BRISTOL, Tenn. (WJHL) – A Tennessee High School senior lost his life in a car accident over the weekend. Community members on Sunday gathered to remember him.
Jason Whitson, Choir Director at TN High School, told News Channel 11’s Bianca Marais that Logan Smith was a beloved member of the community.
“Logan has been a member of the band and the choir for his four years at Tennessee High School, and a really impactful member, not only was he really talented and just a great student, great musician, he was All-State choir member, he did so many things and that’s really a big part of it but mostly, he was just a kind, fun person to be around, he was one of those students that didn’t rush out after class and come in at the last minute, he wanted to spend time with his classmates, he wanted to spend time with his teachers and he was interested in what he was doing. He just had a really bright future and his impact of missing him is just going to be really hard,” Whitson said.
As for what kind of person and student Logan was, Whitson told News Channel 11’s Bianca Marais that he was respected and well-liked by all.
“He was always surrounded with people and laughing. They were always playing a game or singing, writing music, he was just into it all but he was just in so many activities and a big part of those activities – the swim team, the track team, band, choir, our after school slim pickin’s and different activities like that the spring musical, he was a member of Highlands Youth Ensemble, he was a Boy Scout and I believe he was working on his Eagle Scout, He was just very inquisitive. His guidance counselor and I were talking today and he was reminding me that he wanted to take every class that we offered, they were always finding a way to get his schedule. He really, he had a hunger to learn and to just dive into subject matter. He was just a wonderful kid to be around, he’d ask you a million questions and wanted to dig deeper. Just a wonderful kid to be around and a lot of fun,” Whitson said.
A Sunday-night vigil at the First Presbyterian Church in Bristol was arranged by Logan’s fellow seniors at Tennessee High School, offering a platform for those who knew him, to remember him.
Logan, according to his friends, was an Eagle Scout. A member of his Boy Scout troop wrote a poem for him.
“Though their light is gone in our simple eyes, they always live on in the acts of our lives. The good they inspire in all whom they met, will shine like a fire and inspire more yet. A ballad of love for the kindest of souls, sung not from above, but from those they made whole,” Thomas Meredith read during the vigil.
A slew of Logan’s friends, classmates and teachers rose to speak at the vigil, with his stepfather rounding out the evening, remembering Logan with stories of love and laughter.
He recalled a particular story of Logan’s track for Valedictorian at Tennessee High School. In the story, Logan’s stepfather explained that he needed some extra credit in a specific subject to maintain a perfect 4.0 GPA.
This extra credit entailed Logan buying a pair of coveralls, which were apparently quite expensive.
The story told of Logan convincing his mother to buy the coveralls by saying that they might result in his obtaining the title of Valedictorian.
“I said, ‘Logan, this is your opportunity, you know what you gotta do, you have got to wear those coveralls under your gown to graduation, because if you get a chance to stand up and speak, you’ve got to show people and you’ve got to tell them that story,’ and he was like, ‘you’re right!'”
His stepfather said Logan was full of laughter and fun stories as aforementioned, but above all, he will be missed.
“Logan was a force of nature. He was a spark. He was a lightning bolt. Sometimes it was hard to concentrate at the house when you talked to Logan because when he was in band and drumming he was like this – shows drumming on chest – and you couldn’t focus.”
To watch the full vigil, CLICK HERE.
