Editors Note: This article is the second in a three-part series, profiling the recipients of the community’s inaugural Celebrate Philanthropy! honors. The honorees will be formally recognized at the Celebrate Philanthropy! Luncheon, sponsored by the Santa Maria Times, Nov. 6 at the Santa Maria Country Club. Call 346-6123 for reservations or more information.

Mark and Dorothy Smith helped build Santa Maria.

As the force behind Foxenwood Builders and Foxenwood Realty, the Smiths have constructed and sold homes in the community since arriving from the Los Angeles area.

Even before the couple achieved business success, they found ways to help build the community in other avenues — through philanthropy. From the first donations to the recent creation of the Smith family’s own foundation for charitable giving, the couple has demonstrated a dedication to philanthropy.

“You can’t help but give it back,” Mark said.

The couple moved to the Santa Maria Valley — specifically Orcutt — with two small children in 1959.

“We came here with no money, but Santa Maria has been very good to us,” said Mark, recalling how oil, agriculture and an Air Force base contributed to the growth of the “boom town.”

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Mark, who was pursuing a civil engineering degree from USC thanks to the G.I. Bill, had gained experience working with a construction company on the coast.

After working on a Santa Maria area project, he decided it was the place for him to set out on his own, and soon had a wide variety of jobs, including handling some of the grading work for the Highway 1 route between Santa Maria and Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Dorothy raised the children, and eventually earned a contractor’s and real estate licenses to help her start Foxenwood Realty.

As the Santa Maria community grew, so did the Smiths’ ability to contribute. When the call went out to raise funds to help expand Marian Medical Center, the Smiths pitched in where they could.

Dorothy recalled folding a bow tie out of dollar bills, preparing Mark’s outfit for the first Marian Medical Center Foundation’s Waiters’ Night fundraiser, held at Far Western Tavern.

The donations might have been smaller then, but the couple agreed the important thing for people to do is to give what they can.

“That small lump of money is just as important, and just as hard to come by for one person, as a large donation might be for someone else,” Mark said.

Donating time and leadership skills, Mark served on the Hancock College Foundation Board for six years. While on the board he spearheaded efforts to renovate a small residence near the Santa Maria campus to create a permanent home office for the college’s foundation.

“It’s amazing when you start a project how many people get involved,” Mark said, listing the contractors, workers and donors that helped complete the renovation.

Dorothy and Mark emphasized who their hard work and good fortune are what enabled their generosity later in life. Over the years, the Smiths have focused much of their charitable efforts into supporting education, particularly through scholarships for Hancock College students.

“It’s sort of a way for me to pay back my G.I. Bill,” Mark said, adding that he especially tries to provide for students who don’t qualify for traditional financial aid, but can’t truly afford college.

This couple, who are such a regular feature at Santa Maria events ranging from the Boys & Girls Club annual dinner to the rowdier Elks Rodeo fundraisers, was almost torn apart by World War II.

“It was an easy time to grow up, before the war,” Mark said, recalling when he first spotted Dorothy in Huntington Beach, driving around in a 1936 Ford convertible.

“I looked at her, and I backed up to introduce myself,” Mark recalled.

The two started a courtship, but World War II interceded. Mark enlisted, and began training with hopes of becoming an officer. The Army needed troops, though, and Mark was shipped to Europe as a private with the 99th infantry.

Meanwhile, Dorothy took a job helping to operate flight simulators for Air Force pilots.

“It was very nice, being the sweetheart of the base with all those young pilots around,” Dorothy said teasingly.

Though he was never wounded, Mark’s appendix burst while on the front lines, and he had to walk miles to find a medical facility.

Mark recovered and returned to his unit, which then became caught behind enemy lines during the confusion of the Battle of the Bulge.

An Army telegram claimed Mark was missing, and a later missive said he was presumed dead. When Dorothy heard the news, she went to Mark’s mother to mourn. A third telegram eventually corrected the mistake. Months later, the war ended and Mark shipped home.

"I went to her house first,” Mark said, smiling at Dorothy.

They married soon afterward.

Those war-torn sweethearts have accomplished much, and have given back to the community they call home. A recent windfall from investments led the Smiths to establish a family foundation to make annual contributions to various organizations in the Santa Maria area. The foundation is something they intend for their children and grandchildren to take pride in.

Out of all the campaigns the Smiths have supported, one philanthropic deed holds special meaning for Mark — donating to help build Marian Heart Center.

The addition added more than 44,000 square feet of cardiovascular service space, including new and larger surgical suites, special suites for cardiac surgery, and modernization of many of the center’s cardiac-related facilities and equipment.

“A year later, I was in there getting operated on,” Mark said.

The Smiths said they think the Santa Maria community to be a good and giving place. Perhaps because of that, individual recognition of the Smiths’ philanthropy surprises Dorothy.

“It’s unexpected, because we just go about our daily ways, but it’s very sweet,” she said.

October 26, 2008