Roger L. Smith is a native of South Carolina, the second of five siblings born to Willie and Fredie Smith.  He attended Golden Street Kindergarten and Mary H Wright Elementary in Spartanburg and Ralph J Bunche Elementary in Cowpens, S. C., and Roosevelt Village Elementary in Columbia, S. C.   In High School, he attended Booker T. Washington in Columbia, S. C. and Benjamin E. Mays High School in Pacolet, S C, where he graduated among the top of his class.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia in Business Administration and Economics being the first of his family to attend college. He continued his education in pursuing multiple graduate degrees at New York University, Farleigh Dickinson University and at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC), Morehouse School of Religion in Atlanta, Georgia, where he is presently in a dual degree program.

He joined the Banking Industry after graduating from Morehouse College, he was trained professionally in the Financial Capital of the nation, New York City.  He has held key positions in Banking as a Branch Manager, Manager of Small Business Lending and Chief Loan Officer in charge of Commercial Lending prior to becoming the President of First Bank, Cleveland, Ohio at the tender age of 35.  He has been self-employed since retiring from Banking and has been involved in a number of business ventures and has served as a consultant for Municipalities and private enterprises and Banks. He also conducts seminars on financing alternatives and entrepreneurial strategies and procedures for growth and profitability to small businesses.

He is an Ordained Baptist Minister, a 33° degree Prince Hall Mason, Past Master of St. James Lodge # 4 in Atlanta, GA., as well as a preacher, lecturer, and motivational speaker. He has done some part-time acting having appeared in “Driving Miss Daisy “and a number of television series of “In the Heat of the Night “plus some corporate advertising commercials.  He is a former Explorer Scout in Troop #299 and was a youth activist. As he and several friends attempted lunch counter sit-ins at Woolworths’ Department Store in Spartanburg during the formative years of the Civil Rights Movement. He has been featured in Black Enterprise and Jet Magazines and has contributed to a number of articles in several other print media publications. Now as Author writer, he has just completed his first book entitled High Finance Goes Uptown, published by Authorhouse Publishers. 

Currently, he is actively involved in community affairs after having formed his own Outreach Ministry, the R L Smith Ministries Ltd. The Ministry has adopted an Atlanta Elementary School  where it provides Mentorship and Tutoring and sponsors a reading (A Read N’ Ride) Program and a gardening (A Seed N’ Feed) Program as a teaching tool for 2^nd through 5^th graders.   In addition to this, the Ministry is engaged in Outreach Initiatives such as Prison Ministry, Food and Shelter Programs,  Scholarship Awards, Chess Ministry (youth competition), and Nursing Home Worship Services with  programs of concern and care.  Our A B C Project provides restoration and ground maintenance for suburban cemeteries along with Family members and Funeral Homes. These activities are funded by donations to The Foundation of H O P E (Helping Ordinary People Excel), a 501c3 tax exempt non-profit Foundation which he founded and formed to meet the needs of an ever so changing underserved community of God’s people.  He also produces and conducts a telephone call-in teaching program called “The Bible Speaks” , a weekly broadcast concerning scripture interpretation and their impact upon our lives today in the 21^st century.

His “Calling” to the ministry has enabled him  to focus on Kingdom Building and helping others improve their life’s condition through the knowledge of God and to realize God’s plan for them to move beyond the boundaries and periphery of life to a divine purpose of abundance …to serve this present age.