Chris Smith Bio

In his 21st season with the Tourists, Chris Smith is the longest-tenured member of the Asheville Tourists front office. He held the title of Assistant General Manager for 15 of those seasons and now serves as the team's Senior Sales Executive.

Chris serves on Junior Achievement of Western North Carolina's Board where he is in his second stint as the Board Chair. Chris, who was named Western North Carolina's Top Business Liaison, also sits on the Asheville Buncombe Regional Sports Commission Board Executive Committee in the board role of Secretary, after having served on both the Nominations and Marketing Committees for ABRSC. Smith currently sits on the Buncombe County Schools Foundation Board of Directors and serves on both its Classroom Grants and Strategic Planning Committees.

Chris previously ran the "Tourists Against Tobacco" program and serves as a board member with The Asheville Tourists Children's Fund. Smith also previously served on the Advisory Council for the Make-A-Wish Foundation Advisory Council, as well as the Junior League Advisory Board and as a board member of Project ASSIST Tobacco Prevention Coalition.  

For his efforts in the local school systems and helping various charities throughout Western North Carolina, Smith was featured as a WLOS-TV Person of the Week.

In his first season with the team, Chris filled the role of Media Relations Director, and following the 2000 season, he received the South Atlantic League's inaugural Media Relations Director of the Year award.

Smith, a product of Hendersonville High School, graduated from the University of North Carolina- Asheville, where he played baseball, with a B.S. Degree in Mass Communication.

The Hendersonville native has been a cornerstone at McCormick Field for the past 26 seasons, having served as official scorer as well as beat writer for the Asheville Citizen-Times, prior to working fulltime with the Tourists. Before joining the Tourists, Smith was a Baseball Coach and Sports Information Director at Mars Hill College.

Chris resides in Fletcher with his wife Mandy, his children, Pali, Zach, and Presley and step-daughter Taylor.