Smith Lanier to Receive AAA Highest Award

J. Smith Lanier II '45

The Auburn Alumni Association has selected Beta Theta alumnus J. Smith Lanier, II ’45, as a 2010 recipient of its highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award. To be selected for this prestigious award, nominees must have attained prominence in their professional careers, and they must be persons of integrity, stature and demonstrated ability.

A graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, Smith Lanier joined the family insurance business immediately after graduation from Auburn, and currently serves as the Chairman Emeritus of J. Smith Lanier & Co.  Smith has earned several other honors over the years, including the Founders Award from the Atlanta Christian College and the 1998 National Small Business Person of the Year award.  He has served on the Board of Trustees for Oglethorpe University, LaGrange College, and the United States Merchant Marine Academy.  Smith holds directorships in ITC Holding Company, Inc.; Interface, Inc.; and the Fellowship of Companies for Christ International.  He has also been a tireless supporter of Boy Scouts for many years.

Concerning Auburn, Lanier served as Chairman of the first dean’s advisory board for the College of Human Sciences and is a member of the 1856 Society.  His nephew Gaines is a member of the university’s Board of Trustees.  Smith and his wife, Betty, are past recipients of the College of Human Sciences' International Quality of Life Award.

Brother Lanier was an early and generous donor to our current capital campaign.  Drop a note of congratulations to him at J. Smith Lanier Insurance / P. O. Box 70 / West Point, Georgia 31833, or e-mail him at jgaulding@jsmithlanier.com. 

In receiving this recognition, Smith Lanier joins Miller Gorrie, a 2005 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.  Sigma Nu is likely the only fraternity at Auburn to have two recipients of the prestigious honor.  Our chapter has also provided exceptional leadership to the alumni association down through the years including three national Presidents – Duncan Liles Jr. in 1973, Bobby Lowder in 1979, and Ralph Jordan Jr. in 2006.  In addition to this, Brothers Howard Nelson and Skip Ryan currently serve on the national Board of Directors.

We can be proud of the honors to our alums and the service they have provided to the Auburn Alumni Association.