Ray Smith

The Ray Smith Endowed Scholarship was established in 1984 in honor of the late Ray Smith.

Mr. Smith graduated from NC State with a BS in Agriculture in 1941. While attending the university, Ray was the Captain of the 1941 NC State basketball team. After graduating, he entered the US Army and escorted troops by train from Fort Bragg to the West Coast. During his time in service, he played for the US Army basketball team and met and formed a life-long friendship with ACC basketball and coaching legend, Bones McKinney.

Following his time in the Army, he became the first Director of Recreation for the City of Roanoke Rapids, NC. He was also the Personnel Director of Halifax Paper Co. and a former Roanoke Rapids “Man of the Year”. In 1964, he and his family moved to Raleigh where he began his 20-year career as Executive Secretary of the Pulp and Paper Foundation. Upon his retirement in 1984, he was honored with the establishment of the Ray Smith Endowment Scholarship. He was a member of Tabernacle Baptist Church where he served as a Deacon and a Sunday School Teacher.