Fellow Councilmen Remember Smith
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Each one took a couple of minutes to share their thoughts, memories and feelings toward Smith as his seat stood empty except for two white roses.
Smith, along with his son Scott Smith and two friends, Tony Elliott and Scott Bibler, died Friday in an airplane crash going from Warsaw to Clemson, S.C., for an away Notre Dame football game.
Councilman Jeff Grose, who has served on the council since 2000 with Smith, gave the invocation at the start of the meeting. Before the prayer, Grose read two passages from the Bible out of respect for Smith.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many,” Grose read from Mark 10:45.
Then from Galatians, Grose read, “So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit controls our lives and he will produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.”
During the prayer, Grose said the business of the city must go on, but “we pause specifically at this time for Coach and his impact, not only on this council for the past 16 years, but just everything he’s been able to do, to touch in this community, whether it’s a neighbor, co-worker, student athlete, just a friend. Coach taught me, and I know everyone in this room, how to live life and enjoy it. I just ask that we won’t forget that and we’ll remember his life in a way that will encourage us in thinking about Coach.”
He asked God to help the council to live life in a way that Smith would be proud of and respect.
After the prayer and pledge, Thallemer said he wanted the minutes of the meeting to reflect there was a quorum of six and that Smith was absent due to the “virtue of his departure from his earthly home and whose memory will not be forgotten.” He then requested a moment of silence for Smith and the other three men lost in Friday’s accident.
A few minutes later into the meeting, Thallemer said, “I know tonight Charlie would be insistent that we move ahead with the business of the city and not draw attention to him or waste valuable time. And, in deference to my fellow councilman, my next-door neighbor, my friend, (I’m) not going to honor his wishes. We’re going to delay the business of the city, we’re going to draw attention to him and we’re going to waste a little bit of time in doing so.”
One by one the six councilmen, Clerk-Treasurer Lynne Christiansen and city attorney Mike Valentine offered their thoughts and memories of Smith.
“As Charlie was so proud of this community, let us hear fellow councilmen on how proud they were of his service,” Thallemer said.
Grose said it’s been a privilege to serve with “Coach” for 16 years, and there were a lot of things going through his mind in dealing with Smith.
Grose said Smith wasn’t afraid to tell him what he thought. A year ago, Smith leaned over to Grose and told him he looked like he was putting on a little bit of weight. For Smith on Monday, Grose thought he would wear a coat and tie because Smith always did. Grose went to the back of his closet and put on his one suit for him.
“It was way too big. I lost a lot of weight. I don’t know if he would be happy about that or mad that I didn’t wear the suit and tie. That’s my relationship with Coach,” Grose said.
Though Smith did a lot of things in his life, Grose said Smith considered coaching and teaching the best years of his life. Smith coached and taught at Triton and Tippecanoe Valley schools before going into banking in 1983. Grose said Smith’s mother had a big impact on Smith’s life as his mother had an impact on his life. He also mentioned how Smith was always prepared and would always listen to others.
Councilwoman Diane Quance said like a Boy Scout, Smith was always prepared and did his homework before a meeting.
“The thing is, the person who is prepared brings other people up to their level,” Quance said.
She also said, “Charlie was always prepared, and if you were not prepared, Charlie called you out on it, often publicly.”
Even though he was prepared and had his mind made up, Quance said if you came into a meeting with a good argument and good reasons to the contrary, Smith would listen and made the best decision. Sometimes he would change his mind.
Reading from something he had prepared, councilman Mike Klondaris said, “Wisdom is being able to see the future, it’s a philosophy. Knowledge corresponds with the past. While knowledge might provide a useful point of reference as to where we’ve been, we can not become a force to guide the future. By contrast, wisdom captivates people’s hearts and imagination, and has the power to launch a new age. As a friend, colleague and a mentor, Charlie had the knowledge. But more importantly, he had the wisdom. With his guiding hand, our community is a better place because of his vision of what we could be.”
Councilwoman Cindy Dobbins recalled how before she was on the city council and was director of Warsaw Community Development Corp., Smith was really “pro” keeping downtown Warsaw alive and vibrant.
“What meant the most to me was when Charlie would take the time and stop by the WCDC office and, again, reiterate how important it was to keep our eye on the ball, that keeping downtown Warsaw vibrant and alive was really something we needed to do,” she recalled.
Councilwoman and former Clerk-Treasurer Elaine Call said financial matters were Smith’s forte on the council and he would serve on any board the mayor asked him to be on.
“He will be missed,” Call said. “... My prayers go out to the family, and I just want to say that I’m just so grateful that I had him as a part of my life. A lot of years.”
Christiansen said, “First of all, I know that Charlie really would be antsy about now because of all the fuss we’ve made so far. And he’d be done with it and ready to move on, but we’re not.”
She also said, “I really respected all the insights and opinions that Charlie sent my way, even though I didn’t always agree with him. I still respected him and I learned to respect him more and more as I learned more about Charlie.”
She also spoke about Scott Smith, Bibler and Elliott and their impact on the community.
Valentine said both he and Charlie were fighters, the same age and had lots of similar experiences.
“And then Friday, our hearts were pierced. And I love Charlie,” Valentine said.
Thallemer wrapped up the comments about Smith, saying, “What all this boils down to for me is ... Charlie was the most passionate person at anything he did. Charlie was a passionate, progressive leader in this community. And from the municipal side, that passion and that progressivism has done more for where we’re at this day.”[[In-content Ad]]
Each one took a couple of minutes to share their thoughts, memories and feelings toward Smith as his seat stood empty except for two white roses.
Smith, along with his son Scott Smith and two friends, Tony Elliott and Scott Bibler, died Friday in an airplane crash going from Warsaw to Clemson, S.C., for an away Notre Dame football game.
Councilman Jeff Grose, who has served on the council since 2000 with Smith, gave the invocation at the start of the meeting. Before the prayer, Grose read two passages from the Bible out of respect for Smith.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many,” Grose read from Mark 10:45.
Then from Galatians, Grose read, “So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit controls our lives and he will produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.”
During the prayer, Grose said the business of the city must go on, but “we pause specifically at this time for Coach and his impact, not only on this council for the past 16 years, but just everything he’s been able to do, to touch in this community, whether it’s a neighbor, co-worker, student athlete, just a friend. Coach taught me, and I know everyone in this room, how to live life and enjoy it. I just ask that we won’t forget that and we’ll remember his life in a way that will encourage us in thinking about Coach.”
He asked God to help the council to live life in a way that Smith would be proud of and respect.
After the prayer and pledge, Thallemer said he wanted the minutes of the meeting to reflect there was a quorum of six and that Smith was absent due to the “virtue of his departure from his earthly home and whose memory will not be forgotten.” He then requested a moment of silence for Smith and the other three men lost in Friday’s accident.
A few minutes later into the meeting, Thallemer said, “I know tonight Charlie would be insistent that we move ahead with the business of the city and not draw attention to him or waste valuable time. And, in deference to my fellow councilman, my next-door neighbor, my friend, (I’m) not going to honor his wishes. We’re going to delay the business of the city, we’re going to draw attention to him and we’re going to waste a little bit of time in doing so.”
One by one the six councilmen, Clerk-Treasurer Lynne Christiansen and city attorney Mike Valentine offered their thoughts and memories of Smith.
“As Charlie was so proud of this community, let us hear fellow councilmen on how proud they were of his service,” Thallemer said.
Grose said it’s been a privilege to serve with “Coach” for 16 years, and there were a lot of things going through his mind in dealing with Smith.
Grose said Smith wasn’t afraid to tell him what he thought. A year ago, Smith leaned over to Grose and told him he looked like he was putting on a little bit of weight. For Smith on Monday, Grose thought he would wear a coat and tie because Smith always did. Grose went to the back of his closet and put on his one suit for him.
“It was way too big. I lost a lot of weight. I don’t know if he would be happy about that or mad that I didn’t wear the suit and tie. That’s my relationship with Coach,” Grose said.
Though Smith did a lot of things in his life, Grose said Smith considered coaching and teaching the best years of his life. Smith coached and taught at Triton and Tippecanoe Valley schools before going into banking in 1983. Grose said Smith’s mother had a big impact on Smith’s life as his mother had an impact on his life. He also mentioned how Smith was always prepared and would always listen to others.
Councilwoman Diane Quance said like a Boy Scout, Smith was always prepared and did his homework before a meeting.
“The thing is, the person who is prepared brings other people up to their level,” Quance said.
She also said, “Charlie was always prepared, and if you were not prepared, Charlie called you out on it, often publicly.”
Even though he was prepared and had his mind made up, Quance said if you came into a meeting with a good argument and good reasons to the contrary, Smith would listen and made the best decision. Sometimes he would change his mind.
Reading from something he had prepared, councilman Mike Klondaris said, “Wisdom is being able to see the future, it’s a philosophy. Knowledge corresponds with the past. While knowledge might provide a useful point of reference as to where we’ve been, we can not become a force to guide the future. By contrast, wisdom captivates people’s hearts and imagination, and has the power to launch a new age. As a friend, colleague and a mentor, Charlie had the knowledge. But more importantly, he had the wisdom. With his guiding hand, our community is a better place because of his vision of what we could be.”
Councilwoman Cindy Dobbins recalled how before she was on the city council and was director of Warsaw Community Development Corp., Smith was really “pro” keeping downtown Warsaw alive and vibrant.
“What meant the most to me was when Charlie would take the time and stop by the WCDC office and, again, reiterate how important it was to keep our eye on the ball, that keeping downtown Warsaw vibrant and alive was really something we needed to do,” she recalled.
Councilwoman and former Clerk-Treasurer Elaine Call said financial matters were Smith’s forte on the council and he would serve on any board the mayor asked him to be on.
“He will be missed,” Call said. “... My prayers go out to the family, and I just want to say that I’m just so grateful that I had him as a part of my life. A lot of years.”
Christiansen said, “First of all, I know that Charlie really would be antsy about now because of all the fuss we’ve made so far. And he’d be done with it and ready to move on, but we’re not.”
She also said, “I really respected all the insights and opinions that Charlie sent my way, even though I didn’t always agree with him. I still respected him and I learned to respect him more and more as I learned more about Charlie.”
She also spoke about Scott Smith, Bibler and Elliott and their impact on the community.
Valentine said both he and Charlie were fighters, the same age and had lots of similar experiences.
“And then Friday, our hearts were pierced. And I love Charlie,” Valentine said.
Thallemer wrapped up the comments about Smith, saying, “What all this boils down to for me is ... Charlie was the most passionate person at anything he did. Charlie was a passionate, progressive leader in this community. And from the municipal side, that passion and that progressivism has done more for where we’re at this day.”[[In-content Ad]]
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