Andrea Smith reluctantly passed the gavel to a pleased Mary Chuinard during a Ford Scholar Alumni Association Board of Directors meeting in Eugene, Ore. Smith led the Ford Scholar Alumni Association for 10 years, passing the title of president to Chuinard on July 13, 2013.<\/p>\n

Smith attended the first FSAA Conference in September of 2003 in Eugene and became part of the interim board of directors. That initial group of alumni created the FSAA bylaws and secured 501c7 nonprofit status.<\/p>\n

It quickly became apparent that the FSAA was much more than a \u201csocial club\u201d to benefit its members.  It qualified as a 501c3, a more difficult status to obtain, but one with many advantages.<\/p>\n

\u201cApplying for and receiving our 501c3 award in 2010 \u2013 on our first try \u2013 was probably the most important accomplishment during my presidency,\u201d Smith said. Donations became tax deductible, and as the organization grows, it will be eligible to apply for grants that aren\u2019t available to other types of nonprofits.<\/p>\n

Smith was the first applicant interviewed for the Ford Scholars Program and was from the first Ford Scholar Class of 1994. She was one of the first 16 graduates of the program and became the first FSAA president when elections were held in the summer of 2006. Smith was re-elected in the spring of 2010 and served until this past July. Smith was honored with the title of FSAA Board of Directors President Emeritus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like our first few years were dedicated to laying a strong foundation,\u201d Smith recalls. They learned a lot \u2013 often by trial and error \u2013 and improved as a result. No one had experience starting or operating a nonprofit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was basically, \u2018Let\u2019s try it and see if it works!\u2019\u201d Smith said. \u201cFortunately, Ford Scholars are a smart, resilient and determined bunch.  What we lacked in experience, we made up for with pure ingenuity and stubbornness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAndrea\u2019s status as the \u2018first\u2019 Ford Scholar and \u2018first\u2019 FSAA president are a fitting tribute to her initiative and leadership skills,\u201d said Scholarship Program Manager Tricia Tate. \u201cHer heart-felt commitment and appreciation to Kenneth Ford and the Foundation has been expressed many times. She truly \u2018gave back\u2019 by helping lay the foundation for a strong FSAA.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to leadership, Smith\u2019s motto is: \u201cThe leader is the servant of all.\u201d She says she tried to do whatever she could to facilitate the success of the FSAA, her fellow board members and the entire Ford Scholar community.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to lead an entire organization full of leaders is very much like herding cats. But in a good way,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWorking on behalf of the FSAA has been one of the most fulfilling, frustrating, challenging and rewarding experiences ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tate said, \u201cWe know Andrea will continue to be active with FSAA, and we hope to have many more opportunities to enjoy her engaging personality, warmth and wonderful sense of humor!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andrea Smith reluctantly passed the gavel to a pleased Mary Chuinard during a Ford Scholar Alumni Association Board of Directors meeting in Eugene, Ore. Smith led the Ford Scholar Alumni Association for 10 years, passing the title of president to Chuinard on July 13, 2013.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Mary-Andrea-for-the-web.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8g73C-3j","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":857,"href":"https:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205\/revisions\/857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}