February 2, 2009

Beloved Friend, Journalist, Mentor of Interns and all Others, Colleague, Editor, Thoughtful Clipper and Distributor of Countless Newspaper Articles on Every Person's Favorite Subjects, Loyal Staff Member, and Man of Great Humor and Insight

WHEREAS, Guy Francis Smith, long-time U.S. Conference of Mayors staff person passed away at his home in Alexandria on December 30, 2008; and

WHEREAS, Guy Smith was greatly respected and loved as Conference of Mayors colleague and Managing Director of U.S. Mayor newspaper, which he managed and labored over with dedication, charm, and commitment; and

WHEREAS, Guy Smith was a man of many talents and skills, including editor par excellence; adventurous and intrepid chef - A "Man for All Seasons" and, indeed, for those treated to his cooking, "A Man for All Seasonings;" raconteur in at least two languages; wordsmith who treasured words, puns, and good writing; fierce defender and enforcer of U.S. Mayor accuracy and deadlines; humorist; purveyor of great wit; gentle soul; and a person who could be counted on to always make us laugh; and

WHEREAS, Guy Smith was born in Milwaukee, earned his B.A. in journalism at Marquette University, wrote for the Marquette Journal, Appleton Post-Gazette, did graduate work at the School of Communications at the University of Washington in Seattle; and

WHEREAS, he came to Washington (DC) in 1963 and worked on Capitol Hill as legislative assistant to Congressman Clement J. Zablocki (WI), who chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee; as a legislative assistant for the U.S. Office of Education, working on such landmark legislation as the Higher Education Act of 1965 and helping shepherd through Congress numerous Great Society programs; and began in 1969 a love affair with the people and politics of Puerto Rico, serving as special assistant to Jorge L. Cordova, Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner in the U.S. House of Representatives (1969-1972); Washington Representative for San Juan, 1972-1976; and returning to the Hill, 1977-1984, to work as a senior aide to Balthazar Corrado del Rio, Puerto Rico's new Resident Commissioner to the United States; and, whereas, his work helped secure federal funds for the 78 cities of Puerto Rico and the entire commonwealth; and

e entire commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Guy Smith in 1988 became a special assistant and senior advisor to Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director of The U.S. Conference of Mayors; and in 1995 became Managing Editor of U.S. Mayor newspaper and liaison to the National Press Club, where numerous mayors have addressed the nation through its speakers series; and

WHEREAS, in recent years, Guy Smith also assumed the role of Director of the Conference of Mayors' Student Intern program, and because of his outstanding dedication, teaching and mentoring of interns, CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran has announced that the Conference of Mayors has named the internship program in his honor - the Guy Francis Smith Intern Program,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the nation's mayors pay tribute to, and celebrate the life of, Guy Francis Smith on this day, January Seventeenth, 2009, on the occasion of the 77th Winter Meeting of The United States Conference of Mayors in Washington (DC); and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the nation's mayors honor and remember the many contributions Guy made to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the nation's cities, the people of Puerto Rico, the countless students that he mentored, and the immigrants whom he loved and served; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that mayors from all across the country extend their sincere sympathies to Guy's family, his sister Theresa Carstens and her husband Carl in Milwaukee, his nephews and niece and their families; and extend our gratitude to them for sharing Guy's life with us.