2023 Grand Marshal
Ronald V. Smith

 

 

 

 

Ronald V. Smith, who served as Lehi City’s 43rd mayor, has been named the grand marshal of the 2023 Lehi Round-Up Grand Parade.

The parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 24, and travel from Wines Park to Lehi High School.

Ronald V. Smith was born in Lehi on Aug. 31, 1936, the son of Victor Webb and Deon Carter Smith. His great-grandfather, Joseph J. Smith, was the first blacksmith in Lehi.

He graduated from Lehi High School in 1954, then alternated between attending Brigham Young University and working for a few years before being called to serve in the Hawaii mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

After returning from his mission in 1958, he worked at Geneva Steel, then returned to BYU, eventually graduating with a bachelor’s degree in education. He began his career working at Skyline High School, then later transferred to the Granite School District and taught high school students.

In 1961, he married Kaye Louise Passey in the Salt Lake Temple. They are the parents of eight children, four of whom still live in Lehi, and the grandparents of 28 and great-grandparents of 12. Kaye passed away in 2016.

Smith has lived in Lehi for most of his life. He has served on many local committees and boards, including the Lehi CIA Rodeo Committee for 28 years, the Lehi City Planning Commission, the Lehi City Board of Adjustments, the Lehi Irrigation Company Board of Directors, the Lehi Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors and the Lehi Historical Society Board of Directors.

In 1991, at the urging of friends and neighbors, he ran for city council and won, taking office in January 1992. When Lehi Mayor Guy Cash submitted his resignation on Sept. 29, 1992, the city council appointed Smith as the city’s 43rd mayor.

Much of work of his administration centered on the rapid growth and building boom that had come to Lehi. He assisted with the development of a Capital Improvement Plan that examined how to best handle development of future water, sewer, street and park needs.

Other accomplishments during his tenure as mayor were improved curb, gutter and sidewalk in several areas of town and the improvement and resurfacing of city streets.

In addition to his civic service, Smith has been very active in The Church of Jesus Christ, serving for many years in various bishoprics, including as bishop of the Lehi 11th Ward from 1982 to 1987.

He also served as stake Young Men’s president and as a high councilor in the Lehi North Stake and as a branch president at the Provo Missionary Training Center.