Larry Smith

Larry Smith, from Claremore, Oklahoma is the Chief Operations Officer (COO), Grand Lake Mental Health Center, Inc. He began with the agency in 1995 and went to work implementing new and innovative programs and solutions to provide the best possible care to each individual served.  Specializing in finance, Larry worked tirelessly to increase the annual budget by 600%.  Employee growth exploded from 75 to now over 320 employees, enabling GLMHC to provide needed services to those individuals with a mental illness living in 7 counties in NE Oklahoma. Larry’s passion and desire to serve people with mental illnesses started many years before he joined Grand Lake Mental Health Center.  His Mother struggled with a severe mental illness for years and passed away when she was 44 years old;  Larry was only 8 yrs. old. His Father became terminally ill from cancer and at age 12 he was an orphan, prompting the state to place Larry and his siblings into a Children Home. Larry began his professional career as a director at the children’s home where he had lived until graduating high school. He was an excellent choice since he had run away about fourteen times, and already knew how to break all the rules!  In a matter of years Larry was the Executive Director of that facility.  From there his career took off and he found his forte in trouble-shooting and providing creative solutions for large agencies in trouble. Larry’s personal and professional experiences have given him the ability, the passion to utilize his talents at Grand Lake Mental Health Center for over 22 years, striving to ensure individuals living with a mental illness can receive the services needed to assure a quantity and quality of life.