Before there was a campaign logo or a yard sign, there was a lifelong Martin County resident building a career around numbers, responsibility, and accountability. As an accountant for decades, I have spent my professional life helping families, organizations, and small businesses make sound decisions and plan for the future.
My understanding of small business did not come from theory. Long before I owned a business myself, I watched my mother run a small business, learning what it takes to keep the doors open, meet payroll, and serve a community. Those lessons stayed with me and later shaped my own experience as a small business owner, where accountability and trust are not optional, they are essential.
Faith has also been a guiding force in my life. As a minister, I have walked alongside people in moments of joy, uncertainty, and loss. That work taught me the importance of listening, compassion, and leading with integrity.
As a mother, I see the realities facing working families through my own children. One operates a trucking business, another works as a mortgage lender, and another serves in health care. Their paths reflect the backbone of our local economy.
These experiences are why I believe leadership should be practical, honest, and accountable, rooted in the lives of the people it serves.
This campaign is about the people who stayed, who kept showing up, and who believe Eastern North Carolina deserves better.
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© Paid for by Patricia Smith for NC House 23