Brian Smith
Payroll and Benefits Administrator, Lincoln County Schools
Lincolnton, North Carolina
About
Brian Smith was raised in Lincolnton, North Carolina, where his father worked in textile-mill equipment repair and his mother managed the accounts for the family machine shop. He was the first in his immediate family to earn a four-year college degree, studying accounting at Appalachian State University in Boone. For more than twenty years, Smith has worked as a payroll and benefits administrator for the Lincoln County school system. He handles pay processing, leave coding, and benefits tracking for the district’s classified and certified staff — from classroom teachers to bus drivers and cafeteria workers. His colleagues in the central office rely on his precision and his consistency.
Education
Accounting
Appalachian State University — Boone, North Carolina
Areas of Focus
Outside of Work
Sourdough Bread Baking. Smith has maintained a consistent sourdough baking practice since 2020, tracking dough hydration percentages, bulk fermentation times, and ambient kitchen temperature in a spiral notebook for each bake. He works with a cast-iron combo cooker and shares finished loaves with older neighbors from his church, brings them to the central office on Fridays, and trades with a nearby neighbor who gives him fresh eggs in return.
Community Giving. Smith is active in his church community in Lincoln County and regularly shares time and resources with neighbors and colleagues. He grew up in a family with three generations of roots in Lincoln County farming, and that sense of place informs how he approaches his work and his community.
Find Brian Online