Her nose for administration has got a lot done for her community.

Ms Smith was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for her community work in the Wimmera area.

Her home is 100 years old, where she has lived her entire married life. It's clean, warm and full of memories, much like Ms Smith herself.

She said she doesn't know why she has been awarded the OAM when so many others have done much more than herself.

"I was so shocked I sat down at the kitchen table and shook," Ms Smith said.

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"I was worried I was having a heart attack. So I got up and made myself a cup of tea. I've never experienced anything like it in my life."

She said she'll surprise her family with her honour during a zoom gathering on Sunday night.

"I really didn't think I done anything extraordinary," Ms Smith said.

"I just do my job and do what I can to help the community along."

Ms Smith became a Justice of the Peace in the 1990s.

She said her proudest achievement was bringing back the Wimmera Justice of the Peace branch in recess for some years.

"I was approached and asked if I would be willing to reform the Wimmera branch of the Justice of the Peace which I decided I would do."

Along with support from Melbourne, Ms Smith helped develop that branch.

"There was great amount of interest from the Wimmera JPs," she said.

"I became the first secretary with the president from Stawell, and we formed the Wimmera branch of the Justice of Peace.

"I'm really proud of the fact that we got that up and running again and that it was quite successful."

Ms Smith was born and raised in Minyip but went to Adelaide for college, where she completed administration studies.

"I joined in everything; I played netball and tennis," Ms Smith said.

"I grew up in a community-minded family.

"To live in a little town, in a little community you have to pull your weight. You don't have to everything but you hop in and do your little bit. That's what small communities are all about."

Ms Smith is also passionate about history and music. She is involved in the Minyip and District Historical Society.

"It's been a privilege to continue that work," she said.

"I've always liked history, especially Australian history. It's amazing what we don't know about the actual history of Minyip and the Wimmera. Our forbearers paved the way for us and worked tremendously hard."

Music has always been a part of her life.

Ms Smith sings in the choir and plays the keyboard for Music for Modern Services with her nephew and his wife.

"My sister, Betty, is a brilliant musician, my sister Lois who passed away years ago was a very good singer and my brother John was an extremely talented singer," she said.

Ms Smith was the youngest, and when she was born, her siblings were already well into their musical journey.

"Bet and Lois were always playing and singing. I just grew up with music," she said.

Before she married her husband Frank, Ms Smith became a flight attendant in 1962 as a 22-year-old.

"I always loved flying and I was always interested in airplanes," she said.

"I joined Trans Australia Airlines."

She said she was initially disappointed when she was stationed at Adelaide.

"But I'm so pleased I did because the Adelaide girls had great routes for flying," Ms Smith said.

So with the Adelaide station, Ms Smith ended been across Australia from Darwin, Perth, Tasmania even up to Timor.

"It was great, I'm pleased that I got Adelaide," she said.

"I saw a lot of airports. It was an exciting time."

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She had to stop once she was married, but Frank encouraged her to do what she wanted to do and see what happened. They married in 1963.

Ms Smith said she's not sure where her work ethic and drive came to lead such a community-minded and varied life.

"I'd rather do this than sit at home twiddling my thumbs," she said.

"I enjoy doing my bit."

Ms Smith said you need to grab opportunities with both hands.

"Make the best of it, learn. You will make mistakes along the way but you learn from those mistakes," she said.

"Value the opportunities, and the experience and what you have been taught. And try to pass it on."

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