John and Paige Smith. The York County Community Foundation received a $1 million bequest from the estate of philanthropist John T. Smith to benefit a dozen agricultural and nonprofit organizations. (Submitted photo)
The York County Community Foundation received a $1 million bequest from the estate of philanthropist John T. Smith to benefit a dozen agricultural and nonprofit organizations.
Smith, who died at age 92 in July 2012, was an advocate for the agricultural community and a supporter of student scholarships for agricultural studies, according to a news release from community foundation.
"John's enthusiasm and generosity have spurred giving from many other people who want to see agriculture, education, and land preservation efforts in York County sustained for many generations," Bryan Tate, vice president of philanthropy, said in a statement.
Smith's $1 million bequest will be added to the John T. and Paige S. Smith Fund that Smith had previously established at York County Community Foundation, said Tracy Daniels, the community foundation's managing director of marketing and communications.
The Smith fund was set up to benefit the York County 4-H Endowment, the Farm and Natural Lands Trust of York County and the York County Agricultural Society, which runs the York Fair.
In accordance to Smith's will, the bequest will benefit those three organizations, as well as nine local nonprofits, according to Daniels.
Community foundation officials are currently reviewing estate guidelines to determine how to distribute the bequest funds to the named organizations to benefit their programs, she said. The foundation is still in the process of informing the organizations about the
bequest, she said.
Grateful: Smith was head of the Penn State Extension Office and a life member of the York County Agricultural Society and of the National Agricultural County Agents Association.
Sean Kenny, executive director of Farm and Natural Lands Trust of York County, said he is very grateful for Smith's contribution, adding that Smith supported the trust since its start in 1990.
"We'll mainly use (the funds) to help the organization with operations and perpetuity, permanent land preservation work," Kenny said. "We're a small organization with a staff of two. Every penny goes a long way."
Leon Butler, a treasurer of the York County Agricultural Society, said that providing agricultural education opportunities to local youth was Smith's primary goal.
"We are so pleased that he thought of the York County Agricultural Society as a beneficiary of his generosity, which will allow us to continue striving to achieve that goal," Butler said in a statement.
--Reach Eyana Adah McMillan at emcmillan@yorkdispatch.com.
