Mary Kay Smith

Hi my name is Mary Kay Smith and I’m a native of Virginia where I got my start playing trumpet like most of us in Grade School and then continued on into High School where I participated in All Area and Regional bands. Once I entered college, I put down the trumpet for many years until I met and married my husband Tom. (Who is also a member of the SACB playing Euphonium). We both picked up our instruments again in 1984 and played with the Salvation Army Band in Huntington, WV….and yes, we were card carrying union members…

Upon moving to Jacksonville, the instruments took a back seat once again when I discovered tennis. I played lots and lots of tennis and eventually got involved with the professional men’s ATP and women’s WTA circuits. Working on court with tennis greats Billie Jean King, Rod Laver, Jimmy Conners, McEnroe, Lendl to Sampras, Agassi, Martina Navratilova and Chris Everett and present day Nadal, Djokovic, Federer, Serna and Venus plus too many others to list…while traveling to events such as Miami, Delray, Newport Hall of Fame, Washington, New Haven, Indy, Cincinnati, Indian Wells, and Bermuda including the summer Olympics in Atlanta 1996 and many Davis and Fed Cup events and over twenty plus years of working the U.S. Open in New York….I finally hung up the umpiring days after the 2018  Open and thought that I would continue to work a few events….little did I know that we all would be facing a health crisis.

As we all try to find our new normal including dealing with nerve damage to my face from a gone wrong root canal…. They are telling me that there is nothing more they can do to help…makes playing my trumpet a little more difficult… So, no solos for me….

I have many continuing interests include; gardening and yard work, animal lover with 3 dogs and 2 cats of our own and fostering for the Humane society…  Season ticket for the Jaguars since Day One, Volunteering for Society of St. Andrews gleaning program, it’s where we go into your back yards and pick fruit trees and also includes just driving down to Hastings and pick up a truck load of potatoes and take it to the local Food pantries…. delivering Meals on Wheels, and collecting gently used bicycles to refurbish and give-a-way for over 25 years, Paint the Town, Volunteering as a worker B at local Food Drives…..Visiting the elderly… riding my Vespa scooter and restoring old cars.

Back to music, it wasn’t until 2008 that we again picked up our horns when we joined a church that already had a brass ensemble…..Two trombones, a Tuba and Two trumpets so Tom and I joined in and have been playing with them at Church functions and supporting the Salvation Army Red Kettle Bell Ringing at Christmas.

I have been a member of SACB since its inception in 2015 and it is always exciting to see what music Geoff has picked for us to play, some more challenging than others. And I am also amazed by the young and more seasoned veteran talent that I am surrounded by every week with the Saint Augustine Concert Band.

SACB has been a great outlet for both of us and we look forward to every Monday night practice and seeing each one of you. And I am very happy to serve on the Board and help out any way that I can…

May each of you be Blessed

MK