Although Boyce Smith, Jr. was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, he was only there a short period of time before his family packed up and moved to Louisiana.

"I actually grew up in Baker and Zachary," Smith says fondly of his current hometown, Zachary.

In 1971, Smith's family settled in Zachary where he says he began middle school in the sixth-grade and finished at Zachary High School. "I am a proud alumni," said Smith.

He worked as a carpenter at River Bend Nuclear Plant from 1980-82, before becoming a career firefighter with the Zachary Fire Department.

He began his career with the City of Zachary working as a mechanic in August of 1982 and transferred for good to the fire department in June of 1983, Smith recalls. He first began volunteering as a firefighter in 1980 with the ZFD.

Smith ended a 31-year career with the Zachary FD last August when he made the decision to retire.

His position as Fire Chief ended May 2012.

Smith is married to Tammy Anders, daughter of Smiley Anders, columnist for The Advocate, and she moved to Zachary in 1980 from Baker.

"I've worked in the public sector my entire career," Smith said. "I love giving back to this community because it has given me so much."

Smith said he and his children have all attended and graduated from Zachary schools.

"We know how great Zachary schools are now...but they have always been great," Smith says of the district's success. "I want to be a part of the continued success, and I want to give back to the schools that have given much to me," Smith said of his recent appointment as interim school board member.

"The children of our community strive to be the best, and intend to work hard to help give them the best opportunity to succeed," Smith said. "I want to be their voice and the voice of the citizens of District 7."

Smith said he intends to work hard on behalf of all the students in the district by helping provide the best opportunities for students to reach their goals.

"Zachary really is a great community in which to live, work and play!" Smith said.

The District 7 school board position will be filled permanently after an election next April.

Smith said he intends to run for the ZCSB District 7 seat, which was recently vacated by Carl Kelley, who took a job out of state.

Kelley also served as an interim board member for the District 7 seat before being elected in October 2009.

Kelley replaced former school board member Beth Kimmel who also vacated the seat to move out of state.