Cambell William ‘Cam’ Smith

CAMPBELL WILLIAM ‘CAM’ SMITH

1940-2022

Cam Smith was one of the fundamental figures responsible for shaping the World’s Oldest Rodeo® into what it is today, starting with the trademarking of the name of this iconic Prescott event 50 years ago.

As the rodeo’s chairman in 1972, he hired Harry Vold to bring his bucking stock to the show, and his company has provided livestock every year since, now managed by his daughter Kristen Vold.

A Prescott Leader

Cam was born in Illinois and came to Prescott with his family as a boy, graduating from Prescott High School in 1959 after being named the school’s first “most valuable football player.” He played football at Colorado State University and Arizona State College (currently known as NAU) and served in the Army before coming back home to work in his father’s construction businesses.

Cam stepped up as the founding president of Prescott Frontier Days® after he and other leaders came together in 1978 to continue the rodeo uninterrupted when the sponsoring Prescott Jaycees organization folded.

He stayed in that role through 1982 and returned for one more year, 1985, after $30,000 of debt had accrued. Prescott Frontier Days ended that year’s rodeo $20,000 in the black.

He was active throughout the community he loved with the Kiwanis Club, Masonic Lodge, the Sharlot Hall and Phippen museums, Yavapai County Contractors Association, the Western Heritage Foundation, and other groups.

Wild at Heart

But the rodeo was closest to Cam’s heart, and he continued filling the roles of director, chairman or assistant chairman through last year. He competed as a “mugger” for teams in its wild horse races in the ‘70s and won a championship buckle in 1979, which he wore proudly for decades.

The eventual owner of his family’s Yavapai Block and Precast Company, he donated $6,800 in labor and materials to build the Prescott Frontier Days offices onto the back of the Freeman Building in the 1980s.

Cam is remembered by family, friends, and all of Prescott as a guy with strong opinions and a heart of gold after passing away Feb. 3. He is survived by his wife Kitty, four children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. His family encourages everyone to donate to Prescott Frontier Days in his memory.

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“The best time every year! You gotta go to the rodeo, and Prescott’s the place to go!” — Jan W.

Photos by Blushing Cactus Photography