By Dianne Wiebe The face of RJ Smith is well known to anyone who lives around here. Who has not seen him gazing calmly from the ubiquitous signs advertising the properties his real estate company is selling? Smith is a player, not only in Pine Bush, where he makes his home, but throughout Orange, Sullivan and Ulster Counties.

He graduated from Davis Elkins College in 1974, and foregoing law school, started his company � RJ Smith Real Estate Solutions � in 1976. The company now employs over 100 people, with offices in Goshen, Pine Bush and Ellenville.

A life-long resident of Pine Bush, Smith lives with his wife Elizabeth in the 200 year old family home he grew up in. And it was this home, and his then-90 year old grandmother that led him to another kind of real estate. When his grandmother could no longer live comfortably in the large house, Smith began coordinating senior housing, still a very new concept when he facilitated Schulyer's Crossing, his first project.

Putting together a group of advisors and professionals, and project developers, he guided the project through the approval and building process.

"It's like a sorority house, convivial and secure," Smith said. It's "affordable, accessible, and very desirable for senior living." His grandmother, now 101 years old, loves it.

He has since facilitated additional Senior Housing, including the Glusker Gardens complex in Ellenville, and wants to do a total of 12 such projects.

Smith brokered several projects that have been successful for Ellenville. He sold the Shadowland, a former movie theater, and brought in Ron Marquette to run it. He also managed the sale of the former Ellenville National Bank building to Tad Sky, which renovated it and uses it for a showroom for his sculpture. And he represented Provident Bank in the sale of its office building to the Village of Ellenville.

He regards Ellenville as a "great town, with great potential."

He should know about how to realize potential; he was one of the groups that 20 years ago orchestrated the Renaissance of Pine Bush. Smith said there was a 60 percent vacancy on Main Street in 1982, and a group of locals with a vested interest in the community pulled in an architect to create a master plan for renovation of the buildings and side walks. It took four or five years to complete, and new building owners for some of the buildings and it gave Pine Bush the charm we see today.

Smith has an abiding commitment to his community. His company's web site has a sort of mission statement: "A driving influence within the organization is community involvement. To give back to a community which has been so generous over the years. You will find organization members contributing time and money to organizations ranging from the Community Foundation to Make-a-Wish to food pantries and scholarship foundations."

This commitment led him to the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan Counties, where he is the current president. He's been a tireless supporter of events and projects that support quality of life in the community.

Historic preservation is important, too. Proof of that is the glorious white Victorian house that serves as his Pine Bush office.

Next time you see his face on a sign along the road, smile, and maybe wave at him.

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