Updated with funeral arrangements:  Services will be held 11 am Saturday at the Abundant Life Christian Center, 7000 All Nations Blvd., East Syracuse. Later in the afternoon there will be a reception for family and friends at City Hall Commons, 201 E. Washington St., Syracuse. That event runs from 2-6pm 

Award-winning columnist and editorial writer Saundra Smokes died Wednesday. She was 57.   In 2004, Smokes was honored with a place on the Syracuse Press Club's Wall of Distinction for her outstanding work at The Herald-Journal and The Post-Standard and as a nationally syndicated columnist. 

In an article posted on Syracuse.com, Post-Standard Executive editor Mike Connor said, “She brought a voice and a perspective into the community’s conversation that it had never heard publicly,” he said. “And she did it with power and integrity and great passion. I think it changed the way people talked about race and the community and changed the conversations that many people could have with each other.”

Here are some thoughts on Sandi from Post-Standard columnist Sean Kirst. 

Here is her profile for the SPC's Wall of Distinction 

 Funeral arrangements are not yet complete.  Our condolences to the Smokes family and her friends and colleagues at The Post-Standard