Lloyd F. Smith of Sikeston, Mo., was appointed by Missouri Governor Michael L. Parson in January 2020 with a term expiring January 1, 2026.

Mr. Smith served as the executive director of the Missouri Republican Party until his retirement in 2013. He previously served as chief of staff to both U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson and the late U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, totaling 28 years of service to Missouri’s 8th Congressional District. He managed Congressional projects including the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, Highways 67, 60, 63 and 412 improvements, as well as numerous levee, flood control programs, port improvements and economic development activities. Mr. Smith coordinated legislative federal funding for the River Campus, Cape Girardeau Floodwall Mural, Cape La Croix Flood Control Project, the Limbaugh Federal Courthouse, Mark Twain National Forest and Ozark National Scenic Riverways and numerous other efforts for the 8th District. In addition to the chief of staff position to the Emerson’s, he served as traveling senior staff assistant for agriculture and hunger issues traveling to Brussels, Berlin, Moscow, London and Rome. Mr. Smith was the Missouri political director for George W. Bush’s presidential campaign in 2004 and advised over two dozen legislative candidates statewide. He managed campaigns for U. S. Reps. Bill and Jo Ann Emerson and U. S. Senator Jim Talent. Mr. Smith manages the family farm, is completing a two-year term on the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority Board, is past chairman of the SEMO YMCA, serves on various boards, volunteers in the community is an elder and past chairman of the board of First Christian Church in Sikeston.

Mr. Smith was the first in his family to attend college and is a 1973 graduate of Southeast where he earned a Bachelor of Science in secondary speech education. His wife, Marlys, a retired teacher, is a Southeast alum. They are the parents of three children, Trista, Samuel and Tiffany.