IM&P

Business Services

Infield’s founder and Owner Gil Smith began his career in public service when he joined the Navy in 1979 and achieved the rate of Chief Hospital Corpsman. In 1988 he earned a Commission as a Naval Officer and retired from the Navy in 1999 after being selected as a Lieutenant Commander. He received two Meritorious Service Medals in recognition of his service. After retirement, he joined American Management Systems, a Fortune Global 1000 firm as their Director of Treasury. In 2002 he returned to public service for six years as an appointee for the George W. Bush administration. He served three consecutive appointments as: Associate Director, Peace Corps; Deputy Chief Operating Officer White House; and Deputy Assistant Secretary, USDA. He has an MSB and an MBA from Husson University and lives on a farm in Asheboro, NC. It is this experience, education, and success that is the foundation of the Business Services area.

Corporate Advisory Services:

Gil is known as a “fixer” and as a leader and advisor that can bring calm to chaos, and control in times of crisis. He is adept at identifying courses of action during emergencies, crises, and sets priorities in driving businesses to success or recovery. He is available to provide recurring oversight and observations on your business. In this role, he can offer insights on corporate culture, organizational structure, marketing, economics, financial health, and business development. His skills and experience across all management disciplines have proven to be highly valuable to clients.

Advisory Board:

Gil is available to participate as a compensated member of your advisory board and can apply his broad background and special expertise as part of your leadership and advisory team.

Guest Speaking & Panel Member:

Gil is available to serve as a keynote or guest speaker or even sit on a panel. He has participated as a panel member at several conferences around millennial’s in the workforce, leadership, contingency responses, organizational development, shared service models, personal resilience and discipline, success under duress, entrepreneurship, life as a disabled veteran and veteran’s issues, and small business as it works with government.

Public Relations & Marketing: 

PR is an integral part of any artist, athlete, or entertainers life. At Infield Media & Promotion we bring a unique package of skills in one location. It is how you, as a public figure and business opportunity interacts with the public, maintain ties to your base and community and how you get important information out to all of your interested parties. These are fans, sponsors, colleagues, the press in general, and influential people in your industry (racing, music, equestrian, benefactors, buyers).

There are several components to a good PR program. Infield can support your program with a full life cycle PR effort.

Target Information

Press releases cost money and can eat up a budget. Prior to releasing information, we determine target audiences that we feel would have the greatest interest in your press release or marketing data. Infield uses press distribution services that allow us to specifically target your information by industry, region, media type, and format. 

Photographs

A picture is worth a thousand words, and it better be the right one. Images with press releases are important, it makes your release stand out. Images in press releases also drive up cost, so the image needs to be meaningful. The image should either add emphasis to your message, or clarify any potential confusion that your message may cause. Have you seen our photography pages or our social media? We offer world class photo support for every Infield effort. Imaging is always part of the Infield PR package.  

Media Relations

A public relations professional’s best allies are journalists. Good media relations will not only get your press releases printed in spots where the public will see them, they can also result in personal interviews that will gain you even more exposure. Infield carries US and International Press Credentials and we have relationships with key news outlets. When it is time, we can get you in front of the top news reporters in your industry. 

Tools

So many tools! What is right, and when is it right to use them? Press releases, speeches, personal interviews, seminars, web broadcasts and direct mail pieces are just some of the tools we use to reach a target audience.

Timing

Some public relations pieces can be scheduled for release well in advance. Many things can be scheduled to get to the perfect timing. You don’t want to announce your new sponsor the same day an iconic figure announces their retirement, you’ll go unnoticed. But it is also important to be prepared to release important information on a moment’s notice. We have 24/7 access to news and publication resources.

Availability

Reporters cannot confirm information in time to make print deadlines if you are not available. The world cannot have your personal contact info, so your PR representation needs to be available 24/7 and highly responsive.   Infield keeps a unique phone number for the press and others seeking to contact our clients. We can help insulate you from much of the noise of being in demand.

Stay Active

As your representative, we will seek opportunities to make your presence known. It is our job at Infield to make sure you stay relevant in your area. You need to be available for speeches and seminars, and become an active member in things that will create PR opportunities like benevolent causes and professional and civic organizations. Infield has a wide variety of connections with charitable and community causes and we are always looking for opportunities to present our clients in positive situations.

Fact Checking

We do not release information until it has been thoroughly checked for accuracy. All public relations materials go through all pertinent parties to sign off on before it is made public. We will work out ahead of time what we can release without clearance and what we cannot. If we are doing PR for an athlete we may want to do PR social media releases during a competition, for example. 

Deceit

We will never purposely deceive the public with any information about you. A falsehood will always eventually be uncovered and the resulting fallout can be worse than the issue you were trying to cover up. We strive to present facts in a way that sheds as much positive light on your company as possible.

Contact Information

Every piece of public relations material that comes out will have PR contact information that includes a contact name, phone number, email address and mailing address. This gives the public a chance to follow up on the information you released and the media a chance to present further information if they find the story interesting. We protect your personal information when we do this.

Photography

Infield’s roots are in photography. Gil started taking pictures with his Dad and his Grandfather back when he was a wee lad. Growing up around men with cameras it was only natural that he grabbed one as soon as he could. Learning to shoot with film, he is exacting in his work and careful about his shots. Gil’s career in photography accelerated when he was introduced to NASCAR’s Infield by WJFK Clear Channel Radio covering the Richmond NASCAR race. Soon thereafter he was covering the garage and pits for Garage Talk Radio and shortly later achieved recognition as a credentialed member of the press as a photojournalist covering sports and leisure activities for the US Press Association and the German Daily News. He is an emerging artist in the equestrian field and is rapidly gaining recognition as a reliable resource for equestrian sponsors nationwide.

Today, Infield Media still provides media and PR coverage for motorsports by providing exciting crisp images of competition and the human side of racing. Gil is known for his warm and personal images whether it is in  equestrian work capturing the exhilaration of a clear ride, a poignant moment in entertainment, or a Dad and Daughter sharing a pre-race experience for the media.

With the launch of this new format, Infield is moving into personal photography as Gil Smith Photography. You can see some of our personal work in this portfolio.

Infield will continue to provide support in the commercial markets and in support of our PR and Marketing clients. You can see our commercial work in this portfolio.

You may also visit us at our Wedding Wire/The Knot site here.

Agriculture

The Agriculture program at Infield is new and growing. We are adding head of cattle and growing hay on a regular basis. In the near future, we hope to add vines in support of the growing North Carolina wine industry.

We are proud to be part of North Carolina’s land and nature conservancy. The farm is home to many kinds of wildlife, to include turkey, field birds of many kinds, deer, and rabbit. The image below is one of our Virginia turkeys.