Our Team

Thomas Smith entered the world of fish and water features simply by selling fish out of his garage. By 1991 his unforeseen success led him to establish Garden State Koi & Aquatic Center and consequently rented some space in a small nursery in Greenville, N.J. After a few years, the need to expand was clear, so he moved to a large facility in Warwick, N.Y.

Tom regularly says he should have changed the name then, when he left the Garden State and came to New York, but he opted to keep the brand he had developed with his customers. Over the last 22 years, Tom’s incredible leadership and dedication to customer service has led to exponential growth and an amazing family-like atmosphere at Garden State Koi.

In addition to a wildly successful business, Tom and his wife Nancy have been married for 32 years and have three amazing daughters. The Smiths are a deep-rooted sports family and they are very active in college basketball and field hockey. Tom and Nancy love to travel and are regularly adventuring out for skiing, hiking, sightseeing, and sunrise strolls.