Mrs Smith (75) was persuaded by her mother-in-law to join the Wedderburn branch and said she had no intention of serving as an office-bearer anywhere near as long as her in-laws had.
But after 48 years in the organisation, she has done just that, serving 36 years as treasurer, 15 as secretary, plus doing a stint as president and vice-president.
The Wedderburn branch merged with the Maniototo branch along the way and on Saturday Mrs Smith, already a life member of the branch, received a certificate of appreciation for her service.
Her involvement included knitting, sewing , sorting and packing clothing, assisting with the blood donor service and with appeal week collection.
Asked what had kept her in Red Cross for such a long time, Mrs Smith said, "I'm just a caring person, I suppose."
She checks up regularly on several people in the community "who are older than me"and plans to continue to support the organisation.
Red Cross southern region chairman Ralph La Salle, of Christchurch, said Mrs Smith had made an outstanding contribution.
She was described to him as "a strong lady who spoke her mind, but always had Red Cross at heart," he said.
"We've got a lot to thank her mother-in-law for, especially considering she was only going to serve in the group for a few years."
Mrs Smith was dedicated and hard-working and had played a major part in maintaining and organising the work of Red Cross in the Maniototo for the past 48 years.
