Belgreen alum seeks votes in Ford’s 30 under 30 contest

Shelby Smith, BHS alumnus, is a candidate for the Ford 30 under 30 campaign, and she needs votes on her video to be selected.

Shelby Smith has always had “a dream to have a job where I have a chance to help people.” If selected as one of Ford’s 30 under 30, that dream will come true for the Belgreen High School alum.

Smith, 23, who works for Ford Credit in Tampa, Fla., said she has already had the opportunity to volunteer extensively through Ford outreach efforts – from beach cleanups and school supply drives to helping with organized efforts like Toys for Tots and Race for the Cure. Being chosen as one of Ford’s 30 under 30 – an inaugural campaign for Ford – would allow her to “help shape Ford Motor Company’s national social programs for the next year.”

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime to affect change on a national scale,” Smith said. “I joined Ford right after graduating from UAB in May 2013, and a big part of that was because my great-grandfather worked for the company and always talked about how they really cared for people. I started pursuing my MBA online through UNA that same semester in international business so I could learn the skills to eventually apply toward my career and helping nonprofit organizations around the world. Ford has tons of social programs, including national teams for Race for the Cure, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and United Way. That’s not even counting all of the local initiatives. This year’s focus will be on basic needs such as shelter, clothing and food, and it is the job of the 30 Under 30 to help find creative and effective ways to tackle these programs.”

Smith’s volunteering spirit dates back to her growing up years in Franklin County.

“I’ve been involved with volunteerism for a very long time and actually received the President’s gold award for community service when I was selected for the Franklin Country Junior Achievement,” said Smith.

After a lengthy application process including several essays, the 30 under 30 competition is now in a video voting phase. The top 30 videos out of the 50 finalists will be selected as the first 30 under 30 class.

People can vote every 24 hours until Dec. 21. The 30 under 30 class will be announced Dec. 23.

A 2010 graduate of Belgreen, Smith said she is the first person in her family to go to a four-year college. All of her family still lives in Russellville, including parents Stephanie and Jonathan Smith.

“She’s always done volunteer work,” Stephanie Smith said. “She was part of the Franklin County Junior Leaders, and the year she was in it, she had the most volunteer hours. We’ve always been very proud of her.”

Smith’s video can be viewed at http://wshe.es/rBUL3Lhq and voted on once per day.

“The fun thing about this video is that we found out last Tuesday night that we needed to have a video ready by Monday morning,” Smith said. “I had a heart attack over it. That night I went to the store and bought tons of candles because I knew I wanted to do something that sort of went with my essays.”

About 300 candles and 24 hours later, “I was in my friend’s old barn fighting ants for floor space. I called my friend, who is Chasing Jonah, and she offered to let me use any of her music for the video because we’ve worked together on a few community service events. The charity efforts in the video are the largest that I’ve participated so far in this year through Ford. For the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, I participated in several fundraising events, but my favorite was designing and hosting the benefit concert with local artists. For the Race for the Cure Campaign, I helped with several initiatives at work and lead the sales of large decorate ribbons and spent roughly 30 hours making custom ribbons to order.”

In her essays, Smith got the chance to share some of her vision for what she wants to achieve if selected for the 30 under 30.

“To put it simply, my ultimate goal is to leverage the resources available to Ford to build a better world while also increasing the company’s profitability through the development of real customer relationships,” Smith said. “One voice speaking out for change is easily ignored, but a thousand voices speaking together cannot be silenced.”