Joseph Francisco was 11 years old the first time he met Joe and Paula Smith and their two children, Andy and Abbey. Three years later he was living with them, one of 19 foster children the Smiths welcomed into their home over a 20-year period.
Asked what Smith has meant to him the past 18 years, Francisco, a 29-year-old boxer, said: “You’ve got sperm donors, and then you’ve got the father who loves you. To sum it up, Joe Smith’s my dad.”
Joe Smith declares Tri Community Firefighter Levi Vanderhoef victor over Chattanooga Police Officer Keith Hunter during the Guns and Hoses: Battle of the Badges event at UTC on Saturday, March 4, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The annual fundraiser pits firefighters against police officers in the boxing ring to raise money for YCAP and the Forgotten Child Fund.A lot of fairly big names are going to honor Francisco’s nonbiological dad tonight during a roast at the Chattanooga Convention Center to recognize the 20th anniversary of the local YMCA Community Action Project (YCAP) program, which Smith founded to help at-risk youth.
The event is dubbed “Fry the Founder,” so a few barbs and zingers surely will be directed at the 63-year-old Smith by a roaster roster that includes Francisco, attorney Russell Bean, Larry Bright, former Atlanta Falcons great Buddy Curry, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling coach and roast emcee Heath Eslinger, Charlie Hunt, former UTC and McCallie School basketball coach John Shulman, former U.S. Congressman Zach Wamp and Bill Wetzel.
“Oh, I’m going after him,” Shulman said with a chuckle Tuesday. “Some people think I can coach and some people think I can’t, but I’m John Wooden next to Joe.”