โฒ๏ธŽ This article is more than a year old.

Marriage has been described romantically as โ€˜two hearts beating as one.โ€™ And while that phrase certainly applies to Brooke and Bryan Smith, perhaps an even better way to describe their union might be โ€˜two hearts caring as one.โ€™

In the world of local service and community impact, the Smiths are a power couple.

Brooke is the chief executive officer of United Way of Lebanon County. Her husband Bryan is the executive director of Lebanon County Christian Ministries.

LCCM and the United Way are two of the highest-profile, most integral, and most diverse nonprofits in the county.

The Smiths have been married for ten years, but each has only been in their respective roles for relatively short periods of time. While there are some unavoidable cross-over aspects to their personal and professional lives, the Smiths diligently guard against anything that can be construed as conflicts of interest.

Read More: United Way of Lebanon County names Brooke Smith as new CEO

Read More: First Aid and Safety Patrol Executive Director resigns, takes job with Lebanon County Christian Ministries

Love brought them together, but what is love but God’s hand at work?

โ€œWeโ€™ve talked about it, โ€˜Whatโ€™s this look like?โ€™โ€ said Bryan Smith. โ€œThe thing that has put my heart at ease is that the people who know Brooke and I, they know us. Itโ€™s our faith and work. Thereโ€™s nothing we want more than for the community we live in to prosper. You do this for the passion. It is unique. But if anyone truly knows us, they wouldnโ€™t be surprised.โ€

Brooke and Bryan Smith pause for a snapshot at a fundraising event. (Provided photo)

โ€œI do think itโ€™s unique,โ€ said Brooke Smith. โ€œMany people have made me aware of that fact. I had just accepted the job with the United Way when he started the interview process at LCCM. We are both service-oriented. We are both born and raised in Lebanon County, and we are raising our family here. We want to see it be vibrant.โ€

Something else that the Smiths are currently sharing is their agenciesโ€™ local response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

LCCM operates Lebanon Countyโ€™s food and clothing bank, the free noon meal program, and an emergency shelter for the homeless, among other services. The United Wayโ€™s role is one of collaboration and coordination, and fostering the process of bringing local agencies together for the greater good of the community.

Lebanon County Christian Ministries executive director Bryan Smith pauses for a picture inside the organizations Lebanon County food bank. (Katie Dudding, Lebanon Valley College 2021)

While each plays a vital role in Lebanon County on a daily basis, both have witnessed an increased demand for their services as the seriousness of the pandemic has deepened.

โ€œI see our role as being a convener,โ€ said Brooke Smith, of the United Way. โ€œWeโ€™re well positioned to have good relationships with schools and non-profits. During this COVID-19 crisis, with everything shut down, I feel like everyone was kind of working in their own lanes. We kind of stepped up, and organized weekly calls, just so everyone knows what other people are doing.โ€

Read More: United Way of Lebanon County launches coronavirus fund, information resource

United Way of Lebanon County CEO Brooke Smith (second from left) poses with UWLC staffers Deirdre Carmichael (left), Alyssa Trentzsch (second from right), and Flame Vo (right). (Provided photo)

โ€œThis is why we exist, for times like these,โ€ said Bryan Smith. โ€œEarly on, we tried to be on the front end of it. We shut down the clothing bank, except for extreme emergency situations. From a noon meal and food pantry perspective, our services have increased. The noon meal is now in a to-go format and weโ€™ve seen an increase from about 130 meals a day to 185 to 215 meals a day. With the food pantry, itโ€™s more families than individuals.โ€

Brooke Chernich and Bryan Smith were high-school sweethearts at Annville-Cleona, but after graduation they went their separate ways. Years later, after they both had divorced, they reunited through social media.

The Smiths will celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary in December.

โ€œThereโ€™s a much bigger plan for us,โ€ said Bryan Smith. โ€œIf you try to figure it out, sometimes it can be frustrating. For some reason, we went through things apart. There are things that occurred in her life and in my life that didnโ€™t make sense then. Now it makes sense.โ€

โ€œIf thereโ€™s anybody positioned to handle this coronavirus pandemic, itโ€™s him,โ€ said Brooke Smith. โ€œHaving an EMT background helps. Heโ€™s done a really good job of treating it like itโ€™s another day. He gets up every day and goes to work, and people need him. From a professional standpoint, he has developed a strong partnership between LCCM and Palmyraโ€™s Caring Cupboard. LCCM has really stepped up and made sure kids were fed.โ€

Before becoming LCCMโ€™s executive director seven months ago, Bryan Smith served in a similar role as First Aid and Safety Patrolโ€™s executive director and chief of operations. Brooke Smith has been in her position since August, after working as a pre-natal coordinator at Community Action Partnership of Lancaster County and prior to that as the director of community impact for the United Way of Lebanon County.

Bryan Smith works at his desk at Lebanon County Christian Ministries. Smith was named executive director of the organization last fall. (Katie Dudding, Lebanon Valley College 2021)

All impressive titles, but not as impressive as the work theyโ€™ve performed.

โ€œLCCM and the United Way have been partners for decades,โ€ said Brooke Smith. โ€œWe both made a pact early on that we didnโ€™t want to have misconceptions about any of our collaborations. We both made it a point to our boards. We try to be very cautious and professional. But when organizations work together, we feel like itโ€™s the best use of their resources.โ€

โ€œWe have four boys and we have a very active life,โ€ said Bryan Smith. โ€œWhen we finally get to sit down at the end of the day, we want to be husband and wife. During the COVID-19 crisis, because of the need for collaboration and partnership, we lean on each other more heavily. If youโ€™re locked down, at home and out of a job, youโ€™re looking for survival. We both are looking forward to getting back to detaching and getting back to a more normal life.โ€

Brooke and Bryan Smith are parents to four boys who help them lead “a very active life,” according to Bryan. (Provided photo)

In many ways, the Smiths are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. In other ways, they are setting examples that everyone in this time of crisis can follow.

โ€œI absolutely think itโ€™s a time to reflect on things,โ€ said Brooke Smith. โ€œWeโ€™ve been forced into this life of increased simplicity. Weโ€™re still very much a face-to-face, relationship-oriented community. It also brings to light inequities. I think about the most vulnerable people in our community. Thereโ€™s a positive feeling when the members of our community say, โ€˜How can we help?โ€™ It makes you feel proud to live here in Lebanon County.โ€

โ€œI think how weโ€™ve responded, individually, as people in our community, weโ€™ve done an adequate job,โ€ said Bryan Smith. โ€œAs agencies, I think weโ€™ve done a pretty good job of it. Weโ€™ve seen a great outpouring from our community financially, and weโ€™ve seen it very quickly. Things are going well right now. But weโ€™re anticipating a need in the community over the next two or three weeks. Weโ€™re focusing on making the money last.

โ€œBrooke and I are hoping for nothing but the best for the community we live in,โ€ concluded Bryan Smith. โ€œItโ€™s awful. Itโ€™s terrible. But letโ€™s look at what we have. Weโ€™re spending precious time with our family. God wants us to focus on Him. At Easter, during this time of re-birth, that message takes on an even greater significance. We will come out of it. But we canโ€™t do it without being a community and sticking together.โ€

Service has the power to extract positives from negative situations.


Read all of LebTown’s COVID-19 coverage here.

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Jeff Falk is a seasoned journalist based in Lebanon, PA. He's a graduate of Cedar Crest High School, Penn State University, and a lifelong resident of Lebanon, born and raised. Currently, he is a feature writer for Engle Publishing in Lancaster, the editor of LebCoSports.com, sports director at WLBR...

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