The Home Page Network

On today’s feature broadcast, we honor a very special teacher and mentor who has made a lasting impression on Wellsboro High School students for the past thirty years. Mrs. Judy Smithgall conducted and directed her last Spring Choral Concert on Tuesday, May 16, 2017. Home Page cameras were there to capture the concert, the tears, the thank you’s and the memories of this extraordinary teacher.

The event took place at the Wellsboro High School Auditorium. The atmosphere was swirling with memories as participants performed to a packed audience for the last time under Mrs. Smithgall’s direction. Her guiding movements, eye contact with her students, and the energy of her conducting revealed the enthusiasm of a twenty-five-year-old. Mrs. Smithgall will be deeply missed and difficult to replace.

Over the many years of teaching music, we have seen her do what many would consider the impossible – time and time again. Mrs. Smithgall would take students who looked and sounded like they lacked the gifts needed to communicate musically and infuse them with confidence, sound instruction and musical training that would somehow translate into exceptional talent.

Judy Smithgall inspires. She believes in her students and finds a way to draw the best out of them. She can also be intense at times, in a good way, to maintain order and make things happen in time frames that seem impossible. The students we talked with say that “she is amazing” and “has put up with a lot of @%^&$*^# over the years,” but “never stopped loving and guiding them” to be able to express themselves musically.

The Home Page family would like to thank and congratulate Mrs. Smithgall for teaching and inspiring generations of students. You have put a song in our hearts that will last a lifetime.