Water watchdog

Laurie Edwards | Laker Weekly

Stan Smith holds a burned-out channel marker light; among his volunteer positions, he chairs TLAC's Navigation Committee.

For some residents, Smith Mountain Lake is a place to retire, a place to recreate and a place to relax. For Stan Smith, it's all those things, plus one more: It's a place to preserve.

When he and wife Lucy visited the lake for the first time about 20 years ago, they were smitten by the beauty of the area. They bought property on the water that first weekend.

Smith said they originally planned to retire to one of the barrier islands off the coast of South Carolina. Until retirement, it would be a second home, serving as a place where their two children could come for visits. But that dream was dashed in 1989.

"That's where Hurricane Hugo came across," said Smith, "and my wife never wanted to go back."

Instead, the Smiths found a calmer, more beautiful home the following year on the shoreline of Smith Mountain Lake.

Shortly after retiring and moving to the lake full time about 15 years ago, Smith started what was to become a mission to protect and preserve the jewel he and Lucy fell in love with. All it took was for a member of the Smith Mountain Lake Association to ask Smith to join.

"I had lots of time and it would be something useful to the community so I said yes," said Smith.

SMLA's job is to protect lake life and the life of the lake, and to advocate issues that impact its members. It currently has a membership of more than 1,200 families. Its education, advocacy and implementation arm is staffed by dozens of volunteers.

"Without volunteerism, there wouldn't be a Lake Association," said Smith. "And there's so many ways people can get involved."

SMLA volunteers work on various projects and committees from water quality or weed population to tribu tary health or water safety.

"My true love in the Lake Association is the water quality-monitoring program," said Smith.

The program originated 23 years ago when three Ferrum College science professors wrote a paper on the lake's trophic status, or overall health. An SMLA member approached the professors about an ongoing study. It has since grown to involve SMLA, Ferrum and about 50 lake-area volunteers who collect and test water samples.

"We have 22 years worth of data," said Smith. "As far as I know, there's no other lake in the United States that has that level of information about what's happening at the lake."

Smith's volunteer work is a far cry from his professional career. He worked for several years as the president of AT&T's real estate subsidiary, overseeing its commercial construction. After leaving AT&T, he did the same job for the United States Postal Service for five years.

"My wife kids me that I used to hate the tree huggers because they got in my way, and now I am one," said Smith.

He said he was always able to find a compromise with environmentalists in his professional life. Now, he's the one advocating for preservation. The beauty of Smith Mountain Lake had a real impact on him.

"Just look out there," said Smith. "It's irreplaceable. How could you let something like that deteriorate?"

Smith is doing all he can to protect the lake, serving currently as the secretary of SMLA and chairman of its Lake Committee; and as vice chairman of the Tri-County Lake Administrative Commission and chairman of its Navigation Committee. In both, he's surrounded by like-minded volunteers.

"I think in most of the United States you'll find similar things in retirement communities," said Smith, "that people now have time to indulge themselves in things they think are important -- arts, music, the environment -- the things that they think they can make a difference in."

Day in and day out, Smith is trying to make a difference in the quality of the lake, which affects the community's quality of life.

"It's so important that we keep this lake healthy and vibrant, not just for an aesthetic point of view, but so that it can support recreation, it can be a center of a retirement community, it can stimulate business," he said.

"But in the long run," added Smith, "we need to preserve the lake for our children and grandchildren."

For more information about the Smith Mountain Lake Association or to volunteer, call 719-0690. www.smlassociation.org