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Fairfield’s Dick Smith receives ‘Eight Over 80’ Award from University of Iowa
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
IOWA CITY – Fairfield resident and Agri-Industrial Plastics Co. founder Dick Smith received a special honor from the University of Iowa in May, being named to its list of “Eight Over 80” exceptional alumni.
Since 2022, the University of Iowa has bestowed this award on eight distinguished alumni per year, and previous honorees have included members of the Iowa Legislature and former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw. According to a news release from Turning Point Media Relations, the Eight Over 80 Award celebrates Iowa alumni, age 80 and above, who continue to “make an impact, who carry the Hawkeye spirit of achievement, and continue to help others in their community.”
Smith obtained a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and industrial engineering from the university in 1960. According to a news release from the university, Smith was a student leader in ROTC and the Greek system. While at Iowa, Smith met his wife, Judy, during an Omicron Delta Kappa/Mortar Board dinner. Judy graduated a year after Dick with a bachelor’s degree in education.
“Their 63-year marriage has served as the foundation for Dick’s business success and commitment to giving back,” stated the university’s news release.
Smith told The Union that he was humbled to be included in a select group of honorees by his alma mater, and said that his education and life experiences at Iowa served as the groundwork for what he accomplished later in life.
Smith served in the military and was stationed in South Korea just a few years removed from the Korean War. He said things were still “pretty torn up” during his time there, and that it was eye-opening to see the destruction of war.
“And now, they’re very, very successful, thanks to the U.S.,” Smith said.
While Dick was serving his country, his heart was still back in the states, thinking about that girl Judy he met his senior year. The two sweethearts tied the knot once Dick came back and was out of the Army. Dick and Judy are both Iowa natives, with Dick growing up in Indianola and Judy growing up in Waterloo. Smith’s pursuit of an MBA took him to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, which he obtained in 1965.
He began his career in plastics manufacturing in Connecticut before moving to St. Louis, where he lived for five years and which he referred to as “one of the nicest towns in the United States.” He knew he wanted to stay in the Midwest, and he went to work for a small company that had just gotten into blow-molding. He began working for a plastics company in Bonaparte, and then in 1978 he founded his own company, Agri-Industrial Plastics in Fairfield.
Smith has been with Agri-Industrial Plastics for 47 years now, and led the company for 37 years, driving innovations that “favored sustainable practices in engineering and manufacturing,” according to the university’s news release.
“Today, he remains active professionally and in the company’s community involvements,” the news release states. “When AIP pledged $100,000 to support a local childcare facility in 2021, Smith championed the center, which opened in 2023.”
Smith’s daughter Lori Schaefer-Weaton succeeded him as president, a title she holds to this day. The company employs more than 200 people, and is recognized as a “leading manufacturer of non-automotive multi-layer fuel tanks and other custom blow molded parts.”
Smith has been an active member of the Fairfield community, serving as the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce Board President and a board member of Fairfield Economic Development Association. He has received the Fairfield Entrepreneurial Award, the Legends Award in Manufacturing from Iowa Association of Business and Industry, and the Society of Plastic Engineers Lifetime Achievement Award.
This University of Iowa alumnus makes frequent trips to visit his alma mater, since he and Judy attend many Hawkeye football and basketball games, including two Rose Bowls 60 years apart. Smith said he remembers that first Rose Bowl very fondly, back on New Year’s Day of 1957 when he was a freshman. It was Iowa’s first ever bowl game.
“We took the student train out to Los Angeles, and it was $100 round-trip,” he said.
Dick and Judy have been long-time donors to the University of Iowa’s College of Engineering and medical research initiatives, in addition to their regular donations to their family’s church, school district and Habitat for Humanity.
“Their generosity has been appreciated at Iowa for nearly six decades,” states the university’s news release.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
