After graduating from South Park High School in Beaumont, Texas, Charles R. Smith, Jr. attended Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas from 1968 to 1969 where he studied Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration.

From 1969 to 1983, Charles served in various sales and management positions in the real estate and energy services industries. In 1983, Charles started Custom Construction, a general contracting firm specializing in residential home building and commercial construction. With more than 25 employees at its peak, Custom Construction performed all phases of construction from design to project completion. As Principle and Owner, Charles was personally involved in all aspects of the business including sales, design, property location, estimating, purchasing, inventory control, advertising, administrative management, and customer service. Custom Construction's portfolio included custom homes in the $140K - $160K range as well as commercial remodeling and renovations for the State of Texas, Holiday Inn, Inc. and Lamar University. Charles also provided consulting services for several real estate companies. In 1988, Custom Construction became Monument Constructors specializing in commercial concrete, metal building, and roofing construction.

In 1999, Charles accepted a short term assignment as Construction Superintendent with Amacher Brothers Construction Company of Atlanta during which he supervised the construction of several Logan's Roadhouse Restaurants throughout the United States. In October 2000, with five employees, Monument Constructors Inc. was incorporated with Charles Smith as President.

In 2008, Monument Constructors, Inc. d.b.a. Monument Roofing Systems, Inc. opened its Western Division office in Denver, Colorado. In January, 2009, Monument Roofing Systems, Inc. became the first commercial roofing company in Southeast Texas to sell and install exclusively energy-saving, environmentally friendly, sustainable, cool-roofing systems. Under the leadership of Charles Smith, Monument Constructors, Inc, has grown from a company of five employees with annual sales of approximately $500K to a company of 25 full time employees and 20-30 contract employees, with annual sales exceeding $7M.