Freda Smith is an Owner/Director and is the CFO of Altrus. She has the overall responsibility for financial, insurance and risk management matters of the business. 

Freda was hired by Martin after graduating from college as an assistant to the planning director for Valdosta and Lowndes County at the South Georgia Planning and Development Commission. While there, Freda worked in virtually all of the organization’s programs, including programs for the Aging, Historic Preservation, Community Development, Economic Development and the Small Business Administration loan programs. She learned how to package business loans and developed a deep knowledge of the financial responsibilities of business management. 

She joined the Eldercare program in 1989, starting as the manager of the company’s Valdosta branch. Services were then mainly for private pay customers, because there was little public funding for community-based care. Freda brought the skill of proposal-writing and thus was able to secure numerous Area Agency on Aging and other government contracts for most of the locations to be able to serve people who could not afford to pay out of pocket for services. 

 

Freda played a vital role in the 1990’s assisting the state’s trade associations to seek licensure for home care services. She did the research and contributed the practical experience of operating home care services to the process of writing legislation and later the rules. 

Freda is a 1979 honor graduate of Valdosta State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art.