All in the family

By Staff
By William F. West / community editor
Jan. 26, 2003
DECATUR Decatur Telephone Co. President William Bailey's commitment to education was definitely passed down to his two children Mark, a neurologist in Birmingham, Ala., and Esther Smith, of Decatur.
Smith in particular is quite a story.
She earned a business degree from Millsaps College in three years and was also valedictorian of the 1977 graduating class.
The next year, she earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Mississippi and returned to work at Decatur Telephone.
In 1985, she said, she approached her father and made him offer: If she earned a doctorate in business, then she would be given charge of the company. He agreed.
Smith commuted to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for two days of studies each week at the University of Alabama.
She earned her doctorate in 1991 and has been running Decatur Telephone ever since. Like her mother, Louise Bailey, Smith serves as a company vice president.
Smith said her father will remain company president.