Pat Smith has quietly and steadily contributed to our community since 1972 when he and his wife Clare moved to Needham where they raised their three children.

Pat’s early involvement in community service started in 1986 through the Needham Exchange Club. He has chaired many of the committees of Exchange, including: Youth of the Month; Youth of the Year; Scholarship; Children’s Holiday Project; Sunshine Special; and various committees involved with the 4th of July. His experience working on the financial side of John Hancock Insurance has made Pat a natural for serving as treasurer of everything he became involved in. He has served as treasurer of the Exchange Club and still serves as treasurer of the Club’s 4th of July celebration. It is Pat who oversees the counting of all those dollar bills sticky with cotton candy, ice cream, slush, and soda which find their way into the donation buckets after the fireworks. Another Exchange program that Pat served on as board member as well as treasurer was the Exchange Club Child Abuse Prevention Center. The center oversaw the administration of the Child Assault Prevention Education Program (CAP) in the elementary schools in multiple towns. The center also ran the Parent Child Home program for potentially at risk children.

Upon retiring from John Hancock Pat has used his finance and insurance expertise in two programs offered at the Senior Center and other locations. For 12 years he’s been a SHINE Medicare counselor, helping those of any age who have Medicare choices to make. This program requires his taking monthly training classes and passing an annual recertification test. He has counseled hundreds of individuals over the years as a volunteer. He also has volunteered as a tax preparer with the AARP Tax Aide program; a program that saves lower income and senior clients the cost of having the taxes prepared by a tax preparation service. This program also requires annual classes and a recertification test. I guess Pat’s never going to stop going to school. So it is with great pride, gratitude, and respect that the Richard Patton Melick Foundation recognizes the contributions of Pat Smith to the Needham community.