PROCLAMATION
To all whom these letters shall come, Greetings:
Know ye, that the Louisville Metro Legislative Council
hereby proclaims:
WHEREAS, The late Reverend Dr. Gregory Franz Smith was born on December 5, 1951, in the Southwick neighborhood of the Old City of Louisville, as the sixth son to the late Katherine Shacklett Smith and James Arthur "Budd" Smith, and brother to the late Louisville alderman and pastor of Portland Memorial Baptist Church, Rev. Arthur Smith; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Dr. Gregory F. Smith was married to Mrs. Tanya Gelena Allen Smith of Campbellsville, Kentucky and fathered three children with his wife of thirty-four years - Dr. Brandon Deshawn Allen of Nashville, Tennessee, Mrs. Caitlin Fransh? Smith Christian of Shelbyville, Kentucky, and Ms. Imani Nicole Smith of Louisville, Kentucky - and was the proud grandfather of four grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Dr. Gregory F. Smith accepted his call to the preaching ministry at 13 years old, and was ordained in the Mount Hermon Missionary Baptist Church and was mentored by the late Reverend C.D. Simmons during his associateship at Greater Friendship Baptist Church; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Dr. Gregory F. Smith, a proud Central High School "yellow jacket" graduated from the school in 1970 and continued his studies at Kentucky State
University, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Hampton University, and Simmons College of Kentucky - where he later served on the Board of Trustees and was honored with an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity by Rev. Kevin Wayne Cosby in 2016; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Dr. Gregory F. Smith was called to be senior pastor of the historic First Baptist Church of Campbellsville, Kentucky at twenty-one years old and served in the position for nine and a half years, enhancing the church's community outreach and global missions initiatives; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Dr. Gregory F. Smith was called to be senior pastor of Hill Street Missionary Baptist church in 1982, becoming the...
Click here for full text