JIMMY SMITH

CHAIRMAN

James M Smith took over as Chairman of Prestige-Ledroit after his son, Joey Smith who started the company, passed away in 2016. Jimmy enjoys continuing on the legacy while mentoring and teaching the next generation of leadership. After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill, Jimmy realized he couldn’t make a living playing soccer so he began working for his father at Reliable Liquors in 1973. After 28 years at Reliable and overseeing the merger with Churchill, forming Reliable Churchill, and later with Wirtz of Chicago, becoming Breakthru Beverage of Maryland, Jimmy was CEO/Chairman of these two companies from 2002 until his departure in 2017. Jimmy has served as President of the Maryland Wholesalers Association for many years and has been an integral part of the industry for 50 years. While Jimmy feels it’s a privilege to work in this industry, he also enjoys traveling and spending time with his family, especially driving up and down 95 North to visit his 6 grandchildren.