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| Affiliation | Democratic |
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| Name | Jason Smith |
| Address |
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | [Link] |
| Born |
Unknown
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| Contributor | Scott³ |
| Last Modifed | Scott³
Nov 01, 2005 07:12pm |
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| Info | Jason Smith has been honored for his professional contributions to the design and communications industry both locally and nationally. He has won numerous Addy Awards, Capital Awards, and awards for his work for Episcopal churches throughout the nation. Smith has also been a featured speaker for numerous local communications organizations, including the Public Relations Society of America. Educated in professional writing, Smith is a self-taught designer, photographer, and illustrator.
Beginning the award-winning Fathom Design Group from his home in 1999, Smith’s company grew quickly and relocated to downtown Harrisburg in 2000, reaching gross revenues of over $400,000 in a few short years. The firm offers logo, brochure, web, and advertising services to local and national business and non-profit clients, including: Alice Anne’s Kitchen; the Episcopal Dioceses of Central Pennsylvania, Maine, Rio Grande, and San Diego; Goldberg Katzman, Who’s the Chef, Team Financial, Johnson Imaging; Theatre Harrisburg; Herre Bros., and the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra.
Shortly after its move to downtown Harrisburg, Fathom launched its Streetmusic Series, offering free, eclectic music to the community. The firm then launched The Design Museum in its steel-clad lobby to educate the public about design. That endeavor has been widely covered in the media for its odd and humorous shows, including Design Sucks: Vacuum Cleaners as Cultural Icons, Go: Design of Vespa, and Chindogu: Useless Design You Can Use...Almost. All shows are offered free of charge and are made possible by numerous community partners. For example, every item in the latest show was created by a member of the local community, from Elementary School students to local architects and business professionals.
In 2003, Fathom launched the Side-Door Cinema. Accessed via a torch-lit alley beside the firm’s Restaurant Row studio, the Side-Door Cinema is an annual outdoor film series held in the parking lot behind the agency. All funds raised through this venture support local cultural pillars including the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Theatre Harrisburg, the Susquehanna Art Museum, Capital Area School for the Arts, Moviate, and Phase Magazine. Hundreds of people have enjoyed the Side-Door Cinema, and thousands of dollars have been donated to charity through this effort.
Smith is also a founding member of Friends of Midtown, a group dedicated to supporting the growth of Midtown Harrisburg. The preeminent group in Midtown, Friends of Midtown shapes and communicates ideas that better Midtown, offers an online guide for Midtown visitors, and is providing a series of elegant kiosks to help brand this distinctive cultural district.
Deeply committed to the community, Smith has gained notoriety for several political endeavors in Harrisburg. In 2002, he formed Citizens for a Better Harrisburg to defeat the proposed Downtown Improvement District Authority II which intended to use voting parking spaces to outweigh the votes of residents and small business owners. This story was covered extensively in the media, and the proposed expansion was defeated by executive order of the Mayor. In 2003, Smith organized again to defeat the proposed National Museum of the Old West (a.k.a. the Wild West Museum). In early 2004, after a lengthy public debate which included a web site, poster campaign, City Council appearances, and t.v. and print media campaign, Mayor Reed reluctantly agreed to “indefinitely postpone” that venture and sell $500,000 in artifacts to fund a Tourism Commission study and Harrisburg Museum Network to generate cost-savings and coordinated marketing for city museums. The unconventional debate over the Wild West Museum has also been covered nationally via the Associated Press, with stories appearing as far away as Arizona, California, Washington State, and Alaska.
Smith then prepared and presented a “People’s Priorities” document titled “Open Books, Open Doors, Open Minds” a compendium of ideas on how to improve Harrisburg. Initial ideas were submitted by members of the Harrisburg community and shaped and expanded to create 10 Priorities to improve Harrisburg’s government practices, economic competitiveness, and quality of life.
He has also joined forces with the Coalition to Save Stony Creek Valley, a group dedicated to preserving a wilderness area north of Harrisburg from a planned "land swap" that would move $3 million into the Harrisburg Authority for potential use in museum artifact purchases.
These political endeavors have complemented Smith’s community and professional involvements, enabling him to successfully serve his city on (almost) every level.
Smith attends St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Uptown Harrisburg.
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