Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A former law officer blinded in the line of duty who went on to become a nationally recognized motivational speaker will be featured Oct. 23 at Mississippi State.
Bobby Smith of Springfield, Mo., a specialist in dealing with the aftermath of trauma, is scheduled to lead a 6:30 p.m. public program in Lee Hall Auditorium. "Visions of Courage" is the topic of his presentation.
The university's student counseling services department is sponsoring the program.
Smith lost his sight after being shot in the face while working in 1986 as a Louisiana state trooper. Eleven years later, his 22-year-old daughter died in an automobile accident.
"He has used these incidents and other traumatic events in his life as catalysts to motivate others in overcoming adversity," said counseling center graduate assistant Krista Harris, a coordinator of Smith's campus visit.
Smith is the founder and executive director of the Foundation for Officers Recovering from Traumatic Stress, a non-profit counseling center for emergency services personnel.
He also is president of the CODE 3 Police Training Center. Scheduled to open in January, the Little Rock, Ark.-based center will provide specialized instruction in hostile-encounter protocols.
Smith is the author of "Will to Survive" (2005), and a 1988 autobiography, "Vision of Courage." He is completing "And the Rain Fell on the Flower," which is set for release next year.
For more information on the program, contact Harris at 662-325-3518 or kth30@saffairs.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.