Jason Smith was born in Oswego Hospital on a cold February morning in 1976. Jason would spend his childhood in a modest, yellow house just a few blocks down from that very hospital. His father, John, is an eccentric college professor of communications; his mother, Jean, is a professor of children’s literature. Jason’s brother, Owen, is a very successful stand-up comedian in Los Angeles, California. Unfortunately, Jason has no relatives in all of the North East. Jason enjoyed playing sports in high school, but also spent much of his time in the Art Room, drawing and painting. He thought that he would go to college to become an environmental engineer, but changed his mind when he realized how much math was involved. Jason majored in English Literature at SUNY Plattsburgh, where he met some of his best friends. Currently, Jason lives in Saranac Lake, NY with his wife, Mary, and two daughters, Tessa and Althea. He is a Middle School ELA teacher and loves just about every minute of it. Helping kids learn how to think more creatively, write more expressively, and learn to love the power of books are just a few of the more enjoyable parts of Jason’s job. Jason is so thankful to have been picked to be Chamberlain. There are few towns as special as Saranac Lake, and not just because of an ice castle, a winter parade, or a list of local characters that seem to be as important to the energy of the town as the mountains are. No, it is because the people in the town are a family, and even though all families have their quarrels and disagreements, they still have love, and honor. To have been selected as Chamberlain was a phenomenal feeling of that honor for Jason and, again, he says, “thank you.”