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Oak Ridge councilors consider making longtime volunteer Ray Smith official city historian

3175600 · February 18, 2025
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Summary

Council members proposed replacing the "honorary" designation and formally naming Ray Smith as Oak Ridge’s city historian, recognizing his decades of community work; council discussed the city librarian's local history specialist position and the value of multiple historians.

Oak Ridge City Councilors on Monday discussed formally naming volunteer historian Ray Smith as the city’s official historian, removing the prior "honorary" label and recognizing his long record of public work documenting the community’s history.

Council Member Hensley said Smith has performed historian duties daily and deserved the formal title. "To be mentioned in the same sentence with Bill Wilcox is an honor," Smith replied; he told council he would "gladly accept" the designation but said he does the work out of affection for Oak Ridge.

Why it matters: Oak Ridge has extensive…

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