In the days following his mother’s passing, Smith relayed that the toughest part of dealing with his loss was just finding someone else to lean on. Admittedly he followed by saying that it has been good for his father and his relationship that has grown closer. That relationship wasn’t bad before, but Kristi’s death brought a bond that has made the two stronger as a unit.

Smith’s high school baseball coach, Nicholas Perkins, knew that his player needed something to keep his mind stimulated and off the things swirling around him so as part of Smith’s community service for his Tennessee Promise hours, Perkins invited him to help coach a girl’s youth league softball team during the fall.

It was just what Smith needed at the time. “It was a really cool experience. It started out a day after practice and Coach (Nicholas) Perkins approached me and asked if I could help out with the softball team and I figured why not,” stated Smith.

“I had actually no clue as to what to expect but as the season went on I got to know some of the girls on the team a little bit better and they were a ball of personality and it was a really good way for me to keep my mind off everything and to see some good, positive energy out of everything.”

Smith has continued to keep his head up and has even been reaching out to others to try and help others that may not be going through a loss of a family member but just difficult life experiences.

“I have kind of encouraged people to stay positive because if I can Andrew Smith and his mother, Kristi, enjoyed a visit with Phillip Fulmer and Jason Witten. make it through this tragic event, and there is something that may not be as bad as what happened to me, then you can battle through yourself. It may not have been as bad as me losing mom but it’s something that can always be battled through,” commented Smith.

“I guess I would say to stay positive. Trust in God that everything is going to be OK and that he has a plan for everything and trust in his plan and stay positive.”

One of the best lessons that Smith said that his mother left with him in their short time together was not to always be the first to look at the bad or negative in a person but look more deeper into their hearts and find the good that may not always be easily seen from first impressions.

“Something that I learned from my mom that’s helped me through this is that she always saw the positive in everybody,” Smith said with a big grin. “She was a substitute teacher for a good bit of my childhood growing up so she got to see a lot of kids. Some of them were rough around the edges but she was able to see the best in them.”

Smith had nothing but high praise for his baseball family at Hampton and especially his head coach. During the darkest hour, his teammates and

coaches were present at the funeral home to support and love Smith and his father through the trying time. The game also has afforded Smith the opportunity to help keep his mind off things and surround himself with good people.

When speaking with Coach Perkins, the Bulldog skipper used words such as first-class, selfless, considerate, hard-working, and loyal to describe his senior outfielder. “Andrew Smith does so much behind the scenes for Hampton baseball, things that don’t show up in the boxscore or newspaper, but things that go toward running and building a program,” stated Perkins. “He is both a player in our program and also a trusted friend.”

Smith said that he will forever keep swinging at whatever life may throw his way because his mom ingrained in him the need to keep facing adversity with your chin up and a determination to overcome whatever adversity that one may face.

“It’s just channeling my mom,” Smith stated. “She went through a lot of adversity with her health issues throughout most of my life.

“Unfortunately, I got to see some of the ugly parts of that. It has allowed me to see that you can keep battling no matter what life throws at you. I just never thought it would get to the point where she would be gone so suddenly.”

With Smith having such a level head on his shoulders and having lessons logged in his heart and mind from Kristi’s short 41 years of life on this earth, there is no doubt that Smith won’t stop swinging and no matter what life may pitch, the young man is sure to knock it out of the park.

After his mother’s passing, Andrew decided to keep his head up and move forward as he helped his high school baseball coach with a youth league softball team. Here, Andrew helps to warm up the team before a game. Todd, Kristi, and Andrew Smith enjoyed a relative’s wedding together.

Andrew Smith joined his head baseball coach, Hampton’s Nicholas Perkins, to coach a girls softball team during the recent youth league season.

Andrew Smith had one of two choices to make after his mother Kristi passed away. Either move forward or give up. Smith elected to move forward as it would have been what his mother would have desired.

After being adopted from Germany at two and a half years old and becoming a citizen of the USA Ed Jordan grew up in Southport of North Carolina. He spent 26-1/2 years in the U.S. Army and retired as First Sergeant.

Jordan spent 19 years as a Mountain Custom Home Builder in Leadville, Colo. He relocated to Carter County in the winter of 2015.

Early spring 2016, he founded and started Carter County Proud, a grassroots volunteer organization to help combat litter and illegal dumping in Northeast Tennessee specifically Carter County and Elizabethton.

In September 2018 with the help of both Carter County and the City of Elizabethton governments along with volunteers,Carter County Proud became an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful (KAB), becoming Keep Carter County Beautiful (KCCB).

KCCB has a nine-member board consisting of two County Commissioners, one Elizabethton Parks and Recreation representative, one Carter County School representative, one City of Elizabethton Council member, one Graphics Art Designer, one Technical Expert (Electrical Engineer), and one volunteer citizen along with a secretary and Jordan as chairman.

Jordan is a member of Elizabethton Lions Club and an active member of St John’s Episcopal.

1. What do you think makes Carter County unique by comparison to other places?

It has natural beauty that no one else has nor can they manufacture: scenic mountains and the second highest mountain east of the Mississippi, Roan Mountain, two rivers, a world class lake, Watauga Lake, many beautiful natural waterfalls, many wonderful hiking trails, whitewater sports and our own Tweetsie Trail. We also have our beloved Covered Bridge along with Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park, Carter Mansion, Tennessee State Parks, Roan Mountain Community Park and Cherokee National Forest.

2. What is your favorite place to visit in Carter County?

Roan Mountain summit, waterfalls and Watauga Lake.

3. Do you think living in Carter County has changed you in any way?

It has reaffirmed me of the abundance of the natural beauty all around us that no one has anywhere else! This prodded me to want to take care of our natural beauty and environment. We have to educate others as to what we have and not trash such a God-given beautiful spot in the

world! This inspired me several years ago to start a grassroots volunteer citizens program for education, cleanup, beautification projects, enforcement and awareness campaign to

respect our natural beauty by not trashing it. Since then our grassroots volunteer

citizens previously called “Carter County Proud” has become an affiliate of

Keep America Beautiful, a national organization, and became “Keep Carter County Beautiful” to continue to inspire folks not to trash our lovely community and natural beauty.

4. What is your favorite time of year?

Springtime in the mountains!

5. If you were to meet someone planning a visit to the Carter County area for the first time, what places would you tell him or her not to miss?

This is a very hard question to answer as we have so many outdoor things to do and natural beauty to offer that they will just have to come back many times to see all of our natural beauty and what our community has to offer!

Why Do You Love Carter County?

Is it the wonderful natural resources? How about the historic downtown district? Perhaps it’s the people who make up our community? Whatever the reason, we want to know why you love it here. Tell us why you love Carter County and you could be featured in an upcoming edition of Carter County Living. Just send us a message telling us why you love Carter County. You can reach us by email at news@elizabethton.com or you can mail it to 300 N. Sycamore St., Elizabethton, TN 37643.

Area Shopping, Dining, Entertainment & Services

If you would like to advertise your business or service, call: Brandy Trivett @ 423-297-9068 or Joyce Bartlett @ 417-294-5763

Inpatient&Outpatient Therapy&Rehabilitation Services SuperiorLong &Short-term Care Call orstop bytodayfora visit!