The executive director of the Future of Flight Foundation is stepping down toward the end of 2013.

Barry Smith officially announced his intention to retire no later than Dec. 31, 2013 at the foundation board’s November meeting. Smith said he announced his retirement early to give the foundation time to recruit a replacement.

“I asked the board to direct their Governance Committee to organize a successor management process to include members of the board and a representative from key stakeholders at Snohomish County and The Boeing Company,” Smith said. "They are starting that process now.”

The Future of Flight Foundation, which Smith launched in December of 2003, became the contracted operator of Snohomish County’s Aviation Center & Boeing Tour and opened it to the public in 2005.

Since then the foundation has grown the Aviation Center’s exhibit collection to more than $16 million in value, created education outreach programs serving more than 1,000 local middle school STEM students.

The foundation has also increased the 80,000 annual tickets sold for the Boeing public tour to 220,000 a year. The revenues from this now exceed the original business plan. This year, an estimated net profit of $250,000 will flow to Snohomish County.

The Aviation Center became a venue of choice for a wide variety of special events, from hosting the president of China to managing more than 30 ceremonial delivery celebrations for new Boeing commercial aircraft, as well as hosting international business meetings, conferences, weddings and social events.

Before starting the Foundation, Smith had a three-decade career as a private banker specializing in charitable transfer of privately-held aircraft to aviation nonprofits.

He is also the founder of The Everett Parks Foundation, the American Foundation for the Royal Air Force Museum and co-founder of the Greater Everett Community Foundation.

Barry co-authored the feasibility study for what is now the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor.

Smith is a graduate of Everett High School, holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Washington, a certificate for fluency in German language proficiency from the Defense Language Institute and attended Willamette Law School.

His wife, Carol, teaches in the Edmonds School District, and their daughters Brooke and Courtney live nearby.

-Edited by Beacon staff