Marketing Alum Have Hawaiian Connections
By Sarah Redinger

As Missouri weather turns beautiful again this Spring, some of us can’t help but daydream about what it would be like to live in paradise ALL of the time. Two Missouri State Marketing alumni, Chris Smith and Gabriel Armstrong, know exactly how that feels. 

Chris Smith spent the first 21 years of his life on the island of Oahu. He enjoyed surfing, sailing, and playing football for the University of Hawaii. However, he wanted to experience life on the mainland. Through a connection with a former coach, Smith got in touch with MSU. While visiting, he met Dr. Robert Luke, only to find out that he was childhood friends with a family that Smith knew very well! After a conversation with Dr. Luke, he decided to pack up and move 4,000 miles away from his home state to complete his education and football career at Missouri State University.

Smith says, “I didn’t know anyone in the Midwest…I had never eaten biscuits and gravy or seen a cornfield before I moved to Missouri. As you can imagine, it was a tremendous culture shock.” However, he was charmed by the great food and friendly people, and was so excited when October came around and he could see his breath in the air! 

After graduating in 2002, Smith began to conjure up ideas for his own business. While doing mergers and acquisitions for a firm in Kansas City, his boss asked him if he knew of any other MSU student athletes who would be interested in working for the company. The Missouri State graduate then realized that every employer he had ever worked for had asked about collegiate athletes, and the idea for Athletes4Hire was born. He says, “Right then, it hit me. There are over 430,000 collegiate athletes participating in sports each year and with around 60,000 graduating each year, I would unite them with employers who seek their competitiveness, drive, and ambition.” Chris continues to reside in Kansas City, where he manages his business.

Smith says the most challenging thing about starting a new business is the frustration of starting from scratch without any historical data with which to compare his results. Despite this, the company has been very successful with several articles written and published about www.athletes4hire.com. The company currently has 130 universities and 50 companies on the site. 

 As for future plans, Smith and his wife, the former Malia Schnelle, hope to start a family within the next few years. Malia Smith is also an alumnus of Missouri State’s Marketing department, and currently is employed in Kansas City with a firm called StrategicOne. Smith also looks forward to the “trials and tribulations of making what once was a 30 page business plan into an ethical, beneficial, and profitable company.”

While Smith moved to Missouri from Hawaii, another alumnus has moved in the opposite direction. Gabriel Armstrong currently serves as Director of Marketing for the Oahu Island for Fairfield Resorts. A Branson native, Armstrong began working for Fairfield Resorts at an entry-level sales position while attending Missouri State University. After graduation in May 2004, Armstrong road-tripped across the United States then volunteered for the American Red Cross working hurricane relief in Alabama. Then, he was offered the opportunity to be the first candidate to go through Fairfield’s Marketing Management Program in Orlando, Florida. After successfully completing this intense six-month course, Armstrong interviewed for many positions throughout Fairfield. After careful consideration, he felt the Hawaii position provided the most growth opportunity. He says, “Moving to Hawaii was a huge adjustment, but I hit the ground running and developed our lowest producing team into the number one team in the company.”

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Missouri State University Marketing graduate and native of the "Aloha State," Chris Smith, visits Hawaii with his wife Malia, Christmas 2005.

Armstrong has enjoyed tremendous success in his career at Fairfield Resorts thus far. He was promoted after six months upon moving to Hawaii and has developed his marketing team with out-of-the-box thinking, personal connections, and motivation. He feels his biggest challenge is overcoming negativity in the workplace. “Negativity is the single most destructive disease in a company, a team, an idea, and in a job. However, it also seems to go unnoticed and is even promoted in many workplaces. Overcoming negativity is my daily battle,” he explains.

The Missouri State alum notes that the biggest difference between Hawaii and the States is the unique culture and international presence. He says, “It takes an entirely different management style to work with the locals here. As for the tourists, over half of them are from countries other than the U.S. This provides for an interesting challenge in marketing our product.”

However, the Ozark’s native still misses the Mainland very much and tries to visit as often as possible. While being physically so far away from family and friends has been a challenge, he affirms that, “Traveling and taking on challenges is the best way to better yourself and learn more about the world.” 

In the future, Armstrong plans to continue hitting home runs at work, counting his blessings, and pushing himself to be better. Ultimately, he says, “Being successful isn’t about a paycheck, it is about the quality of life you provide for yourself.”

Chris Smith enjoys experiencing a Missouri Snow and gives his first snowman a Hawaiian look.

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