Randy Smith retired in 2025 after teaching high school English, AP psychology, and musical theater for 40 years, a job he truly misses. He has been honored with being High School Teacher of the Year three times, Lincoln County Schools System Teacher of the Year, and he was selected as STAR Teacher seven times. He lives just off Lewis Family Road, and his uncle by marriage was Pop Lewis’s nephew. He taught Lewis Phillips, former musician for The Lewis Family; he went to high school and the University of Georgia with Sheri Easter (she was also his disco dance partner); and, his students have performed at the Bluegrass Festival in Lincolnton, Georgia. “I have been tangentially connected to Bluegrass music all my life,” Smith admits. “I am a storyteller by nature, and I appreciate anyone who can write or tell a great story.”