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Kirk Smith
President
Kirk Smith, president of The Adsmith, has over 35 years of working experience in advertising, graphic design and marketing. His interest grew from a youth surrounded by the business of “creating” — where as a child he would try to draw cartoons or help with ad “paste-up” alongside his father, an accomplished artist, cartoonist and the entrepreneur who created The Adsmith.
Kirk graduated from the University of Georgia where he majored in Graphic Design while working part-time at the company’s original downtown Athens office. Upon graduation, he began working at the agency full-time as an art director, eventually becoming a partner and now president of the firm. During his tenure, the agency’s work has been honored by Communication Arts, Print’s Regional Design Annual, Adweek, the Telly Awards, Addy Awards, Outdoor Advertising Association, Cooperative Communications Council, NRECA, the National Bank Marketing Association and many more.
A native of Athens, Kirk has always believed in doing what he could to help the community and area non-profit organizations. His primary focus in recent years has been as an advocate for people living with cancer, serving on the board of The Cancer Foundation and serving on the Committee for the Free to Breathe 5K. He was recently honored with both the PPD Hero award and the Hero of Hope award from the National Lung Cancer Research Foundation for his work raising money for lung cancer research as well as advocating for the importance of clinical trials. He has also volunteered on patient advocacy committees for Pfizer Pharmaceutical and was a guest panelist for Novartis Pharmaceutical as an advocate for lung cancer patients.
During his career, he has also served as a Mentor to the same young man for almost three decades, and has loaned his leadership skills to the board of the Clarke County Mentor Program, including two terms as president of the steering committee and several terms on the executive committee. Kirk is a graduate of both Leadership Athens and Leadership Georgia and has served a term on the Board of Directors of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce. He was Co-Director (along with his wife, Jayne) of the Winter Games of the Georgia Special Olympics when they were held in Athens, and served as publicity director for the same event the two years prior.
In recognition of his community involvement, he was chosen as a “Community Hero” to carry the Olympic Torch during it’s route to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta (an honor he shared with both his wife and father). He was also awarded the Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal for creative achievement and community involvement, was a finalist for the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Person of the Year and recognized by the Athens Banner-Herald as a “Super Citizen.”
Kirk lives in Athens with his wife, Jayne and dog, Maximus. He is an avid runner, hiker, cyclist, mountain biker, Dawg fan, and advocate for those most vulnerable.
Relevant Business quote:
“People can’t pay you to care. People can’t teach you to care. But when you find something that you care about, you give it everything you’ve got. You never settle. And you are always pushing to learn and be better and support those around you. All I’ve tried to do in my career is care.” — David Droga
“People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures” —F. M. Alexander.
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