Smith Named 2010 MIA Migliore Honoree (March 21)

The award, presented during StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas in late January, noted Smith’s efforts in organizing what evolved into the MIA in the mid-1940s, and his work with the association through the late 1950s. Smith, who headed his namesake dimensional-stone firm in Columbus, Ohio, died in 1974.

Chester A. Smith“Chester is so deserving of this award not only because of his lifetime of leadership in the stone industry, but because of his dedication to the MIA,” said Garis Distelhorst, MIA executive vice president. “Chester served as the only president of the MIA to be elected twice in a row and also served as the organization’s treasurer for five terms.

“This honor was deserved and overdue.”

Smith’s lifelong career in the dimensional-stone trade began in 1912 as a draftsman after taking correspondence courses in architectural drafting and design. He eventually joined the Wege Marble & Tile Co., spending 16 years with that firm; in 1928, he formed Chester A. Smith Inc., and concurrently operated the Detroit Marble Works in Detroit.

Smith’s business grew during the years, with clients ranging from The Ohio State University to The Limited (for which it did the stone work in stores across the country.)

“He just loved his work,” recalls Paul Smith, his son. “He’d work all day and would come home and make drawings at night. He often worked seven days a week.”

The first MIA organizational meeting was in Cincinnati in 1944, but Smith hosted the first annual convention in Columbus in 1945, drawing 45 attendees.

“It had a lot to do with Chester’s enthusiasm, and because of the caliber of the men forming it, that the MIA has grown to what it is today,” stated S. Kenan (Ken) Manson, 1961 MIA president, in his nominating letter. “Chester Smith’s industry achievements were significant by themselves, but his greatest satisfaction seemed to rest in the continued success of MIA.