*07/29/16 George Smith - Maine Outdoor Life: Then and Now
George A. Smith of Mount Vernon has done a lot of things in his life, from writing comprehensive plans for rural Maine towns to managing statewide referendum campaigns. He served as executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine (SAM) for 18 years, growing the membership from 4,000 to 14,000 and making it one of the state’s most influential organizations.George left SAM at the end of 2010 to write full-time. He writes an outdoor news blog posted on his website and the website of the Bangor Daily News, cited by the Maine Press Association in 2014 as the state’s best sports blog. He has written a weekly editorial column published in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel for 25 years, columns for The Maine Sportsman magazine since 1977, and special columns for the newsletters of various Maine organizations and magazines.
In 2014 Islandport Press in Yarmouth published A Life Lived Outdoors, a book of George’s favorite columns about home, camp, family, faith, travel, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities. In May of this year, Down East Books published a book that George wrote about Maine Sporting Camps. You can access much of George’s writing on his website: georgesmithmaine.com.
George and his wife Linda, a recently retired first grade teacher, have written a weekly travel column for the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel for 5 years, focused on Maine inns, restaurants, events and activities. Sometime soon, Islandport Press will publish George and Linda’s Maine travel book featuring their favorite inns and restaurants.
For 13 years, George hosted, with his friend Harry Vanderweide, a unique television talk show called "Wildfire," focused on hunting, fishing, conservation and environmental issues. "Wildfire" returned to the air this year, co-hosted by James Cote and George.
Smith was part of the management team that successfully defended Maine’s moose hunt in a 1983 referendum, and managed a successful campaign in 1992 that placed the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in the Maine Constitution and protected its revenues. He also led a successful campaign in 2004 to defeat an animal rights referendum that sought to end Maine’s bear hunt. He also worked on many political campaigns and served on the staff of Congressman David Emery for 8 years.
Among his many ideas, Smith conceived the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, funded by an instant lottery game that has provided over $18 million for wildlife conservation and outdoor recreation programs in Maine.
He is a Winthrop, Maine native, a graduate of the University of Maine, and has lived in Mount Vernon for 37 years. He and his wife, Linda, have three children and three grandchildren.
George served 5 years on the Winthrop Town Council, three terms as Mount Vernon Selectman, one term as Kennebec County Commissioner, seven years on the Mount Vernon Planning Board, and 36 years as a Trustee of the Dr. Shaw Memorial Library.
He is a Winthrop, Maine native, a graduate of the University of Maine, and has lived in Mount Vernon for 37 years. He and his wife, Linda, have three children and three grandchildren.