Steamboat Springs — Cam Boyd, 50, kicked a lot of tires before settling into a real estate career in Steamboat. When he first moved here in 1985 after graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder, he worked as a ski instructor, silkscreener, roofer and painter.

But it was his business degree that opened the door to getting his real estate license in 1987, working for local real estate broker and attorney Peter Forbes. “He taught me a lot of things that would have taken me a long time to learn otherwise,” says Boyd, who has grown from that advice to become town’s Best Realtor.

In 1990, he began working for Trimontane Real Estate, which became affiliated with Prudential in 1991. Boyd and partner Pam Vanatta took over the business in 2000, forming Prudential Steamboat Realty, which now has 72 licensed agents and 10 support staff in its 10,000-square-foot office building in Wildhorse Plaza. Combined, the company’s agents sold more than 500 units in 2012, making it easily the largest real estate firm in the valley.

“I’ve always enjoyed the business aspect of it,” says Boyd, who is married to wife, Jill, and has two children, Bridger, 13, and Sydney, 14. “We never really set out to build a big company like this, but we work very well together. As we continued to build our own, personal business, people wanted to come along with us.”

Like Boyd and Vanatta, their brokers also follow their philanthropic lead, donating time and funds to such organizations as the Sunshine Kids, United Way, Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, Hospice and Court-Appointed Special Advocates. “So many of our agents are involved with charities throughout town,” says Boyd, a loyal member of the Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs for the past 12 years. “Everyone’s pretty generous with helping support this community we all love.”

When not working to help others share in their dream of settling down in Steamboat, Boyd can be found taking advantage of the lifestyle it offers, whether it’s hitting the ski slopes or Nordic tracks, chasing the pack on his mountain and road bikes, scaring elk away during hunting season, fine-tuning his slapshot or hiking one of Colorado’s fourteeners. But, without exception, his favorite activity is spending time with his family.

“If you would have told me 27 years ago that I’d still be here with a family and great job in a community I love, I never would have believed it,” he says. “I pinch myself all the time and realize how lucky I am. People work all their lives just to come visit here, and we get to live and play here every day.”

Second place

Pam Vanatta, Prudential Steamboat Realty

Pam Vanatta came to Steamboat Springs in 1979 from Denver how a lot of women did. “I followed a boyfriend,” she says. “He left. I stayed.”

Lucky for her. Vanatta, 56, who reveived her real estate license in 1986 and started selling for Trimontane before co-founding Prudential Steamboat Realty in 2000, has emerged as one of town’s top brokers, largely for her commitment to her clients. In 2007, she was named one of Prudential’s top 10 agents in the country, out of more than 65,000, and consistently has placed in the Top 100.

“I love the business,” says Vanatta, who is married to hunting outfitter Lonny Vanatta. “I especially like the challenges and accomplishments that come with it, and that it lets me become friends with great people from all over the country.”

While she admits that the past four years have shown how hard the business can be, it also shows that if you’re good at what you do, you can succeed. And she credits most of her success to referrals, perhaps the biggest proof of her professionalism.

Throughout it all, she also manages to find time to enjoy everything there is about the town she loves, from golfing and road biking in the summer to skiing in the winter and cooking and entertaining all year long. “I love the diversity here and being able to do different things in all the different seasons,” she says. “I just like doing everything that everyone else enjoys doing here.”

Third place

Jon Wade, The Steamboat Group (Colorado Group Realty)

Jon Wade of The Steamboat Group, part of Colorado Group Realty, moved here with wife Wendy in 2005 after a 16-year career with Hewlett Packard in Boulder for one reason: “It’s the best place we could possibly imagine to raise our kids,” he says.

If they’re doing a good job with Alden, 9, and Neve, 7, he’s also doing so with his real estate career. After leaving HP, he earned his real estate license and signed on with Colorado Group Realty, the team atmosphere of whichwas a perfect fit. Since then, he’s helped countless people realize their dreams here, as well.

“I like the people here more than anything,” he says. “I like helping them shape their lives by where they live. And I understand that better than most because I did the exact same thing.”

An active volunteer for the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association and Urban Renewal Authority, he also takes time to give back to the town. “I was never very involved with the community in Boulder, but here I am all the time,” he says. “When I was 7 my grandpa told me that if you take care of others, you’ll never have to worry about yourself. That’s a mantra I try to follow every day.”