Her Story
About Martha
Martha Gillham Smith is an accomplished educator, business owner, and author from Carroll County, Georgia. She began her professional journey in education, dedicating 33 years to teaching across multiple school systems. A graduate of what is now the University of West Georgia, she earned her AB in English and Education along with advanced degrees in education. She later completed a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Throughout her teaching career, she was recognized for excellence in instruction, including being named Bremen City Schools Teacher of the Year and a top 12 finalist for Georgia State Teacher of the Year.
Following her retirement from education, Martha transitioned into business leadership and community service. She took on the management of family enterprises, including her late husband’s operations, and continues to oversee Smith Farms & Trucking, Inc. as well as Smith and Chance Properties. She also served on her local school board for 16 years, extending her commitment to education through governance and advocacy. Her work spans agriculture, transportation, and real estate management, reflecting a diverse professional portfolio grounded in long-term stewardship and community involvement.
In recent years, Martha has entered a new chapter as a published author, drawing on her background in education and English. She has written narrative nonfiction and children’s books, including Paw Prints on My Heart, Lessons Learned from Olive, and Olive Goes to Switzerland, with additional works in progress focused on travel, family, and faith-based themes. Her writing reflects both her storytelling experience and her personal values, which are centered on Christian faith, service, and purpose. Alongside her publishing work, she remains active in business management, philanthropic efforts, and an upcoming medical and educational mission trip to Peru.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Martha
01What do you attribute your success to?
I have to contribute it all to God. I mean, He gets all the glory, and I can look back on my life and see where His hand has been in my life. Here's an example: when my mother moved in with my late husband and me, we added the carport on and added a little place that she called Glory because she had always said, my next move will be on to Glory, but it was to our house, so my brother named it Glory. We got a ramp going up to the entrance of Glory, and she never used it. My two late husbands never used it, I've never had to use it, but my current husband just lost a foot, and he has used the ramp. You know, everything that I look back on that has happened in my life, whether it has been failures or success, it's been God setting me up for what's going to happen next.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Probably the best career advice I ever got was that in dealing with anybody, whether it's students or professional people, it's all about relationships. How you make people feel truly matters, whether you're working with students, colleagues, or other professionals.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think advice that I would give to women would be that, remember, we really do a job better than men because we can multitask, and we have all these different tracks open. I picture railroad tracks. And we have all these different tracks open because we're doing more than one thing at a time, and just to stay focused.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think one of the biggest challenges, although my books are sold on Amazon, is getting to the right people. Like, there are people in my hometown who are just finding out that I'm an author, and they're surprised by it, although my first book was published in 2025, and then I've had another book come out this year. Despite that challenge, everything in my life has just fallen in place. I've never gone up to that little room upstairs that overlooks the ports where I thought one day I'd be able to sit and write, but I am writing now, and everyone has just fallen in place.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
My faith as a follower of Jesus is central to both my work and personal life. I believe everything flows from that foundation, as God is love and calls us to reflect that love in how we treat others. For me, that means striving to love God fully and to extend that love to the people around me in all that I do.
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