Well-known Conway councilman steps down to take another position within city government
Ashley Smith resigned his position Monday on the Conway City Council in order to take the job within the city he has coveted since he was a college student at Coastal Carolina.
Smith, who has been a Conway resident since he was 12, has been hired as the Conway Recreation Center’s new director. His first day on the job will be July 15.
“Since I was 12 I played at the Conway parks and rec with some great directors … went to college and from Coastal that was my goal, to come back as the recreation director. It didn’t quite happen the way I wanted it to, but now’s a good time.”
Smith worked in the city’s rec department for more than 10 years, first as a maintenance supervisor and later as programs coordinator, and said he was approached by fellow council members about taking the position.
“There is not any other candidate who has the breadth of knowledge as a former employee, as a parent, as a coach and as an elected official that can bring this position the depth of knowledge to lead us into the future,” City of Conway Administrator Adam Emrick said in a prepared statement.
Smith, whose son Will is entering Coastal Carolina this summer as a pitcher on the Chanticleers baseball team, served as a teacher and coach at Conway High School in recent years. He was the boys and girls golf coach for the past four years but has also resigned that position.
Smith has announced Conway High football on the radio since 2006 and will continue to do so this year on 106.5 NASH FM. He was an analyst alongside Mike Green until Green’s retirement after the 2011 season and has done play by play since.
Conway will fill Smith’s post on the city council, which he has held for the past 3 1/2 years, through a general election in November.
Smith believes his time on the council will allow him to be more effective and efficient in leading the rec center.
“On city council I’ve learned a lot more about the city and how it works,” said Smith, who has already reached out to coaches in Conway schools about working together. “I’ve learned a lot of leadership skills. It’s a great opportunity for the rec department and myself. But it’s a culture. We can work with the high school, middle schools, elementary schools. It’s a new day and it’s going to be a team effort and that’s what it has to be.”
Smith is well-known in the community through his many endeavors and said bolstering the rec department’s athletic programs and making the membership a tighter group will be among his initial goals.
“I want Conway to be No. 1,” Smith said. “It’s not all about sports, but I think the rec department has gotten away from sports. That’s what the rec department was built on, was sports. That’s how you bring people together. That, and bridging the gap between the older members of the rec center and younger members of the rec center.”
This story was originally published July 1, 2019 at 10:57 PM.
