SOAR Blog

Chip Smith, President

As a California native, Chip developed an early love for outdoor sports through water and snow skiing, road and mountain biking, surfing and a few years of football and cross-country running.

His passion for sports helped him develop into a successful marketing professional with more than 15 years of experience in the sporting goods, healthcare, software and communications industries. The majority of those years were spent with sporting goods industry leaders Shimano American Corporation and Specialized Bicycles, Inc.

Chip began his career in 1988 with the Los Angeles office of Ogilvy & Mather advertising, where he spent three years as a billing supervisor. He then spent seven years in sales and marketing positions with Shimano American Corporation, the world’s dominant leader in bicycle components. As marketing manager, Chip directed the company’s strategy and execution of advertising, collateral, point-of-purchase, trade show, advocacy efforts, governmental outreach, promotional efforts, as well as product launches to the trade, government and consumers in the U.S. market.

Specialized Bicycles recruited Chip away from Shimano to become its global marcom manager, a position he held for nearly three years as he directed a team in all aspects of Specialized’s international marketing communications efforts. Chip then spent the next four-plus years in a variety of marketing and sales consulting engagements with firms both inside and outside the recreation marketplace before joining SOAR Communications in 2005.

Chip earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Brigham Young University, and his MBA from Pepperdine University. He also lived in Tokyo, Japan for a year and half, where he learned the Japanese language.

He moved to Salt Lake City, Utah in 2004 where he lives, skis, and rides with his wife, Debbie.

Maura Lansford, Account Executive

Maura joined the company right out of college and began as an intern for Politis Communications in early 2006. Until mid 2007, Maura split her time between both Politis Communications and SOAR Communications.

In her time with SOAR, Maura gains media coverage for clients by coordinating product reviews, television programming and print coverage in media outlets such as Forbes.com, the Denver Post, and numerous industry-specific publications. In addition to her media placement efforts, Maura manages media registration for two of Neilsen Sports Group’s trade shows including Interbike – North America’s largest cycling event and the Health+Fitness Business Expo.

Prior to joining the Politis and SOAR team, Maura wrote and placed press releases, pitched local media, organized events and compiled client portfolios during internships for Crosby-Volmer International Communications and the Rexburg Chamber of Commerce.

Maura earned a bachelor of science degree in Communications from Brigham Young University–Idaho. She enjoys hiking and camping throughout Utah with her husband Cole, family and friends.

Elizabeth Obreza Hurst, Account Coordinator

Shortly after graduation, Elizabeth joined the SOAR team in the fall of 2008, amidst the agency’s preparations for Interbike. After attending Interbike it was clear to Elizabeth that agency work in the sports and outdoor recreation industry complimented her love of writing and her environmental concerns fostered by a Californian upbringing.

Currently, she works closely with a number of SOAR clients researching award and media opportunities, tracking media coverage and the initial writing of client marketing and media materials.

Elizabeth’s first experiences with public relations were in the semester she spent as a student at Brigham Young University. There she wrote news releases for the Graphic Design Department and worked closely with BYU PR representatives as a staff writer for the university’s newspaper. Before that, she wrote for several publications at the Claremont Colleges and worked as the Palo Alto Weekly’s Art and Entertainment Intern.

Elizabeth earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Scripps College with a self-designed major in journalism. Dance, in a variety of forms, has been her “sport” of choice for nearly two decades. Thanks to her parents’ enthusiasm and fortune of calling the San Francisco Bay Area home, she is also an avid sailor, skier and hiker.

Elizabeth and her husband, Philip, are excited to take advantage of Utah’s national parks and beautiful snow during their hiatus from California.