David Smith

The outdoors has always been a true calling for David. He grew up in Eastern Oregon where he spent his youth exploring the mountains and rivers that surrounded him with his younger brother and cousins. He spent countless summers in Ukiah, Oregon where his grandparents lived and ranched. As he got older, if he was not hunting large game or upland birds you could find him on the rivers or ocean wetting a line. He enjoyed being on the water so much that he chose to pursue a bachelor's degree in Fisheries Biology. While attending the University of Idaho, he spent his summers in the mountains of Idaho, Washington and Oregon fighting fires for the forest service. After college, he decided to combine his love of the outdoors with his spirit of adventure and commitment to service and enlisted in the United States Coast Guard. He spent a career as a heavy weather coxswain conducting search and rescue and law enforcement missions throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico before retirin