BIOGRAPHIES
Invite Your Neighbor to Dinner Day was designed to help build communities and create
a sense of friendship amongst neighbors. No family is more qualified to reintroduce
these core values to America than the Smith family. Within the next few pages, you
are cordially invited to meet the Smiths, a contemporary, yet extraordinary family.
Jeffrey and Barbara Smith
Jeff and Barbara Smith met at Drexel University in Philadelphia, where they both
received degrees in engineering and psychology, respectively. They have been married
to each other for 20 years and have resided in Bucks County, Pennsylvania for 18
years.
With his engineering background, Jeff is a robotics and machine vision entrepreneur.
His commitment to his family and the communities around him are clearly evident in
everything he does. He is a travel soccer coach who thinks that nothing is impossible.
For Invite Your Neighbor to Dinner Day, Jeff urges Americans to consider inviting
an unfamiliar person from any community, such as a soccer team member or a yoga class
participant. "Communities are not just about where we live," he said. "They
are the people that surround us in everything we do and make us who we are."
Barbara is a Reiki (ray-key) Master and a teacher with her own practice. She has
also attended the Philadelphia Restaurant School and is a Landmark Education graduate.
She is leading yet another Self Expression in Leadership (SELP) project called Reiki
Hands Across the World. However, up until recently, Barbara practiced her teaching
skills full-time on her favorite students: her kids. "She is an extremely creative
person who possesses a wonderfully caring and kind nature," Jeff said as he
beamed at his college sweetheart. Barbara is clearly a modest individual who does
not seem to realize the humanitarian service that she performs daily by helping many
people through her Reiki hands. Barbara has introduced Reiki as a spiritual force
in the Smiths lives. In Japanese, it means "universal life force" and is
a system of natural healing that is generated through non-intrusive therapeutic touch.
Jeff and Barbara Smith are the proud parents of two sons, Joshua, 17, and Jeremy,
11. Also, the Smiths have recently added one more loving member to the family, an
Old English sheepdog named Marley.
THE KIDS
Joshua
Josh is a 17 year-old junior at Central Bucks East High School in Bucks County, PA.
Like his parents, Josh is filled with ambition. He was elected president of the sophomore
class when he arrived at East, just after passing on the reigns from his presidency
at Tamanend Junior High School during the 9th grade. He also attended the Princeton
Waldorf School for part of his sophomore year. He is looking forward to studying
math in college. Josh also enjoys soccer and baseball, and even billiards. He has
been a drummer for seven years and it is no surprise that he is active in Landmark
Educationís teen forums. People may think it is unusual that Josh also knows how
to knit, but this is probably why he enjoys kneading, rolling, twisting, and baking
pretzels for his local job at A Taste of Philly pretzel company in Doylestown, PA.
Jeremy
Jeremy, now 11, currently attends the Princeton Waldorf School. He is an avid soccer
player who enjoys being part of a team. Like his older brother, he also practices
billiards and knits. But, Jeremy applies his nimble fingers not to pretzel making,
but to violin playing. Jeremy plays the violin for his school orchestra and also
takes private lessons. "He is creative and artistic, like his mother,"
his father said. "He also does great impersonations!"
Marley
Marley, the Smith family dog, is more endearingly dubbed "Princess Marley Bear."
A recent addition to the Smith family, Marley is a young pup at 12 weeks and three
days old. She is an Old English sheepdog that came to the Smiths all the way from
Ithaca, New York. They unanimously describe her as gentle and sweet, a perfect addition
to their family. |
