Liz said she decided to focus on the top ten people in her life and how they influenced her.

 

First, her Mom and Dad. Liz was born in Philadelphia and called Betty Jean through the 6th grade when she dropped the Jean part. Then in college she dropped Betty to use her more formal name Elizabeth. She said her mom taught her to knit – which she loves to do. Her dad was a musician who played the trombone and had been with Tommy Dorsey. Then he became a printer and when she was in the 3rd grade they moved to CT. There she met Karen Nickerson and they are still friends today!

 
In high school she met Floyd Frederic Smith. They were married the week before high school graduation as a way to avoid the draft. She said “My goal was to have five kids by the time I was 30. And every two years I had a child which kept my husband out of the draft.”
 
In 1979, Rosco Ostrander let her know about a motel that was for sale on Cape Cod: Cove Bluff’s Motel. They signed the papers to purchase the motel, but running it turned out to be overwhelming for her. She wasn’t exactly making a living so she took a job at the middle school. Here she met Sue Neiman who suggested she should go to college. She took a course in psychology that was offered at the middle school which opened a whole new world for her. She started going to Cape Cod Community College and took 7 years to complete 2 year degree.  
 
She determined to go on to a bachelor’s program. She visited Wellesley College with one of her teachers and fell in love with it. Committed to attending there and finished her bachelor’s degree in 3 years.  
 
With degree in hand she knew she needed a job and ended up applying for and being hired as the executive director of the Orleans Senior Center. She was there for almost 20 years and when that ended she was not sure what to do next.
 
Her daughter is the next person to influence her. She attended a retreat where she learned to live in the moment rather than bringing the past into the present. She was recruited by Sea Shore Manor in Provincetown but left there when she was then recruited by Harbor Point (working with dementia patients) to be executive director. This turned out to be a sales position which she didn’t like. So she left there and went to back to the middle school as substitute teacher.
 
This year, she applied for the position of executive director for the Homeless Prevention Council headquartered in Orleans and was offered the position by the board of directors. She said she is very excited to be in this position doing social services and touching base with local people she has known for years. A big part of her work is fund raising and she is launching a “key campaign” and finding it easy to reach out to people who can donate $10,000 to the organization.   
 
Liz said she took up tennis in her 40’s and loves it! She is part of a group of players who meet regularly. She also has started to travel internationally, and the past school year housed 3 international students which she enjoyed.  When asked why she is a Rotarian, she said “The mission and purpose inspired me.”