As a Club kid, David A. Smith grew up playing baseball, basketball and was involved in many other activities in what was then known as the Boys Club. In 1968, Smith was one of the first members to walk through the doors of the newly erected John Thornberry Unit at the corner of 43rd Street and Cleveland Avenue. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a Masters Degree in Communications and has used his skills as a communicator ever since. He was Assistant Basketball Coach and Sports Information Director for the Fighting Kangaroos at UMKC.  In 1982, Smith began a 12-year career with the YMCA of Greater Kansas City.

In February 1994, David A. Smith became President of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City, an agency from which he benefited as a child. In April 2002, Smith was elected to the Kansas City Missouri School Board as an at-large member and re elected in 2006.

Smith has received numerous awards and recognitions; among them include the Greater Kansas City Council on Philanthropy’s Non-Profit Executive of the Year in 2002 and the Centurions’ Bernard Powell Award from the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.  Smith was selected by the UMKC Alumni Association to receive the 2002 Alumni Service Award.  In 2003, Smith received a Distinguished Citizen Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice.

In 2005 Smith was recognized as the winner of the national Herman S. Prescott Award for exemplifying the principles of diversity, equality, and empowerment in his work within the Boys & Girls Clubs movement.

Smith’s life work has focused on local and national efforts in the areas of youth development, mentoring, and innovative not-for-profit management.