Orin Smith, left, and his mother Vernetta cut a ceremonial ribbon during the opening of the Vernetta Smith Chehalis Timberland Library in this photograph provided by his family.
Orin Smith listens to Gail Shaw speak while at a Chehalis Foundation luncheon at Mackinaw's in Chehalis in this Chronicle file photo.
Orin Smith died last week at the age of 75, but his legacy will last for generations.
The Chehalis native’s contributions to Lewis County are numerous, and much of his philanthropy will remain on display for decades in the form of projects such as the Vernetta Smith Chehalis Timberland Library, the Gail and Carolyn Shaw Aquatics Center and the Industrial Park at TransAlta.
Deeper than construction projects, Smith’s dedication to the Chehalis Foundation and its Student Achievement Initiative will reap rewards for as long as local leaders remain dedicated to improving the outcomes for children of the school district.
Smith’s donation of $10 million toward the initiative last year will pay out $500,000 a year for the initiative in perpetuity. Already, the foundation has had tremendous success in better preparing Chehalis School District students for life after high school, largely due to the contributions of Smith and others who have helped pay for the services of the renowned consulting firm the BERC Group.
The investment by Smith will, as he put it, assure that the initiative doesn’t fail due to a lack of resources.
Meanwhile, the Centralia Community Foundation has been formed in the image of the Chehalis Foundation, creating a framework to improve opportunities in the Hub City as its neighbor continues ahead on the same path.
His financial contributions aside, Smith has shown children of the Twin Cities and beyond that it’s possible for a poor kid from Chehalis to rise to the very top of the business world.
Smith graduated from high school in Chehalis in 1960, a member of the only boys’ basketball team in school history to win a state championship. That would be just a footnote in a long and successful road to success that followed. Smith graduated from Centralia College, the University of Washington and Harvard Business School before entering the workforce. He served as the chief budget officer for two governors before becoming the CFO of two transportation companies.
Eventually, Smith rose to become CEO and president of Starbucks. As his obituary notes, “under his leadership Starbucks experienced unprecedented expansion. During his years at the helm, Starbucks grew from 45 stores to over 10,000 stores in 33 countries.”
Smith earned the admiration of the world’s top CEOs not only for his successful management practices but also for his humility and kindness.
Most importantly of all for our community, Smith never forgot where he came from, returning again and again to bolster dozens of local projects and organizations with sizable financial contributions.
In the life of Orin Smith, children of Lewis County will forever have a blueprint for what’s possible for a poor kid determined to make good in the world.
We’re forever grateful for Smith’s commitment and dedication to not only the people of Lewis County, but our collective future as well.
