Fred Smith honored for pioneering vision at FedEx, philanthropy and parenting style

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - On Monday, FedExForum welcomed Fred Smith’s large family, friends and many fans who cheered a nearly three-hour tribute to the visionary founder of FedEx on what would’ve been his 81st birthday.

“He was a dad first, and a grandpa, and he loved those two terms,” said Barbara Daush, the retired president of St. Agnes Academy/ St. Dominic School, where eight of Fred and Diane Smith’s children attended. “He showed up for his kids’ athletic events all the time. He was a dad.”

Smith’s children confirmed their father’s frequent loving presence via a beautifully produced video, noting their dad took time for his children, despite being one of America’s most accomplished and busy CEOs.

Faith Morris, the former marketing director at the National Civil Rights Museum, got to know Smith personally when the NCRM honored the aviation pioneer with its Freedom Award in 2022.

“He made more millionaires, especially Black millionaires, than anybody we can count,” Morris said.

A crowd that was largely made up of current and retired FedEx team members filled the lower bowl of FedExForum to hear from their CEO, Raj Subramaniam, who said that on Smith’s birthday going forward, the company will present a “FedEx Day of Service” in the Memphis community in Smith’s honor.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young gave the Smith family a key to the city, especially crafted by the National Ornamental Metal Museum, and announced that August 11, Smith’s birthday, will forevermore be observed as “Fred Smith Day.”

The city’s Hernando DeSoto Bridge will light up Monday night in purple and orange, FedEx’s colors, in Smith’s honor.

“There’s no argument that Fred Smith was the most important and influential person in the history of Memphis,” said AutoZone Founder Pitt Hyde. “As Memphis’ largest employer, Fred improved the lives of tens of thousands of our citizens. He changed the trajectory of the city. It became an anchor in the global economy and home to one of the world’s most respected companies,” Hyde said.

A parade of FedEx team members shared memories of the company’s early days starting in April 1973.

FedEx shipped 186 packages on night #1. It now moves more than 17 million nightly.

“When the company was very small, everybody pitched in, “said retired FedEx Captain Ronald Keller, FedEx Employee #361.

Audrey Phifer remembered Smith leading the way when packages needed to be loaded or unloaded. “He would come through the building and would say, ‘I need all hands on deck,’” Phifer recalled.

“Mr. Smith showed he supported diversity and openness by actively recruiting well-qualified African Americans; color meant nothing to him,” said retired FedEx Captain Tony Holder, one of the first seven African American pilots FedEx hired.

“My name is Gavin McKoy, Employee #6,299,143,” said the young man who attended Smith’s alma mater, Memphis University School, and became inspired by Smith’s life story through a display in the MUS library.

“His values aren’t just a part of our history. They’re a challenge to all of us to create what’s next, to swing big and lead with purpose,” said the youngest member of the FedEx team who just started with the company in June.

Pastor Tim Bowers, who revealed that he had officiated at five of Fred and Diane Smith’s daughters’ weddings, said he had a front row seat to the Fred Smith story as a family friend in faith. Reflecting on the span of FedEx across the globe, Bowers said, “The impossible could be made possible overnight with ethics, ethics, ethics, elegance and a warrior’s resolve.”

General Carton W, Fulford, Jr., USMC Ret. Served alongside Smith during his four years’ service in Vietnam from 1966 to 1970, where Smith was decorated with the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.

Gen. Fulford revealed the Smiths have quietly funded schools for Vietnamese children in recent years. “Hundreds of children attend school thanks to the generosity of Fred and Diane,” the general said.

Retired St. Jude ALSAC CEO Rick Shadyac revealed that the hospital and FedEx will soon send a delegation to Vietnam with the mission of lowering the rate of pediatric cancer, a new initiative that came about late in Smith’s generous life.

University of Memphis President Dr. Bill Hardgrave said while he was a professor at the University of Arkansas in 1995, he had lunch with Smith, who revealed way back then that “FedEx is not a logistics company; it’s an information company.”

Dr. Hardgrave has written five books and countless articles about IT. He says Smith was making calls and writing letters to promote the University of Memphis’ entry into the Big 12 Conference until the next-to-last day of his life.

The program featured videos narrated by actors Tom Hanks and Morgan Freeman, celebrating Smith’s amazing company and free-flowing philanthropy.

“FedEx became shorthand for speed, reliability and trust,” said U.S. Rep. David Kustoff (R-Memphis).

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) said Smith changed the world and noted that FedEx transported pandas across the world aboard its specially outfitted “Panda Express.”

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee lauded Smith’s “integrity, humility and courage,” and noted that Smith had navigated FedEx through presidential administrations from Nixon to Trump and kept in touch with heads of state worldwide.

To give a sense of the enormity of the company Fred Smith built, current FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam shared that at the precise time of the Celebration of Life, what would’ve been Smith’s birthday, the company had 22 flights crossing the Pacific Ocean and 20 crossing the Atlantic.

Pitt Hyde concluded his tribute to his lifelong friend by encouraging the crowd: “Let’s carry Fred’s spirit forward in the way we show up for each other and for Memphis.”

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