Member of NJFAN Outreach Committee and Board Secretary, National Council of Gray Panthers Networks
Clint Smith, who died on May 13, was a regular member of the NJFAN Outreach Committee since 2014, providing members with regular updates on justice issues and struggles in Austin TX and the National Council of Gray Panthers Networks activities.
Beverly Alves, retired teacher and activist who served with Clint on the NJFAN Network had this to say of Clint: “What a wonderful man; very pleasant to work with, consistently participating in the Network and deeply committed to Jobs for All.”
Logan Martinez, NJFAN Outreach Coordinator, worked closely with Clint and is inspired by his outlook: “Clint added insight and wisdom from the Great Depression-WWII generation. One of his last comments at our meeting was that ‘the people are more ready for change than ever.’ We believe he is right.”
Jan BenDor, Vice Chair of National Council of Gray Panthers Networks (NCPGN), remembers Clint:
Rest in Power, Age 89
National Council of Gray Panthers Networks’ Social Justice Warrior, Retired Bargaining Chair, UAW Local 1976 Austin, Texas
Clint Smith, Board Secretary of the National Council of Gray Panthers Networks (NCGPN), was a dedicated activist for economic equality. He worked with key Congressional aides to promote legislation backed by many unions, represented the NCGPN to the National Jobs for All Network, joining its Outreach Committee and strengthening the early childhood education (Pre-K) component of H.R.1000, the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment and Training Act of 2015.
Clint was selected Co-Convener with Charlotte Flynn for the Austin Gray Panthers Network in 2004. He was elected to the National Board of the Gray Panthers in April 2008. Clint continued his dedication to Gray Panthers by becoming the National Council of Gray Panthers Networks Board Secretary in 2015. As a member of the NCGPN Subcommittee on Senior Housing and Long Term Care, he contributed to the Council’s mission by coordinating investigations with the staff of Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). Clint’s contribution to the NCGPN Gray Paper on the crisis of nursing homes matched the energy of his earlier activism with the Humphrey-Hawkins measure.
Those of us who had the privilege of working with Clint can say that his strength of conviction was wonderful, and his knowledge of the federal bureaucracy was priceless. He never let us work in the dark and always had a strategy for us to pursue.