2002 “Penguin of the Year”
Clarence R. Smith, Jr.

    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.