YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County Commissioner Geno DiFabio said Tuesday that Clarence “Sonny” Smith and his family donated “a lot of property in Boardman where the Government Center is. They donated the new Smith Wellness Center.”

The wellness center is a place for first responders in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties to engage in wellness activities.

And Smith worked to “further promote the Mahoning Valley in every way possible,” DiFabio said.

DeFabio and the two other commissioners, Anthony Traficanti and Carol Rimedio Righetti, praised Smith Tuesday while approving a resolution to name Market Street in Boardman the “Clarence ‘Sonny’ Smith Jr. Memorial Highway.” Smith, of Boardman, died April 13, 2021, at age 92.

“We would like to go along with Boardman and bestow this honor in his memory to really one of the great philanthropists of our area,” DeFabio said.

Boardman trustees approved a resolution Dec. 16 giving their approval to naming the road after Smith.

Smith was a member of the Boardman Board of Education from 1960 through 1971, business leader with Diamond Steel, Compco Industries and Adamas Jewelry and gave his time and resources to many other organizations, the Boardman resolution states. Market Street in Boardman passes by the land that serves as Boardman Township Government Center, the Boardman resolution notes.

The next step will be for the Ohio General Assembly to designate Market Street in Boardman in honor of Smith.