Deputy City Manager Eddie Smith has announced his retirement from the City of Kannapolis effective December 31, concluding more than three decades of public service and 21 years as a member of the City's executive leadership team.

Smith joined Kannapolis in 2005 and has played a significant leadership role during one of the most transformative periods in the City's history. As Deputy City Manager, he has provided executive leadership and oversight across virtually every area of City government, including public safety, finance, human resources, information technology, parks and recreation, customer service, facilities, water resources and public works. 

Looking back on his 21 years in Kannapolis, Smith said the City's transformation and the relationships behind it will remain among the most meaningful parts of his career.

“When I arrived in Kannapolis in 2005, I could never have imagined the journey ahead or how dramatically this community would change,” Smith said. “I was fortunate to have a seat at the table for many of the decisions and projects that helped shape the Kannapolis people see today. I will always be grateful, especially to recently retired City Manager Mike Legg, who gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to help build a city that others only dream of. I am equally grateful to the employees who worked beside me, and the colleagues who became lifelong friends. After more than 30 years, I leave knowing I gave this profession my best—and it was absolutely worth it.”

During his tenure, Smith helped guide Kannapolis through extraordinary growth and change, including downtown redevelopment, co-managing the design and construction of the $32 million City Hall and Police Headquarters, project managing the $52 million Atrium Health Ballpark, championing the replacement of aging Fire Stations 2 and 3, renovations to Stations 1 and 4, and the development of a new fire training structure.

Early in his tenure, he assisted former Kannapolis City Manager Mike Legg with the coordination of a $36 million financing package associated with the development of the $1.0 billion North Carolina Research Campus. He also established the City's first departmental performance measurement program and Capital Improvement Plan, co-authored North Carolina’s first downtown social district, and initiated the City's first Citizens Academy, now Kannapolis 101. He is also known by many as the “Father of Jiggy with the Piggy,” the City's signature festival from 2012-2023. 

“For more than 30 years, I have had the privilege of doing work that matters—work that directly affects people's neighborhoods, businesses, families and quality of life,” Smith said. “The greatest reward has been an opportunity to improve people's lives, working alongside talented public servants and knowing that, together, we helped make our communities a little better than we found them.”

Smith began his local government career in 1998 as Hazard Mitigation Coordinator for New Hanover County before serving as Town Manager of Lake Waccamaw and Town Manager of Elkin. 

His career has also included extensive service to the local government management profession. Over the years, Smith has held numerous leadership roles with the North Carolina City & County Management Association (NCCCMA), including chairing the Association's Professional Conduct, Civic Education and Sponsorship committees.

In a full-circle moment, Smith was featured in a 2006 edition of NCCCMA's The Administrator among a generation of young managers preparing to assume greater leadership roles in North Carolina. Twenty years later, he concludes his full-time local government career serving as President of the Association (2026-2027) — an especially meaningful culmination of his longstanding commitment to the profession.

A four-year U.S. Navy veteran and graduate of the U.S. Army Military Intelligence School, Smith earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Appalachian State University and completed executive leadership programs through the UNC School of Government. He also serves as an adjunct instructor in the UNC Master of Public Administration program.