Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa and the Girl, Glow Up Leadership and Mentoring Nonprofit Organization are celebrating Women’s History Month by honoring the Phenomenal Women of West Alabama.

92.9 WTUG, Praise 93.3, 95.3 The Bear, ME-TV 97.5, Catfish 100.1, Tide 100.9, ALT 101.7, 105.1 The Block and our free digital news outlet the Tuscaloosa Thread is excited to recognize the empowered women of  Bibb, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, and Walker counties.

Mother, wife, business owner, consultant, and first lady Patrice Smith is known in Tuscaloosa and this is why she is one of our Phenomenal Women of West Alabama.

“I am a woman with big goals and dreams who is willing to work to make them come true.” - Patrice Smith

Excellence without excuse. When Patrice Moore Smith was asked to summarize her journey as a wife, mother, and career-woman, she used simple words with deep meanings: Consistency. Persistence. Caring. Fresh Hope. Possibilities. Class. Elegance. Perseverance. Resilience.

Growing up, Patrice learned how to be consistent and persistent in her work. “My father taught me the value of hard work. There is integrity in working hard,” said Smith. Her background as an elementary school teacher and then, as a human resources manager, was the threshing floors for learning how to care and envision possibilities for others.

Along the way, Patrice learned that “no” simply meant “on to the next” and thus, resilience was forged. Now Patrice sees herself as she believes God sees her – “powerful beyond measure.”

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The people skills came naturally, but learning how to breathe belief in others and create space where everyone could win became the tools and strategies for success in her business as a Mary Kay National Sales Director, the first African American woman in the state of Alabama to hold this position.

“I believe in lifting others as I climb,” said Smith. In fact, it’s her definition of success. To her, one of the most enjoyable aspects of her Mary Kay business is meeting and working with new people, then seeing the fresh hope they experience with their own opportunity.

As an Independent National Sales Director, Patrice sees herself as a Mary Kay ambassador. “I want to take ordinary women, teach them how to embrace their inner greatness, and lead them to an extraordinary life, where they can create their own legacies for others to follow.” And she will do that one woman at a time, with class, elegance, and excellence without excuse, the Mary Kay Way.

Patrice Moore Smith is married to Bishop L. Spenser Smith and they have four adult children: Jori, Jamel, Jarren, and Deidra. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and an Alabama Female Firsts recipient.

West Alabama is a thriving area of the Yellowhammer State with women creating history at every step. If you know of a woman that deserved to be highlighted for her accomplishments please email maryk@townsquaremedia.com

LOOK: Milestones in women's history from the year you were born

Women have left marks on everything from entertainment and music to space exploration, athletics, and technology. Each passing year and new milestone makes it clear both how recent this history-making is in relation to the rest of the country, as well as how far we still need to go. The resulting timeline shows that women are constantly making history worthy of best-selling biographies and classroom textbooks; someone just needs to write about them.

Scroll through to find out when women in the U.S. and around the world won rights, the names of women who shattered the glass ceiling, and which country's women banded together to end a civil war.

LOOK: Milestones in women's history from the year you were born

Women have left marks on everything from entertainment and music to space exploration, athletics, and technology. Each passing year and new milestone makes it clear both how recent this history-making is in relation to the rest of the country, as well as how far we still need to go. The resulting timeline shows that women are constantly making history worthy of best-selling biographies and classroom textbooks; someone just needs to write about them.

Scroll through to find out when women in the U.S. and around the world won rights, the names of women who shattered the glass ceiling, and which country's women banded together to end a civil war.

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