Tracy Smith, the new executive director of ADKSC, will take over from Ashley Walden. (Provided photo — Adirondack Sports Council)

LAKE PLACID — The Adirondack Sports Council named a new executive director from within its ranks Wednesday. Tracy Smith comes to the position as the former director of brand, marketing and communications for the 2023 FISU World University Games.

Smith succeeds Ashley Walden, who was named president and CEO of the state Olympic Regional Development Authority on Aug. 21. Walden was the executive director of ADKSC for five years.

“I’m really honored to be selected by the board for this position and I look forward to helping the sports council grow into a bigger, brighter future,” Smith said in an interview on Thursday.

Smith, 48, has lived in Lake Placid for 11 years. She was voted the new executive director of ADKSC by the organization’s board and took over from Walden on Aug. 22.

Smith initially became involved with ADKSC when she was hired as a consultant in 2017. She is the principal for Smith and Co. Creative, a digital design and marketing company she’s owned since 2013. Smith consulted on Lake Placid’s bid to host the FISU Games, which took place in January 2023, and designed ADKSC’s bid book. When Lake Placid was awarded the Games, she continued to consult on the bid website and related marketing projects before eventually being hired by ADKSC as the head of brand, identity and look for the Games in April 2021.

In June 2022, Smith was hired full-time by ADKSC as the director of brand, marketing and communications for the Games. She developed and oversaw the branding, communications, marketing, sponsorship, ticketing, merchandising, ceremonies, sustainability and legacy of the Games. She also served as a senior liaison between FISU and other local, state and national authorities related to the Games.

“The ADKSC is excited to welcome Tracy Smith as its new executive director,” ADKSC board chair James McKenna said in a statement. “Tracy’s leadership, experience and passion will lead the Sports Council to new levels using sports tourism as an economic driver throughout the Adirondacks and beyond. We thank Ashley Walden for her leadership with the ADKSC and the World University Games as we eagerly look forward to working with her as CEO of the NYS Olympic Regional Development Authority.”

As executive director, Smith will be responsible for leading ADKSC’s efforts to attract national and international sporting events to the Adirondacks and other venues throughout New York, as well as assist the events in both planning and operation.

Early this year, ADKSC served as the local organizing committee to the FISU World University Games. Between Jan. 12 and Jan. 22, collegiate-athletes and delegates from 50 nations and almost 600 universities participated in 12 winter sports and 86 events throughout Lake Placid and North Country. ADKSC is also the official organizing committee to the Empire State Winter Games and the Wilmington Whiteface 100k and 50k Mountain Bike Race.

Most recently, ADKSC partnered with Schroon Lake’s Adirondack Marathon Distance Festival, to assist with updating its website, provided marketing strategies and organized volunteers for the event, which will happen on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. ADKSC will assist with on-site activities at the festival.

Smith’s predecessor, Walden, will take over as ORDA president and CEO on Sept. 11, replacing Michael Pratt, who is retiring.

“Ashley leaves … quite a legacy of success with the sports council in addition to the World University Games,” Smith said. “She was also responsible for bringing on the Empire State Winter Games, the Wilmington Whiteface Mountain Bike Race and the Adirondack Marathon in Schroon Lake. My goal is to follow in her footsteps really and to help grow … our interaction with different events at all levels, from managing a whole event to helping support other events throughout our area and New York state that need our assistance in really any area of event management and execution.”

Smith does not plan to continue consulting through Smith and Co. Creative during her tenure as ADKSC executive director. In her free time, she sits on the board of directors of the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. She lives in Lake Placid with her husband and three children.