Clarence R. Smith Jr., the chairman of Diamond Steel
Construction Company, Compco Industries and its affiliates and
Adamas Gems & Jewelry, will be honored tonight as the 2002
Penguin of the Year, as chosen by the Youngstown State University
Penguin Club.
Smith, an active member of the Penguin Club, has played a key
role in YSU Athletics and the Mahoning Valley Community. While he
is the chairman for Compco, Diamond Steel and Adamas Gems &
Jewelry, he also serves on various organizational boards.
He has been a long-time supporter of YSU and a major contributor
in helping build Stambaugh Stadium in the late 1970's and early
1980's. Smith and his company contributed greatly to the stadium
renovations that were concluded prior to the 1997 season, which
included the DeBartolo Stadium Club and the East side stands.
This past year, he donated much of his rock and gemstone
collection to the Youngstown State Geology Department. He said he
donated his impressive collection because of the "Good People, that
make things happen at the University."
The Clarence R. Smith Mineral Museum is located in the atrium of
Moser Hall (Engineering and Science Building) on the YSU campus.
The museum is managed by the Geology Department. The collection was
formerly located at Adamas Jewelry and Gifts at 8391 Market Street
in Boardman where it thrived from 1970 until this past year.
Smith's father, Clarence Smith, Sr., began the collection in
1959 when he and his wife spent winters in Arizona. Three years
after beginning the collection he opened a mineral shop in his barn
near old Southern Park adding to it from every trip he took in the
United States and abroad. Following Smith Sr.'s death in 1970,
Smith moved the mineral and rock collection to Adamas and kept
adding to an already stellar collection that was one of the
country's finest.
Like his father, Smith has kept his ties close to home
throughout his life. He was born and raised in Boardman. He is a
graduate of Boardman High School and he attended Kenyon College and
Youngstown State.
Smith is a member of the Boardman United Methodist Church and
serves on its board. He is the chairman of the Mahoning Valley
Republican Party. He also serves on the Home Savings and Loan
Association of Youngstown board. He is a member of the Mahoning
Valley Council of Churches and Organizations for Protestant Men.
Smith's civic responsibilities are: The Youngstown Area Chamber
of Commerce, Advisor to Goodwill Industries, member of the Board of
Directors of Boys Scouts of America, Camp Stambaugh, member of the
Board of Directors Mahoning County Library Board, member of the
Western Reserve Port Authority and a member of the Board of
Directors of the Children's Learning Center through the Valley of
Scottish Rite.
Smith had worked for the Diamond Steel Construction Company as a
truck driver. During his junior year at Kenyon, he was called home
to take over the management of the company following his father's
stroke. He has been the leader of various companies since that
date. A partial list of those companies are: Compco Industries,
Compco Land Company, C&S Land Company, Buckeye Manufacturing
Company, Diamond Metals Corporation and Adamas Jewelry & Gifts.
His honors include Honorary Member of the Buckeye Elks Lodge No. 7,
Man of the Year Boardman Civic Association, and Private Sector
Business Award from the Better Business Bureau. He is an active
member of the Boardman Rotary Club, the Youngstown Club, the
Tippecanoe Country Club and in the Masonic Fraternity.
Smith said he believes in YSU and puts forth his time and
efforts to help the university because the youth, the community and
the city are our future. He said the people of the valley need to
do all that we can for our youth, striving to give them the
greatest opportunities possible and he has done that his entire
life.
Clarence is married to the former Rose Marie Poshner and they
have been married for 51 years. His wife has been honored with the
Rose Marie Smith Gallery located in Tod Hall on the YSU campus. The
two have three children, Gwen Smith of Boardman, Ohio, Gail Smith
of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Gregory Smith of Boardman, Ohio. Rose and
Clarence have five grandchildren, Rick Kamperman and his wife Mary
Christine of Richlands, N.C.; Kimberly Kamperman who attends
Youngstown State University; Clarence "Roman" Smith IV, G. Bradford
Smith and Skyler H. Smith.
