Dinner with the Original Jeepster by Chandler

Dinner with the Original Jeepster by Chandler - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

Mark Smith might sound like a common name, but this man was far from ordinary. Mark Smith played a massive role in the creation of the Jeep lifestyle. Not only did Mark Smith promote the Jeep lifestyle, he truly lived it. Mark Smith had multiple accomplishments during his lifetime that have been inspiring to thousands of people including me.

Mark Smith accomplished many great things in his lifetime; he fought in World War II, was a logger and a sheriff at one point. During the 1950’s, he worked with a local Rotary Club in Georgetown, CA to start a Jeep event called the Jeepers Jamboree to bring visitors to El Dorado County. Through all of this he decided to take a road trip, but not your ordinary road trip. In 1978, Mark Smith planned a transcontinental trip from Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost point in South America to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. This road trip was to be completed in 6 - 1978 stock CJ7 Jeeps. From this point forward, Mark Smith became known as the pioneer of the Jeep lifestyle. When he came home from his 20,000 mile journey across the Americas, he did not stop. Mark Smith went on and founded the now famous Jeep trail known as the Rubicon trail. The Rubicon Trail is now a test site for new concept Jeeps and for the everyday Jeepers. Mark Smith created a family environment around the world of off-roading by founding the annual event, Jeep Jamboree USA. In the process of doing this he became a figure head for Jeep.

Mark Smith became an important name to the Jeep world and he left a massive legacy with his death in 2014. The knowledge that you can go anywhere and do almost anything is amazing; this is what Mark Smith did by spearheading the Jeep lifestyle. He was an amazing person and took life by the horns. The Jeep lifestyle Mark Smith promoted, changed the lives of thousands of people. Some people would say he put Jeep on the map. This man was inspiring to a ton of people, and he wanted nothing more than to share his love of the world of off-roading to all.

If I was able to sit down and have dinner with Mark Smith, it would be an honor. He was a veteran and an off-road pioneer. I have no clue what influenced Mark Smith into the off-roading world; it could have been driving a Jeep Willys during the war or just the fact that he wanted to go on an adventure. I always wonder what inspired Mark Smith to go on the Expedition de las Americas. This trip was an amazing adventure that made Mark Smith famous in the Jeep world. Mark Smith hand many great accomplishments inspiring many people; he has inspired me to embrace the Jeep life style and live life to the fullest.