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Bill Smith is being inducted into our Hall of Fame for his decades of service to our sport of trapshooting. Before I speak more on what Bill has done for our sport, I would like to share a few of Bill's shooting accomplishments, which cross multiple disciplines. Bill started his shooting career in the early 80's as a Sporting Clays shooter before transitioning to International Skeet and becoming a member of the USA Shooting Team. A few of Bill's accomplishments include:
6 Gold medals International Skeet championships Southeast Region at the Wolf Creek Olympic Shooting Complex
1998 Class Champion "Tall Pines Invitational" Ft Benning International Skeet
1999 Class Champion International Skeet PTO Ft Benning
1999 Silver Medal for NSSA World Championship International Skeet
1999 Georgia State Trap Class B Doubles Champion
2000 Gold Medal for NSSA World Championship International Skeet
2000 Gold Medal for USA Shooting International Skeet
2000 Participant for Olympic Trials in International Skeet
2007 Georgia State 19-21 Yd Handicap Champion
While many of Bill's Shooting championships are outside of Trap, he has been a supporter of all Shooting sports for over 40 years. in the early 90's Bill started a Sunday Trap League (STL) at Wolf Creek, which is known today as Tom Lowe Shooting grounds, including advertising, promotion, assisting new shooters, promoting the ATA, the GATA and many Georgia Shooting Clubs. Bill actively encouraged new shooters to participate in the Georgia State Shoot each year.
The STL has produced multiple state champions - in the past 10 years, 6 Handicap Champions, 5 Singles Champions at least one HAA Champion, one Delegate and multiple GATA Board Members.
STL members have won additional titles in neighboring state shoots, regional/zone shoots and including The Grand American Trap Shoot.
Bill's instructor certifications include NRA rifle, pistol, in the home self defense, NRA certified Trap Coach, and NSCA Certified Sporting Clays Level III Instructor. One of Bill's favorite hobbies was shooting bumblebees with his BB Gun. The rumor is he was shooting over a "baited field" as he would use Coca-Cola to attract them.
Outside of shooting Bill was a school counselor for Marietta City Schools working with Junior High students the majority of his career. Since his retirement, he has worked professionally as a shooting instructor in Georgia before relocating to Tennessee with his wife Beverly. He continues to work with new shooters, many of whom are youth, as he promoteds clay shooting sports.
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