The rumors of Tim Smith’s absence from the community spotlight as of late have been greatly exaggerated. Anyone who knows him will tell you that as a regional director for Modern Woodmen, the longtime Denton native is still actively building relationships everywhere in town and is not too difficult to find if you stop and look in the right places.

It’s just that Smith has also been juggling that busy schedule with a 16-month old at home while also building an incredible team of financial advisors and support staff behind the scenes. Now, they are out and about, too — and the good news is that they are all cut from the same cloth.

“People ask me, ‘Do you still work for Modern Woodmen? It’s just that I never see you,’” Smith said with a laugh. “I’m still here; I just have a great team around me now, and it’s fun sitting back to watch them succeed and build relationships.”

Modern Woodmen of America is a fraternal financial services company that helps clients make sense of everything from building wealth and budgeting to planning for retirement, investments, employee benefits, and even business planning. But what makes them unique is their fraternal commitment and insistence on being active members of the communities they serve. As a result, increasing Modern Woodmen’s presence in Denton has been a goal since Smith took over as the regional director in 2018.

And to say what they are doing is working would be a massive understatement.

Since 2018, Smith’s team has grown from three advisors, an administrative staff member, and one manager to 30 advisors and six administrative staff members. This is why most people likely bump into at least one or two Modern Woodmen advisors at every chamber of commerce function, networking event, community mixer, or charity event in the area.

This includes Smith, who is the President of the Denton Parks Foundation, the 501(c)3 non-profit that hosts the city’s annual “Dog Days of Denton”, member of the University of North Texas Employer Advisory Board, and a board member with the Volunteer Services Council for the Denton State Supported Living Center (the Denton State School). Collectively, his team has its hands in practically everything. This includes focusing on several health and human services efforts through the Children’s Advocacy Center and Serve Denton.

According to its website, Modern Woodmen logged 248,394 volunteer hours and contributed $55.9 million worldwide in 2024 to various social and educational programs and community groups they partner with.

In Texas alone, their annual fraternal contributions exceed $7.7 million, $2.7 million of which came from just Tim’s region.

“The fraternal piece allows us to be as family-oriented as we are and get involved in things that really matter to our clients. We want to be that community leader; it’s important to us,” Smith said. “To grow our team here to 30 people has been great, and it’s something that I didn’t expect would happen until 2027 or even 2028, all the while making even more of an impact in our local communities. So I’m very happy with where we’re at.”

He added, “We are finding new advisors in ways we never expected, and they’re all coming out of the gate firing. It’s been fun.”

If you'd like information about becoming a preferred partner with Stroll Forrestridge please reach out to Telese Gray at telese.gray@n2co.com.