SOUTHERN BELLE IN THE BIG APPLE

a BUS & a dream: From Small town Alabama to the concrete jungle in new York 

 Brooke Smith was southern born and raised in little town outside of Birmingham, Alabama. She was born the youngest with just one older Brother who served as a Marine. Semper Fi!  Her Father was a pipe-fitter for fire protection industry and truck driver; and her Mother, a graphic designer, worked multiple jobs including pre-press printing, customer service industry and also did several art murals.  There was never a shortage of Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins that helped challenge, love and just be there for her when needed. At an early age her mother put both children in all kinds of activities and team sports to allow them to choose their own separate passions. To her Mothers surprise, Brooke did not pick just one passion…she wanted to participate in all, including sports, dance and pageants; she also enjoyed learning and participating at school. From elementary school to high school, she juggled many different hobbies which included softball, volleyball, track, basketball, Karate (Taekwondo), school beauty pageants, clubs and dance classes.  In Karate, she competed in statewide sparing tournaments, winning multiple first place trophies and achieving a Black Belt First Degree. She worked hard to make several dance teams, all County and Area in multiple sport activities, and also won a few titles in pageants. At the same time she maintained her education and was an honor student and officer of a few school clubs.  All this childhood activity sparked a love for competition and the spotlight of being on stage. In her last dance performance they paid honor to Frank Sinatra’s New York New York and made her take notice of the Concrete Jungle.  Sticking to her first love and what she thought was her best chance out of the small town of Locust Fork, Alabama, Brooke signed a full scholarship to play softball at Jefferson State Community College. Two years later, leaving all the blood, sweat, and tears on the field, she eared a Bachelor degree in Applied Science/ Biology. She also made the Dean’s List both years. After struggling to pick a major, she found the closest thing to a team, a field or stage possible that helped pay the bills… Bartending! Through this new industry, she met a positive influence and mentor.  His name was Everette Shoulb. His life was cut short which turned her world upside down.  Like most people in their early twenties, she doubted herself and her dreams.  He was one of the people that encouraged her to seek more in Life. Her favorite quote from him was, "There's two types of people in the world…the ones that tell others how to live their lives and the ones that show them how. Which one are YOU?” She guest bar tended at a lot of the bars in the Greater Birmingham area, building skills at different types and styles of bars. After a few years of trying to figure out where the next chapter of her life would be, she hopped on a bus to Chinatown in New York solo for a two week stay...and that was the beginning…that began nine years ago.  Brooke Smith continues to seek more out of life everyday. She recently made one of her life long dreams of becoming an entrepreneur come true by founding her own bar consulting firm called, Heartfelt HosPUBtality by Brooke Smith this February, just two months shy of the Covid-19 pandemic. Being the enteral optimist that she is, Brooke hasn’t skipped a beat with her firm. Taking into account how the hospitality industry will look in our new normal will be, her firm is growing and evolving with the changing times. Her firm is even donating RTD cocktails to bars in New York doing cocktail to-go programs, with the sole purpose of raising money to support their team tip recovery funds. This is just one southern girls journey far from the country. This is Brooke Smith.