National Wholesale Co. was well-prepared long before its founder’s passing

By Paul Miller

As Swann explains, Smith saw people “as they were created to be. He’d see potential in you that you didn’t see yourself. Then he had a gift for nurturing.”

In November, as she and Tate guided this editor around National Wholesale’s offices, call center and fulfillment center (all under the same roof — 150,000 square feet in all), she took time not only to warmly greet every employee she saw, but also to introduce their visitor to every one of them — a Smith trait picked up long ago.