The Tangipahoa Parish Council has appointed John “Tree” Smith of Amite to the Board of Commissioners for Hood Memorial Hospital. Hood also is known as Hospital Service District No. 2of Tangipahoa Parish.

The council appointed Smith at its Feb. 14 meeting to fulfill the unexpired term of Dr. Arthur Mauterer, who resigned from the board for personal reasons. The current term will expire January 2024.

A lifetime resident of Tangipahoa Parish, Smith retired in January of this year from the Tangipahoa Parish Clerk of Court’s office after 36 years of service under four different administrations. He has pastored Mt. Canaan Baptist Church in Arcola since 1994 and worked as a reserve sergeant with the Amite City Police Department since 2015.

“I am looking forward to helping Tangipahoa Parish continue to move forward as a member of the Hood Memorial Hospital Board of Commissioners,” Smith affirms.

Recognized as Father of the Year by the former Amite-Tangi Digest in 2011, Smith has served as president of the Amite Bitty Basketball Association since 2005 and as a member of the board of directors for Recreation District #3 since 2018.

An alumni of Amite High School, Smith attended Copíah-Lincoln Junior College in Wesson, Mississippi on a basketball scholarship. In 1993, he graduated from the Tangipahoa Parish Law Enforcement Training Academy, and in 1997, he earned certification as a deputy clerk of court.

Other members of Hood’s Board of Commissioners include Chairman Charles M. Guzzardo, Vice Chairman Robbie Lee Jr., Secretary Raymond Cutrer and Randy Bracy.

For more information about Hood Memorial Hospital, Amite Rural Health Clinic or the Board of Commissioners, visit www.hoodmemorial.com, call (985) 748-9485 or follow “Hood Memorial Hospital” on social media.

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