Phil Cambell’s Steven Smith has been elected into the role of regional vice president of the Alabama Cattleman’s Association.

Smith was voted into the position at the organization’s annual convention. He is among 12 regional vice presidents statewide and will serve Franklin, Lawrence, Morgan, Colbert, Lauderdale and Limestone counties.

“It was an honor and a welcome challenge to get to fill this role,” Smith said.

Smith said he knows he has big shoes to fill because the past two regional vice presidents made it their goal to make this region the best in the state. He said the region is currently No. 1 in the state – something he plans on continuing.

Smith has served as county president for Franklin County for two and a half terms, with each term lasting two years.

Smith said as county president, one of the goals is to go “over the top,” which means having more new members sign up than the year before.

In his five years as county president, Smith said he was able to achieve this goal three of the five years – a special point of pride. During his tenure as president, the chapter increased membership from 463 members to 613 members by 2016, making Franklin County the largest county chapter in Alabama.

Growing up in eastern Franklin County, Smith enjoyed a rural childhood in the outskirts of Phil Campbell. Both of his grandfathers operated small cow-calf farms, and it was at the young age of 7 that he got his own start in the business.

As time went on and the callings of life led him in different directions, he found his way back to the farm when he and his wife, Tina, purchased a few head of cattle and ran them on his grandfather’s land as a partnership. That partnership continued to grow until 2013, when Smith was given the opportunity to buy out his grandfather.

Today, that operation runs 40 head of commercial brood cows on 95 acres. An additional 80 acres is used to produce their own hay, a job the Smiths manage with the support of their children – Amanda and husband Jason Thomas, Kayla Smith and Zachary and wife Rosalyn Smith – and five grandchildren, Jackson, Jayden, Addie, Anna and Remington.

“The one thing that I love most about being a cattleman is being a good steward of what God has given us to care for,” Smith said.

When he’s not feeding cows in the winter months or raking hay in the heart of summer, Smith serves as the manager of operations for Clark Pulley Industries, where he served in several capacities over his 34 years on their payroll.

Smith said although he knows there will be a lot of hard work in serving as regional vice president, he welcomes the challenge. Since he served as county president for Franklin County, he has a great relationship with members in Franklin County and looks forward to getting to know members in the other counties he will represent.