Hall of Fame
Kathy started as a teacher and coached tennis, volleyball and softball at Monroe HS. She served as sport chairperson in both Tennis and Volleyball for the Rochester City League.
Kathy was named Athletic Director of Monroe High School in 1985 and then moved to Marshall High School during a district reorganization.
She was named the first Athletic Director of School of the Arts (SOTA) and began the Athletic program at that school even though the School District had no plans for athletics when they opened the school originally. That may have been her biggest challenge and her best accomplishment.
Kathy moved to East High School to take on the biggest program in the district and to manage the growth of the facilities. She opened a new stadium and a baseball complex during her tenure there.
About 1977 Kathy was elected President of the Rochester League and attended Section V meetings as the league representative. From that point on she would attend Section V meetings in various capacity until after she retired.
In 1989, she became the girls’ sports representative from the Section V council to the Executive Committee and continued in that capacity until she was elected President of Section V in 1998. In 2002 she was elected as the Girls Central Committee Representative to the NYSPHAA and served 2 terms in that capacity.
Kathy was also the Class B Coordinator for Girls Basketball from the early 1980s and served on that committee till 1996. She was also a Class Coordinator for Girls Volleyball during that time until they changed the sport season for that sport.
Kathy has been recognized in various ways including the RCSD Friends of Athletics Award for service to the Rochester City School District and the Jean Giambrone Award for service to Girls and Women’s Sports, given by the Press Radio Club at what use to be an annual luncheon
Nancy Viola (Section V HOF inductee 2018) wrote: “Kathy has certainly given many hours to the student athletes in Section V. It amazes me to think back on all of the leadership positions she has held. She was also very active in the city league and oversaw that group. It is not surprising that she soon was the President of our Section. Her knowledge of both Girls and Boys sports and her support for both made her a sought after administrator. Her tenure in that office was full of problem solving opportunities, but Kathy proved herself very capable of meeting the challenges head on and following them through to resolution. Throughout her career, Kathy Smith has been an outstanding mentor for leadership and hard work for many of us.”
Kathy now resides much of the year in Punta Gorda, FL.