Sarah Marie Smith Parlays 4-H Experience Into Lifetime Accomplishments

4-H gave Sarah Marie Smith an early opportunity to claim her voice, and the experience fueled a television career, a stint in elected office, a role as a court mediator and the creative license to thrive as an independent storyteller.

From her early childhood in Carthage, Smith discovered her natural leadership abilities at Tennessee 4-H Congress. There, peers whom she had only just met at the summer gathering encouraged her to run for Speaker of the Senate.

“That experience was a real turning point in my life,” Smith says. “I was from one of the smaller counties in Tennessee, but 4-H members from other counties in our district came together to make campaign signs for me. I gave my campaign speech, and lo and behold, I was elected. Having the support system of the other 4-H members and volunteers helped me feel confident that I could give that speech.”

Confidence fuels self-belief, and it set Smith on a path to pursue an interest in acting. After college at Middle Tennessee State University, where she was elected vice president of the student body, Smith headed to Atlanta to work as a flight attendant with Delta Airlines. While in Atlanta, she started doing theater productions, and a local agent signed her for representation.

4-H Alumna Takes Center Stage

On a fateful flight to Los Angeles, Smith met someone in the production industry who encouraged her to come west and study with Jeff Corey, one of the most prominent acting coaches in Hollywood, whose students included Jack Nicholson and Rob Reiner. Smith began to arrange her work schedule to fly back and forth to study acting. Eventually, she moved to Los Angeles and worked as an actress, appearing in a 1977 episode of the sitcom Three’s Company and a 1984 episode of Falcon Crest, a recurring role on General Hospital and numerous commercials.

While acting, Smith took writing and directing courses at the University of California, LA, and the experience ignited an interest in independent films. For two magical weeks, she attended the Sundance Film Institute at Robert Redford’s Utah ranch as a volunteer actress, reading scripts alongside Hollywood legends like Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronin and Sydney Pollack.

Headed Home

Eventually, family matters in Tennessee drew Smith back to her hometown. Pulled away from the sound stage, Smith parlayed her stage presence into the role of court mediator and group facilitator. She earned a master’s degree in conflict management and worked with court and private mediations to help resolve disputes.

Back among the people she’d known her entire life, Smith was asked to consider running for mayor of her hometown. Her leadership experience in 4-H once again paid dividends well into her adult life.

“For two months I went door-to-door reintroducing myself to everyone because I’d been away for a while,” she says.

In November 2018, Smith defeated the incumbent mayor, and she set to work with the town council to expand the town’s water and sewer systems and revitalize downtown.

Her production connections led country music legend Tanya Tucker to film the music video for “Bring My Flowers Now” along Carthage’s Main Street. Later, HARDY and Lainey Wilson shot the 2023 CMA video of the year for “Wait in the Truck” there, further raising the town’s profile.

“Quite frankly, our little town of Carthage, Tennessee, is the only town I know of that has two Nobel Peace Prize winners,” Smith says, referring to former vice president Al Gore and Cordell Hull, who helped establish the United Nations as secretary of state under President Franklin Roosevelt.

 

Sarah Marie Smith In the Director’s Chair

Smith’s pride in her hometown extended to her own work as a filmmaker. The first short film she wrote and directed, “Life on Planet Earth,” was filmed in Carthage. The creation won best Sci-fi Short at the Golden State Film Festival in 2025 and was featured on the Climate Reality Project’s member-only website. The screenplay examines a world 50 years from now, when overpopulation has created a dystopian society.

“It’s a slice of life story about a couple who has to make some tough decisions,” Smith says. “I’m proud of it.”

Smith continues to volunteer with 4-H by serving on the Tennessee 4-H Foundation’s communications committee.

In partnership with the Foundation, she undertook an interview-documentary film honoring Ben Powell, a longtime leader and influential figure in Tennessee 4-H and the University of Tennessee Extension System.

“Mr. Powell is a wonderful man who is often called the father of Tennessee 4-H,” Smith says of her latest film project. “It’s near and dear to my heart.”

The Tennessee 4-H Foundation expects to use the film to honor Powell and demonstrate the importance of supporting the Foundation, which helps fund 4-H camps, Congress, Roundup, scholarships, awards and numerous other 4-H programs.