Preserved
Tim Smedick: Shaping history at
the Preservation Trust
In 1803, Meriwether Lewis spent three weeks in Lancaster
with ace surveyor Andrew Ellicott, honing his survey skills for what is now known
as the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Ellicott mentored Lewis in his home, which
still stands at 123 North Prince Street. Imagine the times, the brilliant
exchange, and the anticipation of the journey. Imagine the energy lingering in
the space to this day.
Fortunately, there is a “this day.” Ellicott’s home now
serves as headquarters for the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County rather
than the municipal garage originally planned. Each day the Trust’s executive
director, Tim Smedick, is empowered by that energy to
link Lancaster’s past with its future. Just as Lewis and Ellicott likely never
imagined the expedition’s impact on our country’s future, Tim Smedick never imagined he’d be protecting a piece of our
nation’s heritage and contributing to Lancaster’s viability thorough historic
preservation.
“There’s no way I ever thought I would be here or trained
for this particular job.” Born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, America’s insurance
capital, and armed with a business administration degree from Central
Connecticut State University, Tim settled into an insurance career and climbed
the management ranks. “I was going to be there the rest of my life, as many
friends and relatives still are.”
But an insurance slump of the early ‘90s knocked Smedick out of work. He worried about his skills not being
transferable and worked with an outplacement counselor who encouraged him to
explore his Civil War hobby. Meantime, he took his mind off things with detours
to Gettysburg when visiting in-laws in Baltimore.
On one of those trips, he stumbled across an article
soliciting help starting a Civil War museum in Gettysburg. “I wasn’t working at
the time, had some time on my hands, and had experience in management.”
He also had been reading Harvey Mackay’s book Swim with
the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and wrote to the author for
insight on starting the museum. Mackay responded with one thought: “Hire a
fundraising consultant.” A what? Tim researched and thumbed through the
Harrisburg Yellow Pages, calling consultants.
He met with the fundraiser in Gettysburg and mentioned he
was out of work. Upon reviewing his résumé, the man—who later became his
first boss in Pennsylvania—responded, “You’d make a good fundraising
consultant.”
“He might as well have said a safari leader in Africa or an
airline pilot.” But fundraising is about management, and Smedick’s insurance days afforded him significant management background. “There are the
typical management skills of organization, planning, directing, and
controlling. It’s about getting things done through people. Fundraising is about
organizing people for a cause for a short period of time.”
The consultant hired Tim, and so began his fundraising
career. Still based in Hartford, Tim worked part-time on capital campaigns,
including raising the first major dollars for the York County Heritage Rail
Trail. In 1995, he moved with his wife and young son to Harrisburg to work
full time in the hospital, library, and other community campaigns.
“The problem was that I was traveling all over the United
States, and it got real old real quickly. My son was getting to be school-aged,
and I didn’t’ want to be gone 5 days a week, although I thoroughly enjoyed what
I was doing and was starting to get good at it.”
Tim decided to look locally for a job that combined his
newborn fundraising skills with his love of history. The director of
development for the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County opened up;
he interviewed and got the job. That was 10 years ago.
“I’m living proof that there’s life after your initial
career.” He’s still amazed not to be working in insurance. “I’m on my third
career, and by far it’s the most fun and best thing I’ve ever done.” After 5
years, Smedick became the Trust’s executive director.
“You have to be organized and a little crazy because you’re
a nonprofit charity that is competing with literally hundreds of other
organizations for limited dollars.” Smedick has a
staff of five, each extremely proficient, productive, and cost conscious.
“I think there’s a whole family effect here. It’s small
enough that we can work as a family, get mad at each other once in a while, and
it’s pretty open that if I’m doing something wrong, there’s enough people to
tell me I shouldn’t do that.” A dedicated team of staff, volunteers, board
members, and professional advisors “makes this quite the Walton gang.”
His daily 2-hour commute from Harrisburg to Lancaster limits
time for community activities. “I go to a lot of meetings, sit on a lot of
advisory boards, which encompass a lot more hours and nighttime hours, in
addition to giving speeches and presentations—that’s my sub-hobby all
related to my job.” He is a member of the Lancaster York Heritage Region
advisory board and Lancaster County’s Long Range Transportation Plan Update
Task Force. He has also served on the Heritage Update and Tourism Task Forces
for Lancaster County’s Growth Management Plan and was one of the Trust’s
representatives in helping develop the Smart Growth Coalition policy statement
on historic preservation.
Sporting activities of Tim’s teenage son keep him busy the
rest of the time. Also having an older son and daughter—living in Idaho
and Massachusetts respectively—Tim has always been involved in his kids’ sports
coaching soccer, basketball, and baseball, which he coaches now.
“I love sports because they’re black and white: you keep
score, there’s a time limit to the game, you have a winner and loser, and you
know where you stand. My job here is relatively complicated, and very few
things are black and white. I love the juxtaposition of that.”
Reading and collecting art, not re-enacting, feed Smedick’s Civil War interests. “I don’t go out and shoot
guns and get dressed up.”
He enjoys historical novels and biographies, especially
those of historical leaders and famous coaches, mentioning Abraham Lincoln and
Vince Lombardi among his favorites.
“Each of my heroes had tremendous flaws. What I like to read
about is how they overcame these flaws and went on to do something notable.
I’ve taken a little piece of each of their lives and try to apply it to what I
encounter.”
One can’t help but wonder if a little piece of Andrew
Ellicott’s life somehow influences the Trust’s work today. Imagination runs
wild the minute you walk through the Trust’s front door, original to the home
built in 1787 and the same door Ellicott opened to welcome Lewis. It’s
intriguing to consider how Tim Smedick wound up in
the same space as Ellicott, this time surveying Lancaster’s historic buildings and
places, determining boundaries to balance heritage with growth.
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