Fred Smith made barbecue stop No. 86 Monday night.

Only 14 more to go.

"We're on the short rows now," said Smith, repeating a saying common among tobacco farmers that means most of the crop is in the barn.

Smith is a Republican candidate for governor. When he began his campaign last year, he vowed to hold barbecue dinners in each of North Carolina's 100 counties, offering a free meal while introducing himself and detailing what he hopes to accomplish as governor.

The other Republicans in the race are Salisbury attorney Bill Graham, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory and former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr.

Monday's dinner was held in the cafeteria at Southeast Middle School. The eats -- barbecue, slaw, baked beans and pecan pies -- were provided by Gary's Barbecue in China Grove.

The message came courtesy of Smith, who touched on any number of issues during a 45-minute address to the 200 or so in attendance.

Smith, 65, said he's often asked why he insists on holding a barbecue dinner in every county in the state.

After all, Smith said it has been pointed out to him more than once, Camden County near the coast has only about 8,000 residents. The same is true of Swain County in the mountains.

Why bother? Smith said he's been asked. Wouldn't his efforts be better suited by targeting the state's 15 most-populated counties and airing some well-placed television ads?

"I disagree with that," Smith told the crowd gathered Monday at Southeast. "If you're going to have a conversation with the people, you've got to go where the people are."

Besides, he said, the cross-state tour has opened his eyes to the beauty that North Carolina offers -- from the Atlantic Ocean on its eastern edge to the Appalachian Mountains in the west.

"I get to see how beautiful the state is and how wonderful the people are," Smith said.

He touched on a number of issues -- including concerns about big government and high school dropouts -- during his Monday night address.

The audience gave Smith its biggest rounds of applause when he mentioned deporting illegal aliens, making English the official state language and the Defense of Marriage Act that defines marriage as an institution between one man and one woman.

Smith noted that all of us are children of immigrants, all part of a huge melting pot where we've meshed into a single society.

The trouble with illegal aliens, he said, is that they've overwhelmed the melting pot with demands for services to which they're not entitled.

"It's like inviting 10 people for Sunday lunch and 20 show up and complain that there's not enough food," Smith said, his words greeted with laughter.

Smith said he considers himself a fiscal and social conservative. He said an overhaul of government is needed.

"People are ready for a change in management," Smith said. "You're ready for a change in management."

He referred to a plan that he's repeated on other campaign stops, a Good Roads/Safe Bridges Bond that he's endorsed that would total $4 billion.

Despite the magnitude of the bond, Smith said it wouldn't result in a tax increase. He said the money would be awarded to counties on a basis of $400 per resident.

Smith touched on his upbringing and family, noting that his father managed a Methodist orphanage in Raleigh.

His father, Smith said, got up at 4:30 every morning and began his day by delivering 500 newspapers around Wake County. After that, he worked, taught and coached at the orphanage until late in the evening.

His mother, Smith said, mended clothes for the orphans and made sure they all had decent pants and shirts.

Smith said his parents' hard work made an impression on him. He said that as a boy, he loved football.

Smith said his father pulled him aside one day and told him that the only difference between a good football team and a great football team is a little extra effort.

Smith said he decided then and there that he was willing to give that extra effort. The result, he said, was a football scholarship to Wake Forest University.

After undergraduate school, he graduated from Wake's law school and served four years in the Army. He's been a successful businessman and politician, currently representing Johnston County as a state senator.

"Extra effort trumps everything -- money and ability included," Smith said.

He asked those at Monday's dinner to join his campaign, and to make phone calls to 10 friends telling them who they were supporting for governor.

"I need you to be a missionary," Smith said. "I've got to depend on you to get the word out."

His plea seemed to be well received.

Sandy and Pablo Sanchez of China Grove brought their four children to Monday's dinner and said they were pleased with what they heard.

"I understand where he's coming from better now," Pablo said. "It'd be nice to hear something like this from the other candidates."

Lonnie Goodman is a past president of the Salisbury/Rowan Homebuilders Association and said Smith has addressed the organization in the past.

Goodman noted that as a businessman, Smith's company is responsible for the construction of more than 200 houses a year.

"He knows what we're up against," Goodman said of Smith and his alliance with home builders.

PHOTO ABOVE: N.C. Sen. Fred Smith stopped by Southeast Middle School Monday evening, where he hosted a free pig picking and campaigned for the state's Republican gubernatorial nomination. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Article above by Steve Huffman, Salisbury post. You can view the article online HERE.