ATHLETE TALENT SERVICES (ATS)
.....elevating your game to the next level.....
ATS has over 20 years of experience in the sports and entertainment public relations field. The team of our highly skilled professionals offers a personalized service to each individual client, which is geared toward their goals and objectives. A tailor-made campaign guarantees our clients the results they expecting and deserve.
LASHIRL SMITH
TJ MURDOCK
TIFFANY OATIS
LISA PALMA
LASHIRL SMITH
CEO/PRESIDENT/PUBLICIST
Brings a diverse background in Public Relations from the Sports and Entertainment field to ATS.
In 1984, Smith began her career in the field of journalism as a Research Coordinator for “Insight,” a community affairs program for KDFW, Dallas’ Fox affiliate. One year later, she began booking local and national sports talent for the show. “I’ve always loved the world of sports since I can remember; I think I can go back as far as the Los Angeles Thunderbirds roller-skating team.”
In 1985, Smith took sports on with a ‘full-speed ahead’ approach. She convinced the nightly sports anchor producer to give her a shot at producing the station’s weekend Sunday night sports show, “Sports Weekly.” The show, which consisted of an entire week of sports highlights, gave Smith an opportunity to shine not only as a producer, also as a fan. “My strength was in the NFL and the NBA, but I quickly learned to love other professions such as Track and Field, Bowling and Golf.”
Sports was a given for Smith so in 1986, she formed Lash Productions, a publicity company representing athletes in the capacity of public relations. As the old cliché goes, I was at the right place at the right time,” she chuckles. “I really just lucked up on getting started as a publicist, which at that time I didn’t know that’s what I was doing. I did a favor for a friend of mine who at that time was a member of the Dallas Cowboys. I booked him as a speaker at a banquet and he paid me for it. It was that simple and I found myself booking him at appearances every week,” explains Smith.
Wanting to add a hint of entertainment to the company, Smith relocated to Los Angeles in 1990. She landed a job at a music management company where she worked with such artist as George Michael, Morris Day, Karyn White, Jody Watley and Atlantic Starr to name a few.
Although Smith had surrounded herself with such talent as Terri J. Vaughn (Meet the Browns), Ken L (The Parkers), Shemar Moore (Criminal Minds), Wendy Raquel Robinson (The Game), Ken L (The Parkers), Lester Speight (Norbit, My Wife and Kids), Wesley Jonathan (Roll Bounce), Chico Benymon (Half and Half) and Sicily (One on One) to name a few, it was her love for sports which made her decide to separate the two from each other.
As far as the sports side, she has been affiliated with some great athletes in the past, including Robert Griffith (former Arizona Cardinal), Troy Brown (former New England Patriot), Willie Roaf (former Kansas City Chief), Tim Brown (former Oakland Raider), Anthony Dorsett (former Oakland Raider), Billy Davis (2-time Super Bowl Champion with Ravens/Cowboys) and Kavika Pittman (former Carolina Panther) to name a few.
Recently, Smith launched a production company, RonSean Productions which will produce feature films, TV shows, documentaries and special events. The company also has a 10-city comedy tour, Laugh-Off Comedy Tour, which tours the southern states during the summer months. She has worked with a variety of comedians including, Kevin Hart, Tony Roberts, Damon Williams, Joey Wells, CoCoa Brown, Chris Spencer and Pierre.
As far as special events, Smith has produced a variety of events including the Bermuda Easter and Labor Day Festivals, All-Star Super Bowl Comedy Extravaganza and the Comedy Explosion NBA All-Star Weekend to name a few.
If that hasn't been enough to keep her busy, Smith penned the novel Confessions of the Twelfth Man through her pseudonym, Jusbee Jones. This fall, production will begin on the feature film entitled “Sideline Confessions”, an adaption from the novel.
Smith belongs to various organizations and her hobbies include traveling, creative writing and watching a variety of television programs.
Back to the Top
TJ MURDOCK
VP/DIRECTOR OF PLAYER RELATIONS
TJ Murdock has years of experience he brings to ATS in the role of VP/Director of Player Talent Relations.
As Director of Player Relations, he continues to build relationships between ATS clients and Fortune 500 companies to increase the players off-the-field image through endorsements, sponsorships and personal appearance opportunities.
He is responsible for negotiating and securing opportunities between clients and major media networks such as NFL Network, TNT Network and ESPN. He also works closely with each client and their charity organization for the development and coordination of their charities and their events such as golf tournaments, celebrity bowling classics and banquets to raise funds for each program.
As a former Executive with Time Warner and Verizon Network, Murdock has secured multi-million dollar deals for the companies while increasing their visibility and productivity to consumers.
Back to the Top
TIFFANY OATIS
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
Tiffany Oatis offers a wide range of Marketing services to ATS.
A native of
Oatis has over 10 years of excellent work experience from top companies and brands such as NBA League Office and The New England Patriots. A few of her former clients include Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens), Reuben Droughns (former New York Giant) and Romeo Crennel (former NFL Head Caoch).
She also had a proven track record of aiding organizations by increasing network distribution and product awareness. With her effective marketing and promotions tactics in new business development, she successfully developed, identified and capitalized on consumer market trends for such networks as HGTV and Food Network. A few of her campaigns included "Emeril Lagasse Vegas Weekend" and "Dining with Wolfgang Puck".
Oatis has also worked for DIRECTV as a Sports Marketing Associate, where she single handedly handled the strategic development of DIRECTV sports packages for the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. She also secured all purchase orders and maintained a checks & balance sheet for a $50 million plus budget for The DIRECTV Guide, DIRECTV Sports Magazine, This Week ON Sports show, Sports Arena sponsorships, and marketing campaigns for the entire sport marketing department
Her experience working at major conglomerates and solid database of industry contacts makes her a marquee player in the sports and entertainment industry
Back to the Top
LISA PALMA
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Lisa Palma serves as Executive Assistant for ATS.
Palma manages and overseas all aspects of the office and staff as well as ATS clients. She also manages ATS' concierge service "Get Personal Assistance(GPA)" , which provides support and handles all client dealings including relocation, housing and travel.
Palma has over 10 years of experience as an Executive Assistant and is a valuable asset to ATS.
Back to the Top