Father, Friend, Genius, and Fearless Leader
Ron Smith is one of the best men that this world has seen, and this reporter is proud to call him her father. He was born on August 10th, 1951 in Vernal Utah. As a child he enjoyed going fishing and hunting with his grandfather and father, though he never was very good at hunting but he was a stupendous fisherman. His childhood was much like other children’s except for a few exceptions of course.
Ron was a very smart kid when he was younger, some would call him a genius. He loved school which was what made it easy for him. When I asked him why he liked school so much he said, “I like to learn, and I still am to this very day, every day there is something new for me to discover.” By fifth grade his teachers didn’t know what to do with him, he was already reading material he shouldn’t have seen until high school, maybe even collage; was already through with his first year of algebra thanks to his math teacher, Mr. Smith, who encouraged him and brought him math books from the middle school. And he was still chomping at the bit to learn as much as he could, as he still does. So they had a problem on their hands with him, not because he wasn’t smart, no because he was too smart. So they allowed him to work ahead of his grade, but sadly he had to stay in the same grade with the rest of his classmates because at this time they didn’t think it right to put younger kids with older students. So he soared through high school and went on to college at the University of Utah.
I asked him what his first job was and how it helped him to prepare latter in life and this is what he said: “ Well my first job was an assistant to the construction workers when I was thirteen. They paid me minimum wage to go around and pick up after them, the pieces of wood left around and such. And after a while they started teaching me how to build, plum, and other things that are good for men to know. This job ended up saving me in another job, that of being a father, now when I need to fix something I don’t have to call someone else over to do it, I can just do it myself.”
We went on to talk about the rest of the jobs that he has had in his life; working for Noni Juice, Bowing, working for other companies as a consultant, which is his job at the moment, and then I asked him what has been the most memorable job that he has had and he responded, “well that’s simple, working in the Navy of course.” He worked in the navy for 8 years, two in Washington State, getting basic training and being on the bottom of the food chain, only for a short time however.
The last six years of his time in the Navy he was a Navy Lieutenant Intelligence Officer, or as he likes to say it he was a spy. This is quite a good post for anyone to get in such a short amount of time, he had to have worked really hard to accomplish it; and once he did he had to go through more special training to make sure that he could resist torture if he had to be subjected to it. So he was made a prisoner by his chief commanders, he was tortured, he was water boarded, he was made to go days without food or water, was made to crawl on his hands and knees five miles and escape the people coming after them at the same time by using camouflage and hiding techniques. Because if they caught you you were beaten sooner, rather than later. 300 men, strong men, had to do the crawl, some didn’t make it and were kicked out, but Ron was the very first one in setting a new record.
After he went under all of the challenges of becoming a lieutenant he spent three years on an aircraft squadron called the Kitty Hawk CU63, which is the last working squadron of its time. And then he was sent to Japan for three years to admiral special programs in the Japanese government. He said his times as a sailor where all fine and dandy and he would tell a story, but clean stories from sailors are hard to come by. When I asked him if he wished he had stayed with his job in the navy he said that it was just not right for him anymore and it wasn’t helping his family any.
Ron Smith is now the father of 7 children 5 girls and 2 boys, the range of ages going from 15- 37, and two grandsons. He now works as a consultant on international business for his own business. “I used to travel a lot for my work,” he said “but now I regret not being with my older children more when they were younger, so I work from home now, but still I get the job done.” Ron has been to over 87 countries on business and every state in the US. When I asked this genius of a man if he had anything to tell the teens of America he enthusiastically replied, “Get all of the education you can. And remember that you can do anything that you put your mind to, anything that they desire, and have the will to do they will secede.” This coming from a great father, friend, genius, and fearless leader.