Frances L. Smith has lived in New Milford Connecticut for over 40 years. An independent historian, she works as a research genealogist and is a member of the Connecticut Society of Genealogy, Inc. She is also a member of the New Milford Historical Society, the Litchfield Connecticut Historical Society, and the Brookfield Historical Society. She has served as an elected official on the New Milford Board of Education, the MCCA-Visiting Nurses' Association and the Commission on Child Abuse. She has been named "Outstanding Woman of the Year" as well as "Humanitarian of the Year." Fran has served as President of the Black Families of New Milford, CT and President of "Up With Youth-Prevention in Alcohol and Drug Abuse." She was the founder and organizer of Oklahoma City Tree Planting, in memory of the lives lost in the 1995 bombing. Fran is the owner of an lecturer at Proud Heritage Association, which specializes in African American history. She is retired from nursing after 43 years in the field. Her poetry has earned the Editor's Choice Award for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry presented by the National Library of Poetry in 1998.