Smith Representing Buncombe County in Senior Games

James “Sonny” Smith

James “Sonny” Smith will be representing Asheville at the Senior Games to be held in Raleigh, NC, September 22 through September 28, 2008.

by Johnnie Grant

Smith, 58, qualified to run in both the 100-meter dash and the 400-meter dash for the 55-59 age group in the final games. The track and field events will take place at Raleigh’s Cardinal Gibbon High School Track Field beginning Friday, September 26 at 11:00 a.m.

The NC Senior Games
began in 1983 as a way to create a year-round program to promote better
health and health education for North Carolinians 55 and older. The
Games function as a wellness and prevention program to keep the body,
mind, and spirit fit while enjoying the company of friends, family,
spectators, and volunteers. Asheville Parks and Recreation Department
is a cosponsor of the event, which also qualifies Mr. Smith for the
2009 National Senior Games to be held near San Francisco.

The
second of four children (Catherine, Larry, and Reba) of James Smith and
Cora Durham Baten, Smith is also the father of one son, James Smith
Baten. A 1968 graduate of South French Broad High School, he was
graduated cum laude from N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro as
an Accounting/Business major in 1973.

In 1976
he received a Minority MBA Graduate Fellowship to the University of
Wisconsin in Madison for his academic abilities. He also earned the
Navy Achievement Medal for meritorious and superior performance while
serving in Vietnam between December 1968 and December 1969.

Having
always excelled in athletics, Sonny had a passion for boxing during his
high school and college years. After suffering with serious health
conditions that would debilitate most, he became proactive about his
treatment and began to work towards stabilizing his health. Sonny
credits a regimen of daily exercise and healthy eating habits for his
renewed health, about which he now says, “I am truly blessed and highly
favored, you can’t get any better than that!”

More than 60,000 residents participate in 54 local Senior Games programs that serve all 100 counties in North Carolina.
For more information about how you can become involved in the Senior
Games, contact Asheville Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts at (828)
259-5800, or Buncombe County Parks, Greenways, & Recreation at
(828) 250-4260.