The Group

• Chris Loizeaux

  Art Director

  Chris sent us a resume a month for over a year, so when a position became available we had to hire him. With that kind of dogged determination he left us no choice. Now if all of us could just learn to pronounce his name, Lah-wah-zoh. He brings a wide range of skills to the KMT table, combining a strong knowledge of the web, pure clean graphic design and a love for the great outdoors.
  
  When Chris isn’t sneaking along the banks of any mud puddle he can find (fly rod in hand), backpacking the woods in East TN or defying gravity on his skateboard, he’ll be with his lovely and expecting wife of 8 years, Cassie. Yes, life for the soon-to-be father is about to change, but he’s up for the challenge.

  Vitals: 11 YEARS IN DESIGN, HUSBAND, SOON-TO-BE FATHER, FLY FISHING AFICIONADO, SKATEBOARDER, GUITARIST, PHOTO GEEK, BREW SNOB, FOODIE, BACKPACKER & TRAVEL ENTHUSIAST

• Connie Hall

  Business Manager

  When in college, Connie walked into the placement office and said, “do you have any jobs, I could do in the afternoons”? There was an opening at a local advertising agency in which she interviewed the next day. She was hired on the spot and started that afternoon. Thirty years later, she’s still in the business and loving every minute of it. When she’s not adding and subtracting she enjoys watching her son perform in the SDHS band and power shopping with her daughter. Connie has been happily married to the love of her life for 20 years.

  Vitals: 30 YEARS OF NUMBER CRUNCHING, HAPPY HOMEMAKER, WEEKEND NAPPER, FANATICAL TITANS FAN, LOVING MOTHER OF TWO SUPER ACTIVE TEENAGERS

• David Lefkoff

  Designer

  Dave has been in graphic design for more than 12 years and has been fighting anger management issues ever since.
  
  To unwind, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Bebe, and son, Joshua. He also enjoys spending time with the neighbors and their kids. At that rate, he’d probably enjoy spending time with you and your kids.
  
  Dave loves the outdoors, science fiction movies, woodworking, and anything made by Apple. And he’s trying to become a better photographer. Hey, we love a guy with goals.

  Vitals: DIET COKE JUNKIE, PRINT PRO, APPLE FANBOY, AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER, SCI-FI GEEK & OUTDOOR ENTHUSIAST

• Jennifer Taylor

  Production Manager

  The strength of a concept is only as good as its execution. The same can be said about the paper, printing, photography, llustration, filming, editing, packaging and everything else that goes into the finished work that KMT produces. That’s where Jennifer comes in. She handles the monumental task of researching, scheduling, purchasing and monitoring all the resources KMT uses. Her superhero ability to do all this with a smile makes her a highly valued member of the team.
  
  When not making all of us look good, she can often be found making herself look good at the gym or outside running. She’s also frequently with her husband at the ball field, cheering their two softball-crazed girls to victory.

  Vitals: 16 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, ORGANIZATIONAL GURU, HUMAN SMILEY FACE, SUN WORSHIPER, RUNNER GIRL, SOFTBALL MOM

• John Thompson

  Business Strategist

  John has a gift for strategic thinking, planning and executing which has served both us and our clients extremely well over the years. If not for Johnny we’d probably still be working at the old folding tables, searching our pockets for snack money.
  
  Along with wife Missy and their twin girls, Johnny enjoys all things related to the great outdoors. He spends his scarce leisure time hunting and fishing, or preparing to hunt and fish, or shopping for hunting and fishing related items, or talking about hunting and fishing. Or sleeping.

  Vitals: 8 YEARS IN THE CREATIVE BUSINESS AFTER 12 YEARS IN THE CORPORATE WORLD, HUSBAND AND FATHER, OUTDOORSMAN, NUMBER CRUNCHER, OWNER, VOICE OF REASON

• Julie Van Valkenburg

  Copywriter & Public Relations Specialist

  Julie, a local community theatre diva, made her stage debut in fourth grade as the left paw of the dragon. Thus, she learned early the proverbial lesson that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.That's especially true of the written word. What good would "Once" be without "upon a time"?
  
  Julie has been writing professionally for more than 25 years. (Shouldn't she be done by now?) She has a genuine enthusiasm for creating communications that are strategic, engaging, and insightful. The great E.B. White said, "A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart, and unlimbers his typewriter."
  
  At the end of a long day of unlimbering, Julie likes nothing more than spending time with her very nice husband, her curly-headed teenage son, and her Kindle.

  Vitals: 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, WORD NERD, AWARD-WINNING DRAMA QUEEN, TYPEWRITER COLLECTOR, ASPIRING PLAYWRIGHT, NEWSPAPER ALUMNUS, CRAZY CAT LADY

• Kelly Guhne

  Art Director

  Kelly conveniently represents the 35-45 female demographic a lot of our retail clients are trying to reach, so she’s especially adept at developing concepts that effectively speak to, well…herself. But her talents reach far beyond the doors of the mall. During her career she’s demonstrated her creative versatility for clients including Conoco, American National Bank, Cricket Wireless and Anderson Hardwood just to name a few. She even once illustrated a children’s book, Pardon Me Is that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo?
  
  Kelly spends a lot of her free time with her two weiner dogs, Maxfli and Hogan. She also loves to grow roses and putter around the yard in her pajamas and flip-flops.

  Vitals: 24 YEARS IN DESIGN, ROSE AFICIONADO, YOGA PRACTITIONER, HIKER, DOG LOVER, DOG WALKER, POOP SCOOPER, MOVIE BUFF, GOLF SPECTATOR, BEACH BUM

• Missy Thompson

  President / Creative Director

  Having risen through the ranks of the advertising profession all the way from paste-up artist (yes, that was a job) to agency owner, Missy has seen and done it all. The 1995 birth of her twin girls prompted Missy to give up her guestroom and start a freelance design business, KMT Advertising. Joined by her husband John, Missy said goodbye to the guestroom and started KMT Creative Group in the summer of 2001, where she is now worshiped as a goddess of all that is good and creative (what can we say, she’s the boss).
  
  Missy spent her college days in Florida, which may help explain her perpetually sunny disposition (as well as the occasional sudden storm). She spends what little free time she has either shopping with the girls, or shopping by herself, or shopping online, or sending other people to shop for her, or reading books about shopping…

  Vitals: 22 YEARS IN THE BIZ, QUEEN BEE, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, PARTY PLANNER, SHOPPER, OWNER, FISHERWOMAN, TEAM PLAYER, SNACK DESTROYER, CHECK SIGNER

• Sam Hall

  Account Management

  Sam started working in radio as a DJ when he was 16. After graduating from UTK he wanted to stay in radio, but realized the sales people drove much nicer cars than the DJs – and spent the next 12 years in radio advertising.
  He later pursued his geekier side in the technology industry as Director of Sales and Marketing for a regional IT integration company, before finding a home at KMT as, not only our Account Manager, but also our unofficial IT expert.

  Vitals: SELF-PROCLAIMED TECH GEEK, FORMER RADIO DJ, INTERNET ‘EARLY ADOPTER’, BONNAROO VET, FATHER OF 2 TEENS

• Starla Malone

  Traffic Manager

  Starla once thought she wanted to be a flight attendant, but after six weeks at “Barbie boot camp” she decided it wasn’t her cup of tea (or soda, or coffee). The friendly skies’ loss was our gain. As traffic manager here at KMT, Starla miraculously schedules, tracks, expedites and records dozens of projects at a time, all the while supplying the information, resources and support everyone needs to get the job done. It’s a little like managing the traffic at an Italian demolition derby. Maybe she and her husband’s lawnmower racing hobby explains why Starla’s so good at keeping us all on track.

  Vitals: 11 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, KID ROCK GROUPIE, SOUTHERN GIRL, LAWNMOWER RACE CREWMEMBER, TEAM PLAYER, WHIP CRACKER

• Teiya Eubanks

  Operations Manager

  Teiya is one of the original five founding members of KMT. When we started she did everything from purchasing to booking travel to traffic management–all on top of her duties as an account manager. From there she settled into a more traditional role as an account executive and has now moved to full reign over the Creatives and scheduling. Her organizational skills and Swiss army knife-like versatility shine through in the way she deals with our numerous clients and works with our KMT team, who all love her perpetual smile and can-do attitude.
  
  In her free time Teiya loves to cook while watching ET (educational television). Her two children and sweet grandson love that she loves to cook while watching ET. Teiya confesses that if her life had unfolded a little differently, she’d be an Eagles groupie, following them around the globe.

  Vitals: 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, DEVELOPING PREMATURE EMPTY NEST SYNDROME, NAUNA OF THE SWEETEST GRANDSON, SHOE HOUND, HAPPY NAPPER, THERAPIST

• Todd Reed

  Art Director / Illustrator

  As one of the founding members of KMT, Todd’s been around since we worked on folding tables and our intercom system involved raising our voices. His prodigious artistic talent includes not only a refined sense of design, but also remarkable photo manipulation skills and the ability to draw and paint literally any type of flora or fauna with photo-realistic quality (you can see some of his artwork at http://www.toddreedart.com).
  
  When not drawing or painting the outdoors, Todd can usually be found experiencing it firsthand, usually with camera in hand. He also travels with his wife and two children to numerous wildlife art shows each year, where his work has been repeatedly honored. Someday we’ll all be able to say we knew him when…

  Vitals: 15 YEARS IN ART AND DESIGN, ZOO BUM, OUTDOORSMAN, EAGLE SCOUT, BEE WHISPERER, PINEWOOD DERBY MOGUL, WILDLIFE ARTIST, BIRD WATCHER, HUSBAND & FATHER, PHOTOGRAPHER

• Valerie Roy

  Project Manager

  Valerie has worked in the marketing and advertising field as “the client” for most of her career before transitioning to the agency side of the fence.
  
  In her spare time, she likes to watch her daughter, niece and nephew play sports.

  Vitals: 7 YEARS MARKETING/ADVERTISING EXPERIENCE, AVID SHOPPER, COUPONER IN TRAINING, AND MOTHER OF ONE AMAZING DAUGHTER