Hugh Smith

About

I am proud to call myself a Shoreman.

I grew up at Ratcliffe Manor on the outskirts of Easton. I went away to school but breathed a sigh of relief every time I crossed the Chesapeake Bay on my way home for the Holidays. There is something about this place that gets in your blood.


My education began at the Canterbury School ('72) in New Milford, Connecticut which made me better appreciate the eastern shore's temperate climate. I played ice hockey on an outdoor rink. I then went to Franklin College, for a year, in Lugano Switzerland. This experience helped me to recognize that there is life beyond the Chesapeake Bay. I, finally, matriculated at the American University in Washington DC ('87) with a History Major and a minor in Economics.
Ten years after we first met at Franklin College in Switzerland, Chata agreed to marry me and start a family on the eastern shore. I never gave much thought on how to make a living beyond hunting, fishing, and sailing. Then we had three children: making a living was no longer optional.

In 1983 I earned a State of Maryland Real Estate Brokers license and was hired by Anderson -Stokes to manage their New Homes Marketing and Sales Division. In that capacity, I managed the marketing and sales of Phase I of Oyster Cove in Grasonville, Maryland, Southwind on Eastern Bay in Stevensville, Nanticoke Square in Ocean City, Spinnaker Pointe in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, and Spring Forest in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Then came the Savings and Loan Crisis of the late 1980s: most east coast regional resort developers handed their keys to the Resolution Trust Company (RTC) and I went back to general brokerage in Talbot County with Lamotte Properties, Inc. To put food on the table I had a side gig as a Communications Officer for the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission - an environmental agency of the State of Maryland - which afforded me a deeper understanding and appreciation for the delicate ecosystem of the land and waters which I love.
In 1998 I found a small boutique luxury brokerage in Easton trading as Tred Avon Properties, LLC. We had the privilege of managing the sale of several important waterfront estates including Ratcliffe Manor, Beverly, Snug Harbor, and Chloras Point. Concurrently, I served as the developer of the Ratcliffe Farm P.U.D - including 15 estate-sized waterfront lots and a 206 acre remainder which was sold to Elm Street Development of Virginia for the development of what is now Easton Village on Tred Avon.

The foul winds started to blow again in 2005 and my partner and I sold Tred Avon Properties to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, I stayed-on to serve as Branch Vice-President for our combined operations. In 2010 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage withdrew from most eastern shore markets and my partner and I founded Coldwell Banker Chesapeake Real Estate, LLC.

Our small brokerage now has approximately 60 licensed sales associates serving the 6 counties of Maryland's Upper Eastern Shore as well as Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania. Our North Star is " to help real estate agents to be productive and build profitable businesses''. We are early and enthusiastic adapters of digital marketing strategies and take great pride in sharing our training and mentoring programs.
I finally am an avid student of eastern shore history and culture. I have spent countless hours in the Maryland State Archives, the Maryland Room of the Talbot County Free Library, and the St. Michaels Maritime Museum Library studying the land, rivers, people, history and culture of Chesapeake Bay.