W.A. Smith's Profile

W.A. Smith – A Legacy of Leadership, Service, and Community 🏡👏

For nearly 50 years, W.A. Smith has been a pillar of integrity and leadership in Shelby County real estate. As the founder of W.A. Smith Realty, he set the standard for honesty, hard work, and a commitment to service—values that continue to define Torrey Smith Realty today.

W.A. launched his career in 1974 after his father, Martin Stallard "Boots" Smith, encouraged him to join the real estate industry. Though his father passed unexpectedly that same year, W.A. was determined to carry out his vision. By 1975, he was named Associate Realtor of the Year, and by 1976, he was awarded Realtor of the Year—a testament to the rapid impact he made. In just a few years, he established his own brokerage, W.A. Smith Realty, growing it to 25 agents and shaping the landscape of real estate in Shelbyville and beyond.

Beyond his real estate success, W.A. has been a mentor, a coach, a volunteer, and a community builder. His name is synonymous with service, having served on numerous boards, including the Shelbyville Board of Realtors, Chamber of Commerce, Operation Care, Shelby County Trust Bank, and Commonwealth Bank. He’s been the kind of person you’ll find volunteering at a soup kitchen, organizing community events, or handing out Christmas cheese wheels—a Smith family tradition spanning five decades.

More than his accolades, W.A. is best known for the relationships he’s built—whether at the closing table, on the ball field coaching Little League, or at Shelbyville First Baptist Church, where his faith has been his guiding force. His morning devotionals, particularly his favorite chapter, Philippians 4, have shaped the way he conducts business and interacts with those around him.

Even after passing the torch to his son Torrey Smith in 2007, W.A. remains a presence at the office, always ready to share wisdom, wit, and a well-timed joke. If he’s not in his office, you’ll find him at The Paddock, sipping his classic three-quarters-full black coffee, secretly tallying up coffee sales, proving that his business instincts never rest.

His impact on Shelby County is literally paved in W.A.’s Way, a trail in Stallard Springs, the 600+ acre development led by Torrey, named in honor of the Smith family legacy.

W.A. is more than a real estate legend—he’s a husband, father, grandfather, mentor, and friend. And if you hear someone calling out "Lipstick, Big Shot, Hurricane, Cyclone, Little Bit, Squirt, or Little Man", you’ll know it’s W.A. spreading love and laughter to his grandkids.

For a man who has built communities, homes, and relationships for half a century, the legacy of W.A. Smith isn’t just in real estate—it’s in the people whose lives he has touched. Thank you, W.A., for setting the foundation we continue to build upon.