Ronnie Smith grew up in Chicago, Illinois and Baltimore, Maryland. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Loyola University Maryland, and later studied engineering at the University of Maryland. Colonel Smith, retired from the Air Force after 30 years of service, where he commanded or flew over 1,000 flights in Antarctica as well as serving in Air Force/U.N. missions on all the other continents. Challenged by extreme winds and temperatures that could drop to minus 75 degrees Fahrenheit during Antarctic summer, physical and mental endurance were paramount to combat the rigors of prolonged operational stress. He discovered in that world contemplation and divine majesty. His poetry and paintings rest upon the foundation of the underlying wonder of God in humanity and creation. He hopes to develop a spiritual retreat center to allow participants to reconnect to their own God-centered inner world, experienced in a sanctuary of the divine natural world.