A photo of Fred Smith taken at our 40th reunion, with Jay Tucker and Mike Bruce.

Fred Smith touched many lives, and a number of alumni from "our" time frame have gathered to memorialize him. One early choice might have been to name the field after him, but Locust Valley HS beat us on that; Fred spent most of his career there.

There were many discussions, and it was decided to create an endowment to send one member, male or female, of the coaching staff each year to a summer workshop of their selection.

Bill Wicker has taken the lead, and has personally guaranteed the award for the first three years, and has also contributed $10,000 to the endowment, which needs to be in the range of $100,000. Many others have donated, and the goal will be reached with donations of all sizes.

This letter was circulated among alumni of our "era":

Dear Classmates:

By now you have probably heard of the passing of Coach Fred Smith (1937-2012) last September. Fred died in Wilmington, North Carolina after a long battle with lymphoma. You may also have seen the splendid article in a recent issue of the Meeting House where many of his former players at Friends Academy commented on the considerable influence Coach Smith had on their lives.

Coach Smith and his wife Gini were members of the Friends Academy community from 1959-1967, during which time they lived on campus and started their family. Although Fred went on to great success as head football coach and Athletic Director at Locust Valley high school from 1969 to 1999 (retiring with 202 wins – 3rd in Nassau County and 4th on Long Island). His wife Gini stated in the Meeting House article, “there was a special place in his heart were he kept all his memories from Friends and every so often he would bring them out.”

Shortly after Coach Smith’s passing, a number of us contacted each other and shared the many fond memories we have of Fred. There was clearly a great deal of sentiment to do something to honor his memory. Brandt Rising ’65 and Bill Wicker ’67 met with Head of School Bill Morris and Director of Development Jim Michalek to explore the ways in which we could appropriately honor Coach Smith’s memory.

While many ideas were considered, we eventually decided upon a fund to endow an award to support the continuing education and training of varsity (girls and boys) athletic coaches. The school enthusiastically supports this concept. This fund would provide for an award to a deserving varsity coach each year and would permit attendance at a coaching clinic during the summer recess ( a copy of the exact wording of the award is attached to this letter). We believe that the “Fred Smith Memorial Coach’s Award,” given on an annual basis, will further strengthen varsity coaching in all sports and is consistent with the professionalism which Fred Smith brought to the field every day of his career. The school has further agreed that the first such award will be given to a member of the varsity football coaching staff.

In order to properly endow the award, we are seeking to raise $100,000. According to the school, attending a clinic can easily cost between $2000 and $3000. Given that the cost is likely to rise over time, we want to make sure the gift is sufficiently endowed for the future. We would very much like to conclude fund-raising by the close of the current school year in June. Given that the fund is to be perpetual, multiyear pledges would be acceptable. All checks should be made out to the Friends Academy Fred Smith Memorial Fund and should be mailed directly to the school in the enclosed envelope.

Thank you for your support.

Coach Fred Smith Memorial Fund Working Group

Think of how he coached your character and your confidence, and think of a thank- you... Bob.

Contact Kathy Fox at FA if you need more information.